Noodle Houses and Cheap Eats in Taipei

The main fault of travel shows is that you can't smell or feel the surroundings...... and that many night food markets are overrated. I found the food at the popular Shilin Night Market to be stale. The food at the smaller Raohe St Night Market seemed better quality, but you decide for yourself and visit several.

The food smells good at first but after a while of inhaling the smell of cooking oil, you become convinced that the food is no more nutritious than a corn dog.

Most of the street food has been sitting out for hours so they are not freshly cooked.   The night market food seems a lot like amusement park food ........... except the only ride may be a trip to the ER. To be fair I am sure there are some terrific outdoor food stalls in Taipei, but not usually in the popular night markets.

Away from the outdoor food markets, there is no shortage of good nutritious food for a cheap price. You can't go a couple of blocks without running into a neighborhood of noodle houses, mom & pop restaurants or buffets with a full meal running you 3-5 $USD. The narrower the street, the more likely of finding these bargains.

My two entree plus vegetables and rice was only $3.   

The noodle bowl and a cream filled pastry across the street was $4. As noted on Anthony Bourdain's travel show on Taipei, the darker broth soup tends to be spicier than the clear broth. The point is that there is good food in every neighborhood of Taipei ..... there is no need to travel far.


Asians are also known for being all business when consuming food. Their bowls just inches away from their palate, you can flick, sweep and slurp your way to gastronomic ecstasy ..... the food has no chance for escape.

Asians and Europeans would probably not make good dining companions. Europeans would delicately savor every morsel with bottles of wine and 3 hours of conversation while many Asians would say "let's eat this thing and get the *@%#  out of here".

My hotel Mai Hotel

 
A smooth international flight to Asia with relatively good service from an American carrier? Yup, it happened! Taipei International welcomes me with a smooth transition through immigration. Like clockwork at 1900 hours it was changing of the guard at immigration as I was the first visitor approved by medically masked Agent Nia, badge# 03665. Actually all the agents were named Nia, stands for National Immigration Agency. The thump of the ink stamp on my my passport the indication that I can stay.  

The lady at the bus office says the bus to Taipei Main MRT Station leaves at 7:25 so hurry.... cost about $3 USD. Guess what? The bus left at 7:25..... was there doubt? The MRT EASY Card was easy to buy and use except the MRT doesn't run to the International airport so you can take a taxi or bus to the main MRT Station. 

On your first day in any city or country, expect to get lost. Its natural. in Taipei ask anyone and everyone. They are friendly and accommodating. From airport to hotel, I asked 8 total strangers for directions. They have almost 100% mobile internet penetration here so anyone can Google map anything.......and asking is good training for the Amazing Race. 

My hotel Mai Hotel (Nanjing) is not an easy place to find. The first floor had a generic looking glass door with a purple lit sign with directions to go to the second floor lobby. Lucky for me I Google mapped it before I arrived and remembered Mr Brown's Cafe across the street. This is the first hotel I have been to where they didn't ask for my credit card for incidental charges. I offered my credit card, but the squeaky voiced teenage looking gal at the desk said " Its OK, you already paid".

My 200 square foot room was very modern with a full size bed pressed against two corners, clean with lots of modern conveniences ........just a small room. No big deal for a backpacker. All I need is free wi-fi signal, free breakfast, a room safe and a TV (which may have been too big for this room) where I can watch silly Asian game shows before falling asleep. The quality of the free Asian-style breakfast was surprisingly good. I expected a mediocre breakfast from this boutique hotel and the quality exceeded my expectations. The dining area is a stand alone restaurant called the Tutti Cafe connected to the hotel and during lunch hours it was quite busy with non-hotel guests.

The bed was clean and comfortable. The in-room wi-fi was quite strong as well. The middle floors had multiple routers so you always had a maximum signal if you are on floor 5 and 6.

If you are like me and don't need a lot of space, this hotel is a pretty good deal. I would definitely stay here again. Did I mention that most of the desk agents are Japanese? They were all extremely polite, respectful and very happy to see you.