taiwan :: taipei :: shopping

[azn8oi]

Basically how I view it is like this:

You can find most things that sufu likes in Taipei-- from streetwear to denim to Margiela to Junya, no problem; but the prices are rape so what's the fucking point of buying from there?

Pandadenim is right. Just get fat and worry about getting fit in America. I've dropped 15lbs while gaining tons of muscle after getting back here. Different lifestyles and goals.

[nictan]

i'll be there from 10-21 dec.

hows the weather there azn8oi? i heard it rains like mad

and hows the temperature like?

thanks!

[azn8oi]

At that time it's a bit chilly at night. Bring a jacket.

I don't recall it being too rainy at that time... but umbrellas are only $2 if you get caught in some light rain.

[fallen angels]

yeah i dont think i'm even gonna bother with shopping (jawns) while i'm there, only music, dvds, local gifts, etc.

yo aznboi thanks for those recommendations, i appreciate you taking the time to type that shit out. i specified ZXDL because that's where I'm staying (ZXDL x Yanji Road). i'm probably gonna ask my younger cousins about local eats, hopefully they know some gems, i'll report back if i find anything worthy.

my cousin's friend opened a burger joint in Taipei called JB Burger or something, they basically tried to copy the In-n-Out model but i heard it sucks.

[prokart]

Did you ever have mian mian bin?

Loosely translated as cotton ice? Shit instantly melts in your mouth as it enters. It's bomb doggy

shit i miss that...kinda hard to find now

[prokart]

so excited going to taipei this coming summer. theres also this this store in or near taipei and originating in taipei called REMIX. it sells high-end streetwear. so its sorta pricy. you ca nsearch pics up but its very hard to cop unless you hit the flagship stores.

Remix is a Taiwanese streetwear brand. Most famous but it's def not the best/high end

[azn8oi]

yeah i dont think i'm even gonna bother with shopping (jawns) while i'm there, only music, dvds, local gifts, etc.

yo aznboi thanks for those recommendations, i appreciate you taking the time to type that shit out. i specified ZXDL because that's where I'm staying (ZXDL x Yanji Road). i'm probably gonna ask my younger cousins about local eats, hopefully they know some gems, i'll report back if i find anything worthy.

my cousin's friend opened a burger joint in Taipei called JB Burger or something, they basically tried to copy the In-n-Out model but i heard it sucks.

Ha, I used to go to the Barista Coffee on that street corner like 3x a week. You will live < 5 minute walk from Din Tai Fung. My salon (H Park) is fucking close to you too. It's where Jay Chou and Jolin get their cuts.

Very nice location.

Dozo is also very close to you. It's a Japanese restaurant that has a taiko drum show on the weekends. The food is just slightly above whatever but the restaurant design is nice. It's north of 光復南路。

There's a very famous hot pot place nearby there too. I really don't remember the name of it, but it's the one where the pot has some 'legs' on it. My aunt said that place is whatever, but it's really famous.

And since you're so fucking close, do yourself a favor and go to 信義誠品 (Xinyi Eslite @ MRT Taipei City Hall)，basement floor 2, and find the Black As Chocolate booth. Share the 經典蛋糕 with your cousin, 3" small one is like 350NT, 6" (video one) is like 640NT. Start with the classic and if you like it, then next time try the banana flavor. It's probably my favorite dessert in all of Taipei.

You'll find your CDs and DVDs on the 2nd and 3rd floors there too. Fuck the Dunhua branch, though it is 24 hours.

HYLh_fq8gGw

[azn8oi]

Damn Dave. If you weren't leaving in like the next 2 days I would've lent you my NTU student ID. It discounts the cost of taking the bus and MRT. Ah.. sorry.

[azn8oi]

Make that blue money fly mang. I'll be back in Taipei probably mid-February.

[nictan]

At that time it's a bit chilly at night. Bring a jacket.

I don't recall it being too rainy at that time... but umbrellas are only $2 if you get caught in some light rain.

hmm, but it seems to be raining everyday over there for now

hope it stops when im there.

the chocolate cake looks awesome. gonna try it when im there!

[fallen angels]

rain? weather has been perfect. I'm in a tee chilling outside a cafe eight now.

azn8oi, I went to that eslite but forgot to try the cake. bookstore is really nice btw, and they sell CDg , n(n), junya downstairs. wasn't expecting that. i went to UC to eat some Ding Tai Feng x UC but they were renovating the bar today so I'm gonna go another day. have ya tried their drinks before? they are cheaper than I expected, only 2-3 bucks per.

stumbled upon Take 5 Taipei and met laoban Benny. first thing he asked was if I was pn sufu. then he asked if i knew Edmond lol. staff are all nice folks.

lots of streetwear in this neighborhood, one shop called Magnet had lots of supreme fw09, wtap, soph, nbhd, visvim, etc. pricey markup but kids were still buying it up while I was in there.

[azn8oi]

Yeah, that store in Eslite is called Tuan Tuan. I get my CDG fragrances there, price is decent. Everything else is kinda marked up ridiculously, but whatever.

While you're in that hood, you can try to find a store called PS Underground. They stock N. Hoolywood, but again at a markup. They usually have 20 or 30% off sales though, depending on how desperate they are at that moment. The store itself is not bad and carries some labels that I've never heard of.

I haven't been to Take5 Taipei yet, it opened after I left. hah @ Edmond though.

One more thing: if you love chocolate cake, you've really gotta check that cake out... Don't sleep.

[azn8oi]

Oh yeah, and I've never chilled out in the UC Bar before. I donno, I'm always in that part of town alone so it never occurred to me. Next time!

[PandaDenim]

I just remembered this really neat dessert place if you like sweets. It's right on Zhongxiao Fuxing. Right after you exit from exit two, walk along the street and you should see it. I forgot what it's called...but it's a Japanese place that sells milk desserts imported directly from Hokkaido. They sell milk dorayakis with different flavors as well as mochis and puddings. I recommend eating the sesame mochi and pudding, the rest depend on how much you love milk / Japanese desserts. The desserts are a bit odd though...they are sold frozen, in order to combat Taiwan's hot and humid weather, so you have to let them thaw for about 30 minutes to an hour. It's pretty nifty, luckily I lived near the place but if you live far it's just about enough time to get the dessert back to your pad to either eat or toss into the freezer.

[azn8oi]

I've seen that place hella times but never went and copped. A bit regretful now....

Thanks for the rec, will check it out in Spring.

[fallen angels]

ok im gonna look for that Zhongxiao Fuxing japanese dessert place soon.

azn8oi i tried to look for those bell cookie things near fuxing sogo but couldnt find it. im probably gonna go back to Eslite for the cake you speak of. i also need to find a mianmian bing place around here. i only have 3 full days left here. yo you're coming back in Spring? for work or vaca?

[PandaDenim]

ok im gonna look for that Zhongxiao Fuxing japanese dessert place soon.

azn8oi i tried to look for those bell cookie things near fuxing sogo but couldnt find it. im probably gonna go back to Eslite for the cake you speak of. i also need to find a mianmian bing place around here. i only have 3 full days left here. yo you're coming back in Spring? for work or vaca?

Yo if you just walk on the side of Zhongxiao Fuxing towards...I can't remember the street name...but if you walk on it away from the green SoGo on the opposite side of the street from the white SoGo you should eventually hit the cookie place. Their other cookies I thought were soso...only the fresh bell cookies are worth it, 30 for 3!

[azn8oi]

It's an orange sign, and there is usually a small line outside. The shop is very very very narrow. It's on the same side of the street as Green Sogo.

[azn8oi]

In fact, why don't we kaplow this? My second favorite baked good dessert in the area is in the underground mall, ha. Right after copping those fresh bell shaped cookies, go directly down MRT exit 3, which is basically adjacent to Kobayashi. Walk East towards Zhongxiao Dunhua MRT, past the paintings/photo installation and follow your nose.

You'll find a small booth selling coffee bread, next to a shitty boba shop. Get a bread, 30NT per. You won't regret it. Some might argue that the bread is better than the bell shaped cookies themselves... I'm not too far behind on that thought. Just make sure it's FRESH out of the oven for no longer than 10 minutes. If you have to wait 10 minutes for the next batch, just wait it out and ask for a fresh one.

There is also a coffee bread store in Taipei Main Station, as you walk towards the Z mall area section. As always, follow your nose.

Edit：http://joke633.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post_30.html This is the Taipei Railway Station location. It's the round brown bread. Looks like nothing special, but trust me, try it.

[azn8oi]

i also need to find a mianmian bing place around here. i only have 3 full days left here. yo you're coming back in Spring? for work or vaca?

Easiest way to find mianmianbing is at 士林夜市。 Based off memory, this is how to find it: good luck.

Go to the food clusterfuck section of the nightmarket. It's the open-air building with a roof on it and has all of the food, no clothing, nothing. Walk down the path between the two juice bars on the front, near the middle-right. It'll be obvious which juice bars I'm talking about.

Walk down probably a good 5 or 6 'blocks' (I don't remember exactly) and turn a right. Walk down probably 15 steps and you'll see two ice dessert shops competing head to head with each other, cut-throat style. I always eat at the store to the left, but I sometimes see more people in the store to the right.

I've tried lots of flavors and ultimately I will say that my favorite is the strawberries and mangoes mianmianbing platter. Since it's winter, their fruit will be frozen, and it's not as good as fresh fruit as I found out in the Spring, but it's still bomb. Roughly 100NT or so.

http://imnanako.pixnet.net/blog/post/6479941

And while you're at shilin yeshi... I'd recommend SKIPPING the big 雞排。 Your cousin will most likely recommend you to get it, but I'm telling you to skip it. It's really beyond whatever.

Instead, focus your time on the giant sausages on the first row of booths in the front-right area. Get a small serving of original, and small serving of pepper sausage (giant ones). DON'T forget the garlic.

The 紅油炒手 booth allll the way on the right, first row, is nice too. It's wontons under a spicy bean paste. Quite nice.

If you can't find the mianmianbing just ask around... There are only 2 vendors that sell it under the food sections, and they're right in front of each other.

A trip back to Taipei would be for vacation... I would never move back to Taipei to LIVE unless I could afford a pad on Renai Lu. hahahahhahaha

[PandaDenim]

Duuuuuuuuude. I just remembered that Taipei has the world's most legit duck blood. Get some. I love that shit.

A lot of people don't like it though... :confused:

[azn8oi]

Yeah, and coincidentally my favorite for duck blood chou chou guo is also in Taipei Main Station underground mall.... Near that coffee bread stand too, ha!

[nictan]

agreed on skipping the 雞排. first row of shilin has plenty of good stuff.

datongyi niu pai is awesome. chicken or steak served on a sizzling hot plate with LOADS of gravy, pasta and egg.

紅油炒手 is awesome too. i prefer the soup version.

ah, 6 more days!!! cant wait.

[fallen angels]

just had dinner at UC , beef noodle soup , guru guru juice (it was like cranberry lime and kiwi ), a couple of sides, and dou hua in ginger peanut soup for dessert. it was not bad, cost like 11 or 12 bucks in the end. I was sad to learn their drinks are non alchoholic, but oh well.

[azn8oi]

Did they write guru guru with chinese chars? 咕嚕咕嚕果汁

哈

[nictan]

just had dinner at UC , beef noodle soup , guru guru juice (it was like cranberry lime and kiwi ), a couple of sides, and dou hua in ginger peanut soup for dessert. it was not bad, cost like 11 or 12 bucks in the end. I was sad to learn their drinks are non alchoholic, but oh well.

hows the weather like there now? cold? im going there on the 10th. wondering if i should bring warmer clothes or just bring a jacket.

thanks

[fallen angels]

Did they write guru guru with chinese chars? 咕嚕咕嚕果汁

哈

haha i dont remember but the menu had english on it as well as english descriptions. they have diff drinks named after their past seasons , like guruguru, languid, but beautiful, arts&crafts, etc.

hows the weather like there now? cold? im going there on the 10th. wondering if i should bring warmer clothes or just bring a jacket.

thanks

depends how well you are able to deal with cold. i think taiwanese ppl are more scared of cold than people from the states, ya know? its chilly now, most locals are walkin around in jackets and scarves but im just wearing a flannel and hat. but thats just me, i hate being too warm and sweating when i could be just chillin.

[azn8oi]

He's Singaporean --> worse than a Taiwanese local.

hahahahah. When I visited Singapore last last summer (August 25th or so) it was raining and bitches were wearing scarves (0).

[nictan]

depends how well you are able to deal with cold. i think taiwanese ppl are more scared of cold than people from the states, ya know? its chilly now, most locals are walkin around in jackets and scarves but im just wearing a flannel and hat. but thats just me, i hate being too warm and sweating when i could be just chillin.

He's Singaporean --> worse than a Taiwanese local.

hahahahah. When I visited Singapore last last summer (August 25th or so) it was raining and bitches were wearing scarves (0).

hahahahaah azn8oi said it. im singaporean. we have summer here all year round.

but then again, i have a pretty good threshold for cold. hmm i think i'll bring some L/S and a jacket just in case.

fallen, how long will you be there for?

[defiance]

He's Singaporean --> worse than a Taiwanese local.

hahahahah. When I visited Singapore last last summer (August 25th or so) it was raining and bitches were wearing scarves (0).

i already told u this was a rain or shine thing!