taiwan :: taipei :: shopping

[rirawin]

Will be in Taipei again 7th November to 24th November, and renting an apartment in the Da'an district this time. Wanna have a mini Sufu meet?

[Iron Horse]

tuan tuan has thom, but very little. Last I checked it was just some crappy TB moncler polos. Maybe different now that fall's here. Also worth noting there are multiple locations in Taipei, the one near 101 has a LOT of Rick, CdG, etc. while the one at Breeze has more European brands.

 

WOW is worth checking out imo since it's so easy to get to and they have some really cool stuff... just not much for men's.

 

Just FYI: the Tuan Tuan in Eslite Xinyi (near 101) closed down; it's been replaced by Beams. This is Beams' second spot in Taipei after the (better) one on Fujin Jie near Songshan Airport.

Edited November 14, 2014 by Iron Horse

[rirawin]

Ooh Beams store, I'll have to check that out.

 

On a side note, I met with Dr Sole the other weekend. He's a really really nice guy, especially seeing as he met with me near my apartment so I could hand him three pairs of my boots for resoling, and thus saved me a trip to his place of work in New Taipei City. He is also the most steeziest cobbler I've ever met.

[rirawin]

Went to Beams store yesterday, really nice store and really nice staff. I also went to the new (?) United Arrows store in the Da'an district. Again very nice store and very nice staff. Despite the niceness it didn't sway me into buying those labels at a 40-50% higher mark up than Japanese retail.

 

I'm guessing these stores will be bank rolled by their Japanese counterparts as I don't see them making much, if any profit having stores in Taipei.

 

On that note I'm surprised Invincible is still going. The basement section is like an archive, with Original Fake on the racks and Mackintosh/Missoni x Converse from years ago on the shelves.I thought they must be paying their staff and bills with the Gyakusou stock they have. However, that can't be the case as they still have most of the collection in a full size range. 

 

Bape has finally closed, and I heard that the store manager ran off without paying the staff...

Edited November 18, 2014 by rirawin

[Warakia]

Bape shut down? Aww, that takes me back to.. 2008, lining up for the NY drop there. Invincible is actually cool if you're into Original Fake with the vast amounts of stock they just don't seem to move at all.. Remember first time when I stumbled upon Invincible back when every single shop on the street had at least 1 4ft Kaws companion, yet Invincible had like 4 set up around the entrance. Was in 2008 or something as well. 

 

If there's a store that I don't get there it's that Phantaci store, utter rubbish that they're selling and somehow they get collabs and high level accounts from Nike and such.. 

[rirawin]

I don't get the staff at Invincible. They all have a shitty attitude. There's no customer service at all and they are always one step behind you readjusting everything you've just touched or lightly brushed against.

 

Phantaci looks lol. Will have to check that out in February when I'm over for Chinese New Year.

 

I see cronuts are getting hyped up. Seen a couple of new joints selling them around the Da'an area.

 

Found a really good and really reasonable priced sushi place http://www.addiction.com.tw/ at the Taipei Fish Market. I highly recommend the grilled nigiri.

 

I also fell in love with a cafe off Yongkang street called Xiaomijo, https://zh-tw.facebook.com/cafexiaomijo. Great cafe to chill and read a book or to do work. Went there pretty much everyday while I was there as I was staying just down the road from it. Their desserts and hot chocolates are some of the best I've tasted.

Edited November 25, 2014 by rirawin

[ColdTurkey]

Anyone have any recommendation for Kaohsiung? Shops, sights, food?

[rirawin]

Sorry not Kaohsiung...

 

There's two new haute restaurants just opened up late last year in Taipei:

 

http://www.raw.com.tw/ - Andre Chiang (of Restaurant Andre in Singapore) new "experimental" restaurant. 

 

http://www.mume.tw/ - Head chef used to work at Noma and has now returned to Taipei to start up his own venture.

 

Has anyone been to either? I'm keen to try both next month, however, early reviews of Raw doesn't sound so good. It appears they're pinning the success of the restaurant on one man's reputation with little care or regard for customer service.

Edited January 26, 2015 by rirawin

[rirawin]

Managed to get a table for two at Mume by walking in. The menu felt somewhat disjointed as they only do a la carte. I think with their setup and with what they're trying to achieve, a taster menu would work so much better. I mentioned this to my Girlfriend, who retorted that a taster menu wouldn't really work in Taiwan as Taiwanese people like to have choices.

 

My only real complaint was that we only had the table for 2 hours, so even after ordering 4 starters, 2 mains and 4 desserts (waitress recommended 3-4 starters, 2 mains and 2 desserts) we felt we were a little rushed and that they were in a rush to serve us all the dishes. On a similar note the majority of waiters who served us our food talked passionately about the dishes, apart from the American Taiwanese waitress who just said "here are your mains" and ran off.

 

Despite that the food was good, in particular the custard apple dessert - so good we ordered it twice.

 

The interior (lighting especially) reminded me of Dabbous in London. Perhaps the ex-Noma chef drew inspiration from that as well as having plates not so dissimilar from Noma's.

 

Overall, I did enjoy the experience, it's a new restaurant and I would definitely go there again in November.

 

As for RAW, I got a reservation (place is harder to book a table than Noma and The Fat Duck) but didn't fulfil it in the end due to other commitments.

Edited March 3, 2015 by rirawin

[YVRtakeover]

Can someone please give me an update about the shops to visit in Taipei? A list of the names would be awesome. I haven't been in Taiwan for over 7 years. I am into all kinds of brands. Mainly taiwanese or asian exclusive stuff since there is no point in paying premium prices for stuff I can get from the USA. I am not really looking for high end stuff either.

 

Also looking for outlets if they are any?

Edited March 16, 2015 by YVRtakeover

[dannyon]

Visiting Taipei May-June. Where's a good place to get film developed and printed?

[Iron Horse]

Visiting Taipei May-June. Where's a good place to get film developed and printed?

 

Lomography store in Zhongxiao Dunhua.

 

"Bape has finally closed, and I heard that the store manager ran off without paying the staff..."

 

I'm no Bape fan, but the shop on Renai Circle is still open...I went past it last weekend and it was open.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Iron Horse

[rirawin]

Reopened in January http://hypebeast.com/2015/1/bape-store-taipei-reopening

Edited May 21, 2015 by rirawin

[Warakia]

Featuring the same design and decoration by Wonderwall, what once spanned two floors is now limited to one floor, for more efficient delivery of the latest BAPE collection.

 

I know there was always a stairs leading up, but I was under the impression that you couldn't go up? Or at least every time I

was there(2008-2013) I never saw anyone go up. 

[griffin119]

Does anyone know any good second hand clothing stores that carry higher end brands in Taipei?

[stayhandsome]

I recently spent 2 weeks in Taipei and a few days in Hsinchu.

 

Ximen Area: 

+ Species Records was great. Lots of Detroit techno and Chicago house which wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The owner even had a Ron Trent shirt on which was a better look than what I was seeing on the street. 

+ The Ximen mall with the micro shops had plenty of magical items from all the best labels, but at large prices. Tho some stores had interesting items like Rat Fink floor mats and whatnot you can only find in Asia. 

+ There's a shop called "Flea Market" where the owner goes to the West Coast USA flea markets and brings back Americana. Being a seller at said antique markets I found this place interesting and pretty well curated. 

+ We liked this urban temple near the expressway and decided to return one night and found a place called "Beer + Bicycle" which was pretty random and awesome. The owner owns the multi-level building and provides a lounge with craft beer service on the main floor as well as a bar on the second floor with caligraphy painting, then several floors of cheap seemingly unused hostile. He was a hip local who brought us to the rooftop for shots, let us tour the beer cellar, made dumplings.

+ The Red House is an old brick building which has a great large portion vegetarian meal for cheap. 

 

We stayed in a Da'an AirBnB, it was nice with decent stores and everything but nothing overly interesting or noteworthy. There is a Hong Kong 24 hour restaurant outside the subway station with plenty of good vegetarian options. The eslite book store had some records but nothing special or noteworthy considering the price/rareness ratio. 

 

What I really liked was visiting the Fuhe Bridge flea market. On the weekends is the best time to visit and we found plenty of RARE vinyl records, great clothes like NOS Edwin, lots of neat antiques. 

[rirawin]

I visited RAW and Ephernite while I was there in November last year.

 

RAW is a tad hyped, starters were great but rapidly went down hill from there on in. Service was good, but incredibly rushed as the dishes came out at a rapid pace - there was hardly a breather between courses. The environment also seemed more like a bar/club with the loud sound system it had going. 

 

Ephernite, while offering a more classic French approach with their menu, compared to the "revolutionary" offerings of RAW and Mume, the food was good and the service impeccable.

 

Out of the three, Ephernite is the best all rounder, food, service and ambience, and would be deserving of a Michelin star.

 

If you're in Taipei and want a taste of fancy dining, book a table at Ephernite.

Edited January 12, 2016 by rirawin

[suprastar]

Landing in taipei Oct 12th, staying till Oct 15th..

Where should I stay? Last time was Ximending, but few of you are recommending Da'an? Any reason in particular?

Suggestions for boutique hotels/airbnbs welcome..

Also anyone down to hang?

[heavydoom]

is there a stone island store in taipei or store that stocks stone island?  thanks.

[conqueror]

might do a week in taipei during january - how brutal is winter?

[CHINESEGOLD]

10 hours ago, conqueror said:

might do a week in taipei during january - how brutal is winter?

About 20 degrees? Think the main downside is monsoons 

[BlueBook]

11 hours ago, conqueror said:

might do a week in taipei during january - how brutal is winter?

Def Lower than 20 degrees. With the same temp, Taiwan will feel colder due to the humidity. But can't really speak accurately since climate changing and winter arrives later than usual. A hoodie and a Windstopper would do.

[conqueror]

are you talking about F or C!?

i didn't think monsoons in january was even a possibility.

[BlueBook]

We talking C my bad lol... 

[conqueror]

that's cool. i can tolerate up to 5c or something, anything below is probably too cold for me.