First-hand reviews of restaurants, night markets, and bars, with the occasional guide to making Taiwan easier to travel.
Review
Misty and I finally tried Waterfront, the sprawling Bali-inspired restaurant on the Tamsui riverside. I had lamb chops with chimichurri that sizzled on a hot plate, she had Jimbaran chicken and vegetable skewers hung from a metal rack, and we ended the night with drinks at Bar Salix up the boardwalk.
Oct 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Review
Aug 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
My first time visiting Giguo, a Japanese-style hot pot chain: Sichuan broth with a meltable bear, an all-you-can-eat sides, and impressive dessert and drink options.
Review
Aug 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Mercuries is the beef noodle chain you can walk past a hundred times without going in, always near a grocery store. I finally went back after a year and a half and ordered the NT$229 original beef noodle set. It's fast, it's convenient, and that's the high point.
Review
Aug 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Our family's go-to when nobody feels like cooking: all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ and hot pot at Dabaozhu in the Tamsui Prosperity Plaza Mall. We pile the grill with beef, pork, and marinated chicken thigh, throw vegetables in the kimchi broth, and finish with ice cream — all for under NT$500 a person.
Guide
Jul 2026 7 min read
Tamsui has six Starbucks, and they're more different than you'd expect: one for the sunset, one that feels like sitting in a forest, one on the wharf overlooking the water and Lover's Bridge, and a few that are just a reliable coffee near the MRT or bus. Here's each of them, and which is worth the extra walk.
Review
Jun 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Down an unassuming side lane in Tamsui, a 50-year restaurant that began as a humble pork chop stall and now sits in the 2025 Michelin Guide. They have been famous for the bone-in pork chop rice, but recently people have enjoyed the crispy chicken thigh more. Add on the starch-thick 祖傳大滷湯 (ancestral braised soup), and a beef-tallow chilli sauce locals would happily buy by the jar.
Review
Jun 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Taiwanese love hot pot, and it comes at every price point. Laozi Hot Pot (荖子鍋) is the personal-pot chain hiding inside Carrefour stores across the north. I take a look at the make-your-own noodles, the broths, and all of the all-you-can-eat options.
Review
May 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
After moving to Taiwan from London in 2016, I spent years missing a proper flat white. I eventually found one at Louisa Coffee, hiding on the menu under a different name.
Review
May 2026 Da'an, Taipei
A Bib Gourmand kitchen in Beitou turning out high-end Taiwanese home cooking without the high-end price. Bouncy sesame noodles with a Szechuan kick, an understated bowl of tender braised chicken soup, vegetable sides are also worth ordering.
Review
May 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Some kids beg for ice cream. Mine begs for ramen, and not always the chain from across the street. On a cold, rainy weeknight, we drove to Tamsui to see whether 鷄道樂 (Tori Douraku) could live up to a young boy's particular standards.
Review
Apr 2026 Tamsui, New Taipei
Charcoal smell and Japanese style everywhere, a Tamsui izakaya we've been making our way through over several visits. Real wasabi with the salmon, tender charcoal-grilled beef skewers, and a pork or salmon fried rice that arrives at the table still steaming.
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