October 5, 2026
Published
Table Notes rounds up the week's Taiwan food and travel news from Chinese- and English-language sources. Dates, prices, and promotions change quickly; check the linked source before planning around one.
The Tourism Administration relaunches its inbound visitor lottery on 10 October, with weekly draws through March. An American chef who ran a two-Michelin-star kitchen in Washington has opened Melrose, an à la carte contemporary American restaurant in Taipei's Xinyi district that crosses New York classics with Taiwanese ingredients.
This week in brief
- The visitor lottery restarts 10 October with weekly draws through March.
- Two-star American chef opens Melrose in Xinyi with Taiwanese-ingredient riffs on New York classics.
- Starbucks sells largest iced fruit drinks at NT$99 through 3 November, no app required.
- Show your passport at Yakiyan barbecue for 20 free prawns through 30 November.
- KFC drops two chicken buckets to NT$333 for three weeks starting 6 October.
News & Openings
Two-star American chef opens Melrose in Xinyi 美國米其林二星主廚坐鎮 全新當代料理餐廳「Melrose」進駐信義區
Melrose, a contemporary American restaurant, has opened in the Walsin Lihwa building near Taipei City Hall. Chef Alec Vaughn trained at the Culinary Institute of America, cooked at the one-star Betony and two-star Atera in New York, and at 29 became executive chef of the two-star Pineapple and Pearls in Washington before opening his own place in Taipei. The à la carte menu crosses New York classics with Taiwanese ingredients: penne in spicy cream replaces vodka with Taiwanese sorghum liquor, charcoal-grilled baby cabbage is brushed with black pepper, Sichuan pepper, black vinegar and soy and served with house peanut butter and crushed peanuts, Taiwanese grouper is pan-fried with lemon butter and finished with house green peppercorn oil, and Australian wagyu ribeye is coated in koji and salt, aged 21 days, cooked sous-vide and charcoal-grilled with house chimichurri. A takeaway shop at the entrance, Cafe Teddy, sells coffee, Basque cheesecake, tiramisu, American cookies and soft-serve at NT$150.
Restored Japanese-era merchant's house in Tamsui opens free 「淡水日商中野宅」即起免費參觀 百年和洋宅邸藏泳池展風華
Free admission
Nakano House, a New Taipei city-designated heritage building in Tamsui, opened to the public on 3 October after restoration, at No. 1, Lane 20, Zhongzheng Road. A Japanese merchant built it as a private home during the colonial period; after the Second World War it became the residence of a naval shipyard director, who added a swimming pool. The three-storey brick house keeps Western-style brick mouldings outside and Japanese timber interiors, with Japanese half-ceramic floor tiles on the ground floor, counterweight sash windows on the third floor and a surviving fireplace and chimney, and opening hours are 09:30 to 17:00 on weekdays, extended to 18:00 at weekends, with free admission all year.
Deals & Promos
Starbucks largest iced fruit drinks at NT$99 星沁爽特大杯單一價99元活動
9 September–3 November · NT$99 for largest size, counter only
Starbucks Taiwan is selling its iced fruit-and-tea refresher range in the largest size at a flat NT$99 through 3 November. Eligible drinks are strawberry-acai with lemon, coconut milk or crushed ice; mango-dragonfruit with lemon, coconut milk or crushed ice; and apple-mangosteen with popping lemon or coconut milk. You order at the counter and pay cash or card with no app, membership or loyalty card required, though stock varies by store and swapping to oat or almond milk costs extra.
CoCo milk tea NT$39, green tea NT$29 for October CoCo百香雙響炮買一送一！10月手搖29元起，一沐日免費喝再抽機票
1–31 October · Milk tea NT$39, green tea NT$29
CoCo is running a month-long budget promotion in October: a milk tea with chewy pink jelly cubes at NT$39 and a jasmine green tea at NT$29, both available iced or hot. This is a counter price with no coupon, app or membership needed. Department-store and mall branches and some other branches are not taking part, and each store posts its own notice.
85C fruit coffees second cup half price for eleven days 國際咖啡日 85℃ 指定果咖第二杯半價週抽 iPhone 17、跑步機
Fruit coffees 1–11 October; Friday coffee deal ongoing · Second cup half price, in-store only
For International Coffee Day, 85C is running second-cup-half-price on eight fruit coffees at all its Taiwan stores for eleven days: iced peach, lychee, mulberry, grape, sweet-plum and ponkan americanos, a mango cloud coffee and a guava Sicilian coffee. Every Friday is a coffee day with second-cup-half-price across the medium and large coffee range, same item and same size, iced or hot. Both are counter-priced and open to anyone, and the fruit coffee discount is calculated on the cheaper of the two cups.
Burger King Whopper combo NT$169 for National Day weekend 5吋大滿足！漢堡王「華堡日」月月慶 10/9~10/11連三天爽嗑華堡，套餐優惠價只要$169！
9–11 October · NT$169 combo, counter only
Burger King Taiwan holds a monthly Whopper Day and October's lands on the three-day National Day weekend, 9 to 11 October. For those days a Whopper combo is NT$169 instead of NT$231: the original or spicy Whopper plus a small side (fries, spicy potato bites or onion rings) plus a medium drink. You order at the counter with no app or membership, at every branch except airport stores, tech-factory stores and the children's amusement park store, sold during main-meal hours only and while supplies last.
KFC buckets drop to NT$333 for three weeks 肯德基2款炸雞桶餐特價333元 麥當勞送小薯、蛋捲冰淇淋
Buckets 6–26 October; crispy set 6–19 October · NT$333 per bucket (code 50529), NT$175 for two crispy sets
KFC Taiwan drops two party buckets to NT$333 from 6 to 26 October: the classic bucket, normally NT$720, and the boneless bucket, normally NT$736, each holding six pieces of fried chicken and six original egg tarts. From 6 to 19 October a crispy chicken set is two for one at NT$175, giving four pieces of crispy chicken and two unsweetened green teas, averaging under NT$88 a set, while daily supplies last. The KFC deals are counter codes, so a visitor can use them.
FamilyMart milk-tea soft serve NT$29 after 5pm 全家「仙女奶茶霜淇淋」晚上更便宜 加10元有萬聖巫婆手指
From 5 October; evening price and witch's finger to 10 November · NT$49 daytime, NT$29 evening (17:00–20:59); witch's finger add-on NT$10
FamilyMart puts a black-tea-and-milk soft serve on sale from 5 October at NT$49 a cone, in a milk-tea flavour and a milk-tea-plus-papaya-milk swirl. Until 10 November, any soft serve at a participating store costs NT$29 instead of NT$49 if bought between 17:00 and 20:59, a counter deal with no app. For NT$10 more you can add a Halloween witch's finger, a cheese-milk stick shaped like a finger with a whole roasted almond as the nail, also sold on its own at NT$22.
Show passport at Yakiyan barbecue for 20 free prawns 出示護照或出國旅遊照送20隻白蝦 原燒優惠活動持續到11/30
To 30 November · 20 free prawns with multi-person set and passport or travel photo
Two Wowprime (王品集團) restaurant brands are running autumn promotions until November 30. At Yakiyan (原燒), the group's yakiniku brand, you get 20 white shrimp free when you dine in, order a multi-person set meal, and show staff either your passport or a photo from a trip abroad. The photo option means you don't need to carry your passport to qualify. At Giguo (聚), the group's Japanese-style hot pot chain, the deal takes more to unlock. Your table needs to order a Japanese domestic beef set plus at least one other single set, and someone has to show a Japanese or Taiwanese transit card. You then get one free portion of extra-large clams per table. Since two sets are required, solo diners won't qualify unless they order for two. Giguo has also added three seafood items for autumn, each at a promotional price of NT$169: a shrimp platter, the same extra-large clams, and a double portion of small squid.
Festivals & Events
Visitor lottery relaunches with weekly draws through March 重遊臺灣．福氣加倍
10 October 2026–31 March 2027
The Tourism Administration's inbound visitor lottery relaunches as "Return to Taiwan, Double Your Luck", running from 10 October 2026 to 31 March 2027 or until the budget runs out. It is open to international independent travellers who enter Taiwan during the campaign period on a non-Taiwan passport and stay between 3 and 90 days, and who are not members of a tour group or of a group organised by a travel agency that has applied for other group subsidies. Registration opens 1 to 7 days before arrival in Taiwan on the campaign website, and draws are run by the system at noon every Wednesday, with results notified by email.