This is not my first time in Taipei, but it was definitely a very nice experience.

I used to have a certain image of the Taiwanese, after reading regularly about fights between politicians in the newspapers, including pictures that showed them pulling hair, beating each other, even women… but after this trip, I must say that the Taiwanese are probably the most polite of all the Chinese cultures in the world.

We, the Chinese from Hong Kong, are quite arrogant. We think that we have seen it all, done it all, and that all the others are just peasants. We accuse the mainland Chinese of being rude and “nouveaux riches”, which to a certain extent is true – they have the new money, and a lot of it. So why bother being nice and polite? In Taipei, however, everybody – from hotel staff to restaurant waiters to taxi drivers ­– is nice, polite, helpful and always with a smile… indeed, a very rare and most pleasant experience.

The only thing I did not like about Taipei, which is a pet peeve that has followed me from Hong Kong, is that although the weather was pretty cold, everybody still turns on the air condition full force everywhere. It’s a waste of energy and money, and is extremely environmentally unfriendly.

That grievance aside, we really had a good time in Taipei, spending hours at the Eslite Bookstore, one of the biggest (or maybe even the biggest) Chinese bookstore in the world.

We stayed at a small, newly opened boutique hotel called the Park Hotel Taipei, which was very cosy and comfortable, as well as conveniently located, with an extremely friendly team – this is definitely the place that we will return.

Apart from the National Palace Museum which is a must-see, we also went to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, where there was a major exhibition of works by the famous Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang. We also hit the Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei for the Animamix Biennale. The museum is housed in a 1920s elementary school, and the two-storey brick building is big enough to stage a substantial exhibition, while retaining a sense of intimacy to make the whole experience accessible and comfy.

Taipei is famous for food and snacks, and of course, over the course of almost one week, my mother and I indulge in all sorts of fare, morning, noon and evening!

The ones that I would recommend, unfortunately, will have to be written in Chinese, as even after intensive searching, the English names are not to be found.

For the famous xiao long bao, forget the tourist trap Din Tai Fung, go instead to 點水樓, where they just earned a five-star rating from the local media (trumping Din Tai Fung’s three). The dishes are tasty and creative, while the service is friendly and helpful, making this a must-visit restaurant.

For Taiwanese cuisine, go to 銀杏, which is not as famous as Shin Yeh, but definitely better, more refined and subtle.

As for the wines, this is quite disappointing, as either you have beer (which has never been on the top of my list), Chinese rice wine (nice but too sweet for me), or sake, which I love, but the selection ususally consists of one choice, and not the best one at that.

For our last dinner in Taipei, right after the concert, we went to Just In Bistro, opened by Justin Quek from Singapore, one of the only restaurants still serving after 10pm.

It is mainly tapas, a string of delicious dishes such as marinated cherry tomatoes with olives, grilled mushrooms, fried calamari, crispy pizza…. all washed down with a bottle of champagne.

Photo credits: universes-in-universe.org