Best pasta in Kaohsiung is from a place called Cucina. Very nicely priced too and great atmosphere. I think there are three branches in Kaohsiung but the only one where I can remember the exact location is the one near the Xin Jue Jiang night market (sorry, pinyin might be off, it’s close to the Wufu Jongshan intersection). 97, MinSiang St, SinShing District, Kaohsiung City; (07) 281-6869
Brickyard pub & club has some decent meals and it’s a great place to party and catch live bands. http://www.brickyard.com.tw/
NY Pizza serves pizza by the slice and I really enjoy it, although admittedly I’m not a pizza snob. On Sintian road, just off the Sintian Jongshan intersection (head east on Sintian from that intersection).
A little further east down that road (about 100m or 200m from NY pizza) is General Panchos where you can get pretty decent Mexican food.
Another decent place to get Mexican food is Paco Taco. It’s east (more like slightly southeast) across the road from FE21 Mega.
One of my favorite restaurants in Kaohsiung is Ali’s. Well actually it’s called Lahore, but we all call it Ali’s after the owner, a wonderfully friendly Pakistani guy. The curries are absolutely delicious and very cheap, and the chapati bread is great too. It’s a little hard to find though. It’s near the Cultural Centre.
LAHORE Restaurant, No.86 LinQuan(Lin Chuan) St, Ling ya District Kaohsiung Taiwan. Tel.07-7266803, Closed on Mondays
Tue~Sunday 11:00am ~ 14:00pm, 16;30pm ~ 20:30pm
If you want to have a relaxed drink and listen to some great music, go to The Mercury. It’s literally around the corner from the Lighthouse (anyone in Kaohsiung will be able to tell you where that is). The owner is a super-chilled dude and there’s a different drinks special every night. There is live music on weekends too.
Other ideas… um, beach and mountain as mentioned before. Go up the mountain and chill out at the Martyr’s Shrine. It’s my favorite spot in Kaohsiung. There’s a little food stand up there that sells cheap beer, great for a relaxed drink.
Go cycling along the harbor path… Visit pier 2 art district… Take a walk along the love river… Lots to do in Kaohsiung these days 