Is it just me or do many restaurants/cafes (especially the smaller family ran ones) close way too early (9:30pm)in the busy business areas of Taipei ? Given Taiwan’s and Asia’s OT culture I though there will be alot more offering. Even in Australia. restaurants stay open later (~11:00 pm and lots of cafes pass 12:00 am) in busy areas.
I know there is quite a few places where they offer 熱炒, but I more after a nice ambiance quite place to enjoy a meal after work and talk with friends over a coffee (or what they think is coffee in Taiwan).
Yes, they do!
Squeezing too many customers into a tiny space and time.
I’d like to go for dinner much later and enjoy a nice meal at my preferred table.
This gets me onto bakery in Taiwan. People seems prefer to buy bread after work and eat it for breakfast the next day.In the Western world, I’m used to buying fresh (non sugar filled) bread in the morning ( ~8.00 am) on the way to work. I struggle to find any bakeries with a full selection of bread/sandwiches in the morning
Might be the first time I heard that term used. You mean closer towards Nangang or just…not the buildings in the 101 area?
I really can’t list all the restaurants that are open past 9-930PM in the stretch from Zhongxiao Fuxing to SYS Memorial Hall, there’s just too many. I will say that there’s places that aren’t bars in which you can get food and coffee and have a chat with friends. You just have to explore a bit.
As for your bakery dilemma, yes, tough to find bread that’s not sweet and a western style sandwich, but this is Taiwan, not Australia. Wouldn’t you find it weird if all the food/drink here were exactly like it is in Australia?
If you do a forum search, there’s a thread about bakeries that do more western bread. Might be a bit out of your work/home area, but might be worth the trip if you don’t like Taiwanese style pastries/bread.
Back in teh ol country the bakeries open at 4am, maybe 5. All shops close at 6pm or before that. Restaurants and cafes that open by day do not open by night.
Here most family restaurants do close early but the night markets and 24 hour ploaces get you covered.
Breakfast i believe it is teh most expensive meal of teh day. Unless it is a traditional thinghy, and I mean traditional Taiwanese like dumplings, and dangping and radish cake, most attempts at Western stuff like hamburguers and sandwiches are not that tasty, IMHO.
This is my favorite bakery: http://www.oma-de.com/ They have good breakfast sandwiches too.
Over the years I’ve lived in Taiwan, it’s obvious that things are shutting down earlier. Part of the situation is demographics: Taiwan is aging, and Taipei is filled with old people (including those that own property–something most young people cannot afford). Another part may be cutting labour costs–especially since the new labour law went into effect, I noticed a number of my favourite cafes started shutting down earlier, presumably trying to avoid paying overtime. And finally, with shops operated by young people, they are in my limited view simply uninterested in spending 15 hours a day at the shop in the way that the older generation may have done.
The late opening of bakeries (as noted in some posts above) is simply annoying. I suspect though that this is a Taipei thing as when I spend time in Tainan or other places businesses are moving briskly in the morning.
compared to back home in the uk places are open really late here. its pretty great imo. but i do sometimes want to eat late, i have a few decent options near my house. there used to be a great place that opened until 3am. it was the narrowest restaurant ever, only had 2 tables. ran by one guy and he did some pretty good chinese dishes. i wish that place lasted longer.
i’m also curious as to how the late night dou jiang restaurant trend started. i mean i eat it sometimes but i swear they open more at night than brekfast.