[quote]Restaurants that close at 8pm - talk about serving the customer
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That’s exactly what they do. Do you honestly think for a moment that if people wanted to eat later the restaurants would not accommodate them? The overwhelming majority of people here eat dinner at 6-7 pm. Restaurant hours reflect that.
[quote=“sandman”][quote]Restaurants that close at 8pm - talk about serving the customer
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That’s exactly what they do. Do you honestly think for a moment that if people wanted to eat later the restaurants would not accommodate them? The overwhelming majority of people here eat dinner at 6-7 pm. Restaurant hours reflect that.[/quote]
Yeah, and in Sydney EVERYTHING closes at 6pm or so!
It’s a total city shut down. Except for some eateries and pubs…
Same goes for parts of Europe, like Florence Italy. So bizarre coming from here, that!
:s
[quote]Yeah, and in Sydney EVERYTHING closes at 6pm or so!
It’s a total city shut down. Except for some eateries and pubs…
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God, I remember that. Really strange, esp. since we were there at the height of the tourist season. No pubs, either – you must be talking about hotels. I lost some valuable bevvy time till I realized that little wrinkle. And even they closed early.
And here in Buenos Aires restaurants don’t really start serving dinner UNTIL 8:00. My stomach hasn’t fully adjusted to that routine yet.
Night markets are where you suppose to eat after 8pm anyways.
Hey I am here from New York, the city that supposedly never sleeps. I am not used to things closing down so early either.
Lots of things don’t close down early here. Like “Sidewalks that undulate like a heaving sea,” whatever the hell that could mean.
Speaking of acid trips, what a shame you can’t kiss the sky whenever you want.
what are these peopel talking about… bars/clubs is open to 4 am, vibe to 8 even, i can get beer anytime of day and drink it on the street, play basketballt o 4 am if i want, i find taiwan is more alive in the night hours then toronto is, and lots of resturants are open to midnight 4 am etc… not lots but at least in shida area its not like your ass out
Tell me where? I’ve been ass out plenty of times when I get the munchies at 3am after the club. And I don’t mean no nasty street cart 
Unless you’re talking about 711. They may be open but do they actually serve food? The only option I have is Swensons. Tell me where else can I get food at late hours past midnight.
Even the fast food restaurants close early like 10pm. Where I’m from I’m I’m, used to them staying open until midnight on weekends. I know I’m not in Kansas anymore, just ranting.
Man where is a Taco Bell or Wendy’s late night drive through when you need one! Better yet where’s IHOP!
There’s a couple places… some supposedly really delicious chicken restaurant that only opens a like 3 or 5pm until past 2am. at worst youll end up behind California at “Cha Jie” which is open 24 hours but they do have food. There’s always food somewhere at every hour in Taiwan but if you’re looking for restaurants I barely get them on the west coast of the States.
You can also check out Apocalypse Now which is open till 3am, a really great (and pricely) restaurant.
Try this link out, it gives hours. Tons of places if you have the money since restaurants are always more expensive places to eat in TW, almost on par with HK at times. There really are a LOT of places you can eat because a lot of people I know work until 6pm then we finally gather at 8pm, we go out to eat dinner at a restaurant, have a few drinks, then they hit the clubs, then it’s breakfast time around 4am.
I know a young German lawyer who married a Taiwanese lady a couple of years ago and they moved to Berlin. She learned to speak German and seems fairly happy in Berlin, but the first thing she mentioned when I asked what is hardest about living away from Taiwan is that everything, in particular restaurants, closes early and on Sundays might not open at all.
And, one shouldn’t knock Taiwan’s 7-11s either. I’ve been in Atlanta, Georgia, the past few days, have walked a fair amount from my hotel in various directions and haven’t seen a 7-11 yet, which disappoints me because I wanted to buy a big jug of water so I don’t have to keep drinking little bottles from my hotel room at US$5 a pop (Taiwan’s 7-11 bien dangs are not all that bad either, and a good deal at NT55). Until I lived in Taiwan I was never aware of the dearth of 7-11s in the US.
Yes 711 is very convenient, but here it’s overkill! To me it makes absolutely no sense to have 2 711’s right across the street from each other.
Yes 711 is very convenient, but here it’s overkill! To me it makes absolutely no sense to have 2 711’s right across the street from each other.[/quote]
It makes perfect sense. Or haven’t you realized how inconvenient it is to cross the street?
[quote=“Inyurface”]
Yes 711 is very convenient, but here it’s overkill! [/quote]
Too many 7-11s!? Never! I fear the day when I have to leave Taiwan and can’t buy beer or munchies at any hour on any street corner.
It makes me think of Uni days [England] where the 3am question “Where’s the nearest 24hr garage?” was inevitably met by the reply “about a mile away.” arrrrrghhhhhhhhh!!!
Er just wanted to mention you could always pop into a Department store’s basement floor for grub and I think the one at Hsimen under California is open a bit later. I’ve arrived in Taipei city at 11:30pm from the airport and had at least no problem getting over to Hsimen to one of their usual cafes that sell several choices of meal sets.
the more i think about the number of restaurants open after that hour the more come to mind. Don’t ever overlook Korean (JP style) BBQ that are getting very popular in Taipei. The top three IMO, one right next to Far Eastern, open till 10:30pm prob later on weekends, on right across from SOGO on Chunghsiao and there’s one behind SOGO as well.
People here eat dinner but then they always have to have their midnight snacks. I guess some stay skinny by actually walking it off eating ‘xiao chi’ instead of seating their fat butts into a restaurant.
I don’t know --or missed reading–what part of the world everyone is from but at least by my standards and for those who aren’t from “cities that never sleep” Taiwan places are open quite late and there’s always somewhere to eat. OK unless you’re NOT looking for fatty American fast food like McD’s 24 hour drive through or IHOP and Denny’s that just serve breakfast all day. If you feel your option is Swensons then it’s a cultural difference. Taipei doesn’t always service the western palate in having 24 hour western style breakfast establishments with steak and hamburgers – they have places that will always have twnese breakfasts 4 hours a day though.
Follow the ABC crowd after a club and they’ll usually end up at some food establishment.
sometimes you just gotta bear it till 9am and pay for a 250NT waffle at Grandma Nitti’s.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]I know a young German lawyer who married a Taiwanese lady a couple of years ago and they moved to Berlin. She learned to speak German and seems fairly happy in Berlin, but the first thing she mentioned when I asked what is hardest about living away from Taiwan is that everything, in particular restaurants, closes early and on Sundays might not open at all.
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OK it’s not really that bad… I think this really depends on the type of restaurants that you like to frequent. A lot of restaurants don’t open until 5 or 6PM, and opens till very late as the crowd usually comes in between 7 and 8PM. I think she really meant the stores, and even that is getting better as all stores are now allowed to open until 8PM Mon to Sat.
Isn’t Core Pacific City on Ba De Road in Taipei supposed to be open 24 hours? I’ve been there at 2am and the food court was clearly open.
The Jaohe night market, also on Ba De Road but near the Sungshan railway station, was still hopping at 10pm.
I know of a 24-hour teppanyaki place at the Minsheng-Sanmin circus. This is next to the 24-hour supermarket (SongQing) and across the road from the 24-hour cybercafe, itself next to the 24-hour OK.
The road parallel to that (just walk round the same block, and you’ll hit it - can’t remember names and terrible with directions) has a doujiang-shaobing place open from dinnertime to 11am the next day, and a choudoufu place that closes 12am.
The Ko Hi Kan coffee chain is supposed to close really late, and they have some kind of food. I’ve not visited one though so I can’t speak from experience.
In Chiayi now… most places do close really early for dinner. Even so, there is at least 1 24-hour restaurant, the Rose Garden, and a buffet place that’s open for supper till 1am. We also know of a Japanese stall that opens dusk to dawn. I have visited a doujiang-shaobing place that closes at 12am (even though their sign says they’re 24-hour) as well as another that claims to open evening till morning (only came across it at 11am, closing time).
And as the others say, the night markets are usually open till late.
You can get Taiwanese rice porridge with assorted dishes, as well as soy milk and assorted Chinese pastries and breakfast food on FuHsing South Road, past HsinYi Road (I think). They are open 24 hours.
I think most of the Yoshinoya fast food outlets are also open 24 hours.