Taipei - This City is Dead

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
41

[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]I’ll add one more thing: Taiwanese beer is awful. I mean both the brand, Taiwan Beer, and anything else coming out of Taiwan. The beer has something wrong with it or they put some strange chemicals in it. I’ve never had hangovers as bad as I have after drinking Taiwanese beer.

Taipei can be a okay city in which to live and work, although boring, but it’s lame as far as night life and its beer are concerned.[/quote]

Well considering it’s almost all brewed by the same state government this is not a surprise. But when it’s 30c outside and you are quaffing down some kuai chao it works just fine. It’s not much different from most of the beer round the region or the world.

42

It’s a fairly common additive. Brewers chuck in all sorts of extra stuff to modify the flavour - back in my student days, homebrew was both a hobby and a necessity. Still have a few books about it with titles printed in groovy 1970s fonts. Can’t remember what the purpose of rice is specifically.

Anyway, nowt wrong with Taiwan beer. It’s cold, it’s cheap, it has alcohol in it, and it doesn’t taste any different to the other brands of fizzy water that are passed off as beer these days. What more can you ask?

43

[quote=“Shimokitazawa”][quote=“Deuce Dropper”]Not really sure what the OP is on about

I think the fact that you are whinging about it on a messageboard is the biggest tell. Like the vast majority of people on this board (myself included) you are out of touch with your best days behind you. While Taipei lacks the whoring of Manila, Bangkok or Jakarta, its clubs kick way more ass than any in those cities and it is has a better vibe than Hong Kong or Seoul, and much more fun than KL. I cannot speak for Tokyo, but as far as clubs that stay open late and have a high density of attractive females that might want to get with you and not charge you money, taipei may be king of the hill.

If you wanna fuck about in the Combat Zone you are twenty years too late, if you want to go to Carnegie’s you are ten years too late, hit up Myst, hit up Spark and various other clubs that you cannot wear shorts and flip flops to. You’ll be happy, but you likely don’t have the onions for that and would be better served buying girl drinks and paying bar fines, no shame in that, but sadly Taipei sucks at that game, unless you wanna go hostess KTV, but that can be tricky without a local guide.[/quote]

Don’t take it personally.

The fact is, Taipei sucks in terms of night life. It’s one of the most boring cities I’ve ever lived in in Asia.[/quote]

I’m pretty sure you must be going to the wrong places. I personally have no interest in bars and nightclubs but based on the flood of photos I see every Sunday and Monday on FB from friends who are right into the party scene, Taipei is quite a happening place.

44

I posted it in Taichung thread also, but this one is also amazing :roflmao:

Taipei ranked world’s 9th best city for nightlife
focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_ … 1212280007

Even before Rio de Janeiro and many other party cities. :ponder:

conclusion: Agoda must be a Taiwan sponsored travelers / booking site

45

Need more pubs that open all day.

46

[quote=“Shimokitazawa”][quote=“Deuce Dropper”]Not really sure what the OP is on about

I think the fact that you are whinging about it on a messageboard is the biggest tell. Like the vast majority of people on this board (myself included) you are out of touch with your best days behind you. While Taipei lacks the whoring of Manila, Bangkok or Jakarta, its clubs kick way more ass than any in those cities and it is has a better vibe than Hong Kong or Seoul, and much more fun than KL. I cannot speak for Tokyo, but as far as clubs that stay open late and have a high density of attractive females that might want to get with you and not charge you money, taipei may be king of the hill.

If you wanna fuck about in the Combat Zone you are twenty years too late, if you want to go to Carnegie’s you are ten years too late, hit up Myst, hit up Spark and various other clubs that you cannot wear shorts and flip flops to. You’ll be happy, but you likely don’t have the onions for that and would be better served buying girl drinks and paying bar fines, no shame in that, but sadly Taipei sucks at that game, unless you wanna go hostess KTV, but that can be tricky without a local guide.[/quote]

Don’t take it personally.

The fact is, Taipei sucks in terms of night life. It’s one of the most boring cities I’ve ever lived in in Asia.[/quote]

does it seem like I took it personally? no worries, someday Taiwan may join ASEAN and then all the whores from PI, VN, TH etc. will have short runs here visa free and the nightlife (read: attention from pros) will be more to your liking.

47

[quote=“ceevee369”] posted it in Taichung thread also, but this one is also amazing

Taipei ranked world’s 9th best city for nightlife
focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_ … 1212280007

Even before Rio de Janeiro and many other party cities.

[/quote]

You have to take into account that the survey is for nightlife in general, not just drinking nightlife. With that regard Taipei is pretty well-rounded, from night markets, street food, shopping, “normal” KTVs, tea places etc., for family or non-partying travellers. Plus the transportation infrastructure is robust, with clean, safe MRTs running until past midnight and abundant cabs. But if you’re talking about pure bars/clubs/drinking, then yeah, Taipei would rank much lower.

48

You guys have no clue at all about Taipei nitelife. NONE.

49

It’s a fairly common additive. Brewers chuck in all sorts of extra stuff to modify the flavour - back in my student days, homebrew was both a hobby and a necessity. Still have a few books about it with titles printed in groovy 1970s fonts. Can’t remember what the purpose of rice is specifically.
[/quote]

Budweiser is mostly rice, as another example of shite beer. Rice has much less protein than barley, and may even be slightly cheaper. The side effect is making thin tasteless beer. Perhaps that’s intended, but I think not.

50

There are four bigger spots in Taipei that have all-night nightclubs and/or expat venues:

The Living Mall has a techno club (was Cygen 2, now with a new label), Muse, and Pasoul (and a boarded-up wall where Asia used to be).
The ATT area has Myst, Lava, Room18, and Babe18.
The Mall at Dunhua has Carnegie’s, MiCasa, and Bobwundye’s.
Guting has Wax, Twiice (or whatever they call it now), and Roxy99.

Everything other place requires a dedicated trip: Brass Monkey (because Gene closed due to flood damage), Space, Spark, Strike, Luxy, Roxy Rocker, Revolver, On Tap, DV8, Pipe, etc. are all out of the way and in separate directions.
This is in stark contrast to the very district-oriented life in Seoul, where you could spend a night visiting twelve different expat bars and clubs in Hongdae or Yongsan. Plus, the tranny hooker joints aren’t in plain view here.

Now, as a baller on a budget, I rarely go anywhere that isn’t a 喝到飽, so that cuts out Luxy, Revolver (or it would), Roxy99, Brass Monkey, On Tap, Myst, Roxy Rocker, Strike, Bobwundye’s, Carnegie’s, and Room18.
And I personally won’t pay for top-forty clubs anymore unless I’m meeting more than five people, so that cuts out Strike, Muse, Pasoul, Lava, Wax, Twiice (also, I’m not gay), and Babe18.

That leaves that techno club in the Living Mall, MiCasa, and Space.

MiCasa is not appealing to men scouting Taiwanese women (most Asians there are half-Histpanic Taiwanese), so that place won’t suit most men I see here. It also plays mostly Latin music.
The techno club plays techno, and it decided to be creative with drink names, so it added some unnecessary adventure.
Space plays heavy electronic remixes of hip-hop songs, so that’s a hard sell for most people, and the line to it is too long now.

The only pay-as-you-go bar that I thought was good allowed patrons to sing hard rock songs KTV-style, but I don’t remember its name. The majority of the Taiwanese-owned bars are lame and overpriced.

I need to meet people who have pads suited for house parties, like I did when my roommates and I rented a bigger house in college. That’s the venue that I’ve naturally loved, but my understanding is that real estate here doesn’t allow for that, so what’s a cracker to do?

51

My two cents:

Taipei nightlife in terms of meeting pretty ladies, dance with them at the tune of some shitty music and scoring a bang (without charge) is top notch. Also, it’s great of you’re one of those expats or ABTs posturing as great professionals/entrepreneurs/geniuses that seem to be so common these days.

Taipei nightlife in terms of finding places woth good music, good taste (both in drinks and enviroment) and interesting people is pitiful, bordering on embarassing. I’ve had much more fun and success in this sense at house parties (some of which in my apartment) than in any club. Possible exceptions are Roxy Roots (now closed) and Roxy 99, but even those only on specific days/events.

52

[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]Taipei has no fuckin’ game. I was out on a Friday night and everything was dead before midnight. I hopped in a taxi and hit all the main expat dives across town and was amazed at the lack of nightlife in this city.

In all of my time in Asia, I’ve Never seen anything as lame as nightlife in Taipei. Over the years, I’ve come to hate it so much that I can’t even bring myself to read much or post on the Taipei bars forum!

The whole Taipei scene blows goats compared to expat nightlife in Seoul, Tokyo / Osaka, Japan, and Bangkok, Manila.[/quote]

I thought I was the only one who thought this! I miss Seoul! Hongdae, Sinchon, and Kangnam!!! Ah…those were the good ol’ days :smiley:

53

.

54

[quote=“Novaspes”]My two cents:

Taipei nightlife in terms of meeting pretty ladies, dance with them at the tune of some shitty music and scoring a bang (without charge) is top notch. Also, it’s great of you’re one of those expats or ABTs posturing as great professionals/entrepreneurs/geniuses that seem to be so common these days.

Taipei nightlife in terms of finding places woth good music, good taste (both in drinks and enviroment) and interesting people is pitiful, bordering on embarassing. I’ve had much more fun and success in this sense at house parties (some of which in my apartment) than in any club. Possible exceptions are Roxy Roots (now closed) and Roxy 99, but even those only on specific days/events.[/quote]

Great summary that should be included in all guide and culture books.

55

[quote=“Shimokitazawa”]Taipei has no fuckin’ game. I was out on a Friday night and everything was dead before midnight. I hopped in a taxi and hit all the main expat dives across town and was amazed at the lack of nightlife in this city.

In all of my time in Asia, I’ve Never seen anything as lame as nightlife in Taipei. Over the years, I’ve come to hate it so much that I can’t even bring myself to read much or post on the Taipei bars forum!

The whole Taipei scene blows goats compared to expat nightlife in Seoul, Tokyo / Osaka, Japan, and Bangkok, Manila.[/quote]

Very true. Admittedly, I have partied my arse off in Taipei, but compared to other places in Asia, this is just a small slow country town. Took me a couple years to figure it out. One can roam Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur… for weeks or years… Taipei, can see it all in about a… night… that why I go everywhere else to party and play, and come back to Taipei only when I don’t want to get wild and crazy. Ok, tonight, I’m only hangin’ in Chiayi… but with a beer in one hand, wine in the other… later going to get little crazy with a foot massage, maybe some friend chicken at the night market…