A landmark in Taiwan, Taipei 101 soars above the rest of the city’s skyscrapers with the appearance of a tall stalk of bamboo. This is because Taipei 101 was once the world’s tallest building – exceeded by the Burj Khalifa in 2007. What could fill so much space? Most of the building is office space, including a luxury shopping centre at the bottom, with a public observatory at the top.
We started our Taipei 101 morning by hiking Elephant Mountain – a 30 minute climb up stone steps to get views of the city skyline. The walk was steep but not too hard, though the humidity left us reasonably sweaty. Elia did the hike by herself, encouraging us to do push-ups once we reached the top (we did not). From the top, we got unobstructed views of Taipei.
After climbing down, we went to Taipei 101 itself to check out the observatory. The elevator to the top is one of the fastest in the wold – going over 60 km/hour! As you load into the elevator, the lights dim to almost complete darkness and a starry ceiling appears overhead. Within just 37 seconds, you reach the 89th observatory.
Unfortunately for us, the clouds came in during our journey to Taipei 101, obscuring much of our view of Taipei skyline. However, the observatory itself is nice and spacious, with various themed areas for picture taking. We took the extra trip to the 101st floor where there is a second, smaller observation area draped in faux greenery – though this one didn’t feel worth the extra cost.
One of the unique features of Taipei 101 is the tuned mass damper – a huge steel sphere suspended in the centre of the building between the 87th and 92nd floors. This keeps the building steady during strong winds or earthquakes. They played a video of the building rocking during the April 2024 earthquake in Hualien with this giant metal ball swinging around. It was a little unsettling to watch, but impressive how this damper can counteract (or dampen) the sway of such a tall tower.
The Infamous Soup Dumplings
At the bottom of Taipei 101 is Din Tai Fung – a famous Taiwanese restaurant chain that is known for its delicate xiaolongbao (soup dumplings). Its Hong Kong locations have been awarded a Michelin star. When we arrived, the wait was 50-80 minutes – just enough time for a trip to the Taipei 101 observatory first. On our return, we ordered online off our phones while we waited for our number to be called. Once it was our turn, we were escorted by a robot to our seats, where a flurry of servers showed up to deliver the food we previously ordered (each meticulously checking it off our bill as it arrived).
The dumplings were delicious (by our uneducated standards) – each made with precisely 18 folds. Elia learned how to properly eat one – scooping it up onto her soup spoon, poking a hole into it, slurping out the soup, and then popping the whole dumpling in her mouth. She discovered her new favourite food!
Food, Food and More Food
Taipei was full of exciting and new restaurant experiences. Hot pot was one of our favourites – a communal dining experience where you cook raw food (sliced meat, seafood, leafy greens, assorted mushrooms and vegetables) in a simmering pot of flavoured broth right at your table. As it’s all-you-can-eat, the girls loved plunging bag after bag of noodles into the pot and gorging themselves in bowls full of noodles. They also never said no to the unlimited ice cream and treats available for dessert.
One day we stumbled into a hot pot restaurant while trying to escape the rain and – unbeknownst to us – it was Children’s Day! The girls each got a little toy chicken to clip into their hair, a balloon artist kept them entertained while their food cooked in the pot, and they each left with a cone of cotton candy. What a pleasant surprise!
Food experiences continued to entertain the girls throughout our time in Taipei. They awed at mango shaved ice, a popular Taiwanese dessert of milk-infused shaved ice topped with fresh mango cubes and ice cream, which arrived to the table the size of their heads.
The girls were also giddy with excitement over conveyer belt sushi (especially the chain Kura, which enters kids to win a prize for every 5 used plates they return – Elia won a keychain figurine of a sushi on a plate which dangled off her backpack for the rest of the trip). And conveyer belts weren’t only used for sushi! Another restaurant we attended used a conveyer belt robot to deliver all of our entrees. Robots in general were in no shortage – driving around restaurants to deliver dishes or pick up dirty plates.
For us, we enjoyed some of the simpler dishes in Taiwan, such as their beef noodle soup – a savoury dish of a rich beef broth topped with noodles, bok choy and mustard greens. We got to try various Michelin star restaurants that were often in the most unexpected places. Some at night markets, some hidden in the basement of a building, some hole-in-the-wall joints within back alleys, and others within a cozy, unadorned family run businesses.
We were stunned by the number of restaurants with little to no serving staff. At many restaurants we ordered at a machine at the front door or on our phones. Someone would bring out food, but then it was up to us to clean up our dishes afterwards. We got so used to this that by the end of our trip – in Japan – we had to keep reminding ourselves we didn’t need to stack our dishes into a bin on the way out.
When all else fails, there is always 7 Eleven. I forgot how popular 7 Eleven was in many Asian countries (such as Thailand!), and it is no different in Taiwan. It felt like whenever you stepped out of one 7 Eleven, the next one was already within eye sight. Not only do these provide a nice air conditioned reprieve from the heat, but they are full of the quick snacks and drinks you expect of a typical convenience store. However, they are also a popular spot for people to grab a bite of warm food to eat; many locations have tables and chairs for dine-in eating.
Longshan Temple
One of the largest and oldest temples in Taipei is the Longhsan Temple. While it was originally built in 1738, it was rebuilt numerous times since due to damage from earthquakes, World War II, etc. While primarily Buddhist, the temple houses Confucian and Taoist deities as well.
Entering the temple you are hit with the smell of burning incense. Tables are full of fruit, desserts and other delicacies on display, as offers from the worshipers to the deities. Occasionally a few of these would be blessed and tossed back onto the floor; worshipers would rush to pick them up and stash them away, sometimes even picking up gifts and handing them directly to our girls!
Aside from the chanting we heard while we were in the temple, our ears filled with the repetitive sounds of wooden blocks dropping to the floor. “Moon blocks”, red crescent-shaped divination rocks, are tossed to the ground after asking a question, with the answers told in the alignment of the blocks.
Many people seemed to be seeking answers that day!
