How to Spend 48 Hours in Taipei

Taipei is one of Asia's best kept secrets.

It's the home of buzzy night markets, scenic heights,

centuries-old temples,

and one of the world's most exciting new hotels.

And it's all packed into these incredible,

walkable neighborhoods.

I'm gonna show you how to spend 48 hours here,

including where to stay, what to eat,

and how to experience the culture

of this small but welcoming city.

[slow music]

Temples are woven into the everyday life here,

and you'll find temples of all sizes

in all different types of neighborhoods.

People like to stop by after work,

before work, during their lunch break.

And so there's not any sort of like formality

or a strict policy here.

It's very welcoming and opening to everyone.

Just make sure that you look up.

The details on the ceilings, rooftops.

There's just so much to see.

So usually when we arrive at a temple,

we usually introduce ourselves.

We say our name, we say our address, where we're from,

and maybe why we're here,

to kind of just let the deities know our purpose

for the visit.

In this temple, there are several different deities,

and people pray to them for different purposes.

For example, there's career, health, wealth, love.

[upbeat music]

There's nowhere else you would feel more

like you're in the middle of everything

than standing in the middle of a night market.

A night market isn't just about the food.

It's like plugging into the electricity

and pulse of the city.

The sounds, the lights, the smells, the people.

It's Taipei at its most alive.

Raohe Night Market officially opened in 1987,

but I feel like the character and soul

is so much older than that.

Today, it has hundreds of stalls,

several which are featured in the Michelin Guide.

My strategy for navigating a night market,

I think a good rule of thumb is to follow the lines.

If you see a long queue, especially of locals,

you know it's gonna be a good spot.

And the most important thing is to pace yourself.

I kind of like to treat it like a five-course meal.

I'll go in with an appetizer, a second appetizer,

a main course, a second main course, a dessert, and a drink,

because there's just so much to eat,

and you don't wanna fill yourself up

on the first thing that you see.

So these are like deep fried sweet potato balls.

They're kind of like our version of like a donut ball,

but they're a little sweet, a little savory,

and they're my daughter's favorite snack.

So every time we go to a night market, we have to get this.

So crunchy, so good.

Beer bar.

[lively music]

So this is like a gua bao,

which is basically like a Chinese hamburger.

It's in a steamed bun.

There's braised pork belly, cilantro,

pickled mustard greens, which is kind of like a sauerkraut,

and topped with crushed peanuts or like a peanut butter.

So good.

So bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s,

but since then it's been taking off all over the world.

So if you're to visit Taipei,

you have to try our bubble tea.

So this is the infamous stinky tofu,

and a must try it, in my opinion, at any night market.

Really just fried tofu with an extra layer of fermentation.

It's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

And to be honest, the smell is part of the experience.

You just have to commit to it. Really good.

The food is the reason you come here,

but it's the people that make the experience fun.

You'll see grandparents

bring their grandchildren here for a snack.

You'll see couples on a date.

And speaking of dates,

this is where my husband and I went on our first date.

And I think that's why I love the night market.

It's very casual.

You're just walking and chatting and eating and laughing.

It's the most natural setting, I think.

Capella Taipei is on Conde Nast Traveler's hot list,

and it's easy to see why.

The hotel is imagined as a modern mansion.

Calm, residential,

and merging bespoke luxury

with architectural elements inspired by local culture.

My first impression was the quietness,

which sounds strange for a hotel in the middle of Taipei,

but that's exactly it.

You walk through the doors, and the city just falls away.

It doesn't feel like a hotel lobby.

It feels like walking into someone's very beautiful home.

At the base of the grand staircase,

there's a sculpture called Quiet Dynamics,

which is 10 stacked hardwood blocks

that trace the shape of a calla lily.

And that choice is so deliberate

because we have a huge calla lily festival every spring

in Yangmingshan,

which is the mountain right above Taipei.

And I think that design choice really sets the tone

for everything that follows.

In Taipei, you get two types of days.

It's either hot and humid or it's raining.

And I think that's part of the whole Taipei experience.

And what I love about the hotel

is that there's so much to do indoors.

There's a great wellness spa, restaurants, bars,

and weather permitting,

you go to the 14th floor rooftop pool,

which gives you this amazing panoramic view of Taipei,

including 101.

So the hotel doesn't have like a lounge.

They have what is called a living room

because it's designed as a modern mansion.

And if you take a look, there's real fire.

It's not every day that you see a fireplace here in Taipei.

I love this space.

It looks like a friend's kitchen or like a pantry.

And there's so many snacks.

A lot of these are from local vendors.

It's really good.

[gentle music]

The Fujou Trail is also part of the Taipei Dazongzou,

which is the Grand Taipei Trail,

which is basically a hike that connects

all the mountains surrounding Taipei.

So you could hike the circumference

of the city if you wanted to.

But what I really love about getting up here

is the perspective.

Down on street level,

you'll see all these snapshots of life,

the streets and the alleys and the people.

But once you get up here and you zoom out,

you kind of notice that all those little moments

are all part of a bigger, grander, more beautiful picture.

And I always get this overwhelming sense of pride

for the city whenever I'm up here.

The best thing about Taipei

is that there's genuinely something for everyone here.

But I think what makes Taipei truly special is the people.

They're incredibly welcoming,

and that warmth is woven

into the everyday fabric of the city.

I really like this neighborhood where we are in,

where Capella Taipei is integral part of,

because it has so many hidden gems

where you can actually easily connect

to Taipei's local heritage,

to the culture, to the food,

to the drinks, but also to the people.

Welcome to Wolf Tea Shop.

Established here since 2014, part of our Minsheng Community.

I feel like tea culture, before,

it was just like our grandparents or our older generations,

but now it's really a lot of the younger generations.

They're being really creative with tea.

Tea shops, also crafted cocktails with tea,

brewing beers with tea.

I think it's special that we kind of keep that tea culture,

and it transcends through the generations.

I think one of the most famous products going around,

and everybody engages, is bubble tea.

Exactly. It's the most,

easiest way to connect for the young generation with tea.

And trust me, making bubble tea here in Taiwan,

it's an art, it's an craft.

I think this is the beauty about Taiwan.

Taiwan has still now got this,

the intent to get the best product

and really work with artisanal single origin product.

And I think Asians,

I think we are fortunate to have it here.

But let's go to Front Door Gallery.

[Melody] Okay.

One of the places here in our neighborhood.

Here, Henry's the owner.

Hi, Henry. Hi.

[Melody] Hi.

Here in the Front Door Gallery,

you have every like six

to eight weeks different art exhibitions.

Amazing. So, but I'm sure

that Henry can talk more about it

and gonna share more about the artist

which we're currently looking at.

It's a local artist. His name is Mr. Yan.

Okay. And he started painting

when he's like 40 years old.

Oh, okay. So it's quite unique.

And he live in a suburban near the ocean.

So everything inspired by a very natural color, earth tone.

Food is very important for us.

Absolutely. We have already

experienced some tea,

but what would be tea without a beautiful egg roll?

Welcome to Mr. Roll, our fresh egg roll shop.

Wow. Please come inside.

Oh, it smells amazing in here.

Smells so nice, right? Smells so good.

You wanna directly dive into it.

Two years ago when I moved into this community,

when I passed by, I said, wow, they're really handmade,

because I haven't seen this anywhere here in town too much.

So this cultural heritage.

Yes. You know,

Japanese and Chinese culture here in one beautiful roll.

And I think everybody should try this

when you come to Taiwan.

Yeah, it makes a great souvenir.

It makes a great souvenir.

[gentle music]

I'm at Rong Ju,

which is one of the hotel's several restaurants.

And it's a modern take on traditional Cantonese dishes,

and I just know it's gonna be delicious.

Wow.

Oh, that's pretty. This is gorgeous plating.

So dumpling is actually kind of a comfort food

here in Taiwan.

And especially during like the holidays,

like Chinese New Year,

we like to kind of gather around

and we like to make our homemade dumplings.

And it just becomes a really nice sort of family tradition.

And then afterwards,

we all just kind of gather

and eat the dumplings that we make.

So the space itself is really gorgeous.

There's the red and the black and the dark wood.

And if you notice the design details on the ceiling,

it pays homage to our traditional brick rooftops

that are usually made of clay tiles.

And it really does feel

like kind of you're all dining under one roof.

Communal eating is definitely part of our culture.

We try to eat with our parents or grandparents.

And in a space like this, even though it's very modern,

but it still has that very homey feeling to it.

Wow. Is this a poem?

There's a poem in my dish.

Yeah. Okay.

This is a lobster dumpling.

And we're using a black truffle.

Ah. Yep.

And you can see it. [speaking in foreign language]

I love that. And it represents the poem.

Yeah. I love

that there are so many little details

and elements of surprise throughout the entire experience

that really makes this place feel so elevated.

[slow music]

Okay, I'm gonna be honest.

The Glasshouse bar concept really excites me.

Three bars under one roof,

each with a completely different vibe.

And what I love is that the cocktails are made

with local Taiwanese ingredients.

So you're still experiencing the culture

even when you're just unwinding

after a long day of exploring.

That for me is the perfect end to a Taipei day.

So in Tilt here we focus on a seasonality

of the ingredients from Taiwan,

both for the food and for the cocktail.

Oh. So today for you,

we're gonna prepare one of our bestseller,

which is called guava.

Ooh. We pick up the guava

from Kaohsiung,

which is kind of in the south of Taiwan.

So the guava is actually taking a lot of the sun.

So instead of the cocktail, we're gonna have some gin.

This is actually Taiwanese gin in this case.

So white wine in Osmanthus

is gonna give a nice dryness to the cocktail.

And of course our perfume guava.

So in Chinese we say ganbei as a form of saying cheers.

And ganbei literally means like dry your glass

or finish your glass.

So ganbei.

[lively music]

Taiwanese people will go out of their way

to help you even if there's a language barrier.

It's really special.

You don't always get that in every big city.

The second is there's no snobbery around food here.

A Michelin-starred chef and a night market uncle

get equal status in this city.

And a third I think is the safety.

And that freedom changes how you move through a place.

You wander out more, you stay out later,

and you say yes to more things.

And there you have it.

These are my favorite things to do in Taipei.

You just have to come here and experience it for yourself.