MRT ZHONGXIAO XINSHENG Station

[This post will be updated if new information about places around the station comes available. 🙂 ]

Fuhua Szechuan Restaurant | 馥樺川菜

Info added on November 5, 2021.

A long-established Sichuan restaurant located in a quiet alley off Jinan Road. It is a hidden store that has been loved by neighbors and office workers for nearly 40 years since it opened in 1983.

Add: No. 8, Ln. 11, Tongshan St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區銅山街11巷8號)
Tel: (02) 2327-9896
Facebook: www.facebook.com/fuhuataipei

Caviar café+ brunch | 魚子醬咖啡

Info added on November 5, 2021.

A café with a simple and light interior. The name of the store is derived from the cafés resident Shiba Inu “Caviar”. Many people come to see the dog and the café is a pet-friendly space. They serve homemade salads with a strong natural flavor. You can also order a set meal of butter scrambled eggs, fluffy jam toast, and juice.

Add: No. 68, Qidong St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區齊東街68號)
Tel: (02) 2322-1856
Facebook: bit.ly/2Egwgg4

Jinhua Hong Kong Roast Meat Restaurant (金華香港燒臘快餐店)

Info added on November 5, 2021.

A somewhat hidden small eatery offering dishes at around NT$100. It can get crowded with office workers during lunch time. Popular dishes are sanbaofan, a combination of grilled pork, grilled chicken, and duck meat, and Guangzhou-style fried noodles.

Add: No. 1, Ln. 70, Qidong St.., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區齊東街70巷1號)
Tel: (02) 2393-9479

Takumi no Azi Handmade Dumplings (巧之味手工水餃)

Info added on November 5, 2021.

You can often see people lining up in front of this restaurant. You can choose from three types of fillings: cabbage, garlic chives, and scallops. The dumplings have plump skin and juicy fillings.

Add: No. 6, Ln. 30, Sec. 2, Jinan Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區濟南路二段6號)
Tel: (02) 2321-4693

Taipei Calligraphy Hall (台北書畫院)

Info added on November 5, 2021.

Like the Taipei Qin Hall (below), this building belongs to the inn group that was built in 1930. Contemporary art and digital images are exhibited in addition to calligraphic works, fan paintings, porcelain panel paintings, and sculptures. This is a great place for anyone interested in calligraphic works.

Add: No. 12, Ln. 30, Sec. 1, Jinshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區金山南路一段30巷12號)
Tel: (02) 2391-6737
Website: www.taipeiqinhall.com

Taipei Qin Hall (台北琴道館)

Info added on November 4, 2021.

At Taipei Qin Hall the exchange between artists from all over Asia through workshops and concerts is promoted. It is an exhibition space and an international music exchange center, making it a valuable spot for fans of the guqin, an ancient Chinese instrument.

Add: No. 11, Ln. 53, Qidong St., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區齊東街53巷11號)
Tel: (02) 2391-7536
Website: www.taipeiqinhall.com

Qidong Street Japanese Houses (臺灣文學基地)

Info added on November 4, 2021.

During the Japanese era, the area around today’s Qidong Street today was called “Yukimachi.” It was home to dormitories for employees belonging to various departments of the colonial government of Taiwan. The Japanese-style houses, built in the 1920s to 1940s, includes the “Taiwanese Literature Base”. It’s the largest and most complete cluster of Japanese houses in Taipei City. Used as a cultural space to present poetry starting in 2014, the houses were given a new purpose in 2020, now introducing Taiwanese literature.

The museum is divided into an exhibition area where Taiwanese literature is introduced, a creative area where resident writers work, and an event and cafe area, where you can experience Taiwanese literature from multiple perspectives. This is also meant to be a place where visitors can interact with resident writers who change regularly. Standing in front of a Japanese house surrounded by greenery, you can feel as if you have traveled back in time to old Japan.

Add: No. 27, Sec. 2, Jinan Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City
(台北市中正區濟南路二段27號)
Tel: (02) 2327-9657
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TaiwanLiteratureBase/

Greater Guanghua Commercial District – “Go 3C” Market Browsing

This district encompasses a number of discrete elements: Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Syntrend Creative Park, Guanghua Digital Plaza, Bade Commercial District, and Taipei Brewery. The attractions are multifarious and rewarding, from cultural-creative innovativeness and cultural-arts performances to information gathering to 3C (Computer, Communication, and Consumer electronics) shopping, and much beyond.

Huashan 1914 Creative Park
(華山1914文化創意產業園區)

Taking up the former Taipei Winery complex, built during the Japanese era and later long abandoned, Huashan began to take shape in 1999, and has since become Taipei’s best-known hybrid cultural-arts venue. There are irregular exhibitions of all types, fine restaurants, cultural-creative shops, an art gallery and cinema, musical performances, and such other draws as DIY-handicraft experiences and pop-up shops, popular with visitors of all ages. The Huashan grassland, perfect for picnics and scenery enjoyment, is popular with families for play, strolls, and walking the dog.

Add: No. 1, Sec. 1, Bade Rd., Taipei City
(台北市中正區八德路一段1號)
Tel: (02) 2358-1914
Website: www.huashan1914.com

Syntrend Creative Park
(三創數位生活園區)

A department store for 3C products, this complex has many shops selling mobile phones, computers, cameras, audio equipment, and more stationed within. There is also popular 3D printing, an anime base, a family-interactive area, eateries, and exhibits of wide diversity, guaranteeing lots of fun!

Add: No. 2, Sec. 3, Civic Blvd., Taipei City
(台北市中正區市民大道三段2號)
Tel: 0809-093-300
Website: www.syntrend.com.tw

GEESAA Café

Technology in the food and drink industry is developing rapidly worldwide, and Taiwan is no exception. The power of modern machinery is on full display at GEESAA Café, a hotspot for coffee lovers with an interest in modern technology. The “smart” coffee machines, aided by talented baristas, brew up a piping-hot cup of java that suits your taste. Paired with an app, the machines calculate variables such as water temperature, flow rate, and brewing method to concoct the perfect cup for you.

GEESAA Café (三創概念店)
Add: 5F, No. 2, Sec. 3, Civic Blvd., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City
(台北市中正區市民大道三段2號5樓)
Tel: (02) 2395-1386
Website: www.facebook.com/geesaa.tpe/

Guanghua Digital Plaza (光華商場)

This is a grand emporium of shops selling computers, electronics, cameras, CDs, video games – Taipei’s first choice for everything 3C-related. The sixth floor also has a computer assembly and maintenance center.

Add: No. 8, Sec. 3, Civic Blvd. Taipei City
(台北市中正區市民大道三段8號)
Tel: (02) 2391-7105
Website: www.gh3c.com.tw

Taipei Brewery (建國啤酒廠)

At this brewery, where beer is the theme, dining, entertainment, and cultural attractions are on offer. The historical development of alcohol production in Taiwan is explained through the plant’s equipment and architecture. At the site’s Super 346 Live House and 1919 Art Center, enjoy great food, cultural-arts exhibits, and live bands.

Add: No. 85, Sec. 2, Bade Rd., Taipei City
(台北市中山區八德路二段85號)
Tel: (02) 2771-9131 ext. 513
(Closed on Sat. and Sun.; group reservation required for plant visits)
Website: www.ttl.com.tw

Chapter (文房)

This cultural space, in a Japanese-style wood-built work of architecture, combines reading with exhibits. The comfortable, elegant space has a rich book collection. Visitor registration is online, entry is free, and each person is limited to two hours. Beyond the reading, gratis snacks and drinks are offered, plus guided tours.

Add: No. 1, Ln. 27, Linyi St., Taipei City
(台北市中正區臨沂街27巷1號)
Tel: (02) 2341-9662 (Closed on Monday)
Website: www.chapter.com.tw

EP – Books (益品書屋)

This spacious bookshop, opened in July this year, has 150 seats for patrons and 2,500 books on myriad topics. They are for in-house reading only, not for sale. Each patron pays NT$100 for full access to the sea of knowledge, plus free coffee, tea, smoothies, and other drinks.

Add: No. 69, Sec. 2, Ren’ai Rd., Taipei City
(台北市中正區仁愛路二段69號)
Tel: (02) 2397-2998
Website: epbooks.com.tw

Qidong Poetry Salon (齊東詩舍)

This Japanese-era work of hybrid Japanese-style architecture, built as residential quarters for civic officials, today houses a display of hand-written manuscripts by contemporary poets. Periodic lectures and displays/sales of poetry books are also staged, with well-known poets sharing their stories of creation, and you can also register for poet-guided mini-tours.