Coffee Geek & Burger

Love this burger cafe in ShiDa that we discovered the first time we were in Taipei. Went back there for lunch while we were there last month and it was exactly the same, nothing had changed, burgers were just as delicious, service just as quick, just how we like it. I like consistency when it comes to eating out, whether it's a cafe, a restaurant, a hawker centre or whatever and I don't buy into the whole "we like to change our menu to give customers that element of surprise". I like to be able to remember a cafe and then go back there a few months later and the menu and place is just what I expect from it. Just like I know I'll be going back for their BBQ Beef Cheeseburger again! Four and a half weeks till we are back in Taipei!

Rainbow Cafe

Even though we were spoilt for choice when it came to cafes in Taipei, there were always the ones we found ourselves going back to time and time again. Rainbow Cafe was one of them and we went back a few times. We love the type of chill out lounge cafes or coffee shops where you could just spend all day and all night there, drinking coffee and iced teas, feasting on light snacks and free wi-fi is always a bonus! Love the rustic and homely feel of this cafe, it's a bit like a large living room and the coffee is always good! A few shots from around the interior this time...

Paddington Garden

I was thinking about what I should post on my blog and then I remembered that I still have a million photos of cafes in Taipei that I still have to share. Ok well not that many but I still have a few that I'm going to spread out so that every now and then I can look back at them and feel that much closer to returning! This is Paddington Garden Cafe in Zhongxiao Dunhua and we went there quite a few times. This place was aways busy which is always a good sign that the food and price is spot on. It's a Tonkatsu and pancake cafe and they have quite a variety of stuff on the menu: sweet and savoury pancakes, pork cutlet sandwiches, udon noodle soups, omelette breakfasts, open sandwiches... 

We ordered the Cheese Croquette and Fried Pork Belly Sandwiches one night and then the Bacon & Cheese Omelette Breakfast when we went back there for Sunday brunch. There were so many things that I wanted to order at this place, you know when you're waiting for your food and everyone else around you is getting their food and you wished that you ordered what they got? That happened a lot! And I already know want I want to try next time and that's the Cheese Pot Pancakes which is a stack of pancakes drizzled, or should I say completely smothered, in a cheesey cheese sauce. You can tell I get excited when I think about food! Maybe I need to start up a food blog on the side. Anyways, great food and a great place that we will definitely go back to next time! And how cute are the pancakes with the logo burnt into them? What a neat idea!

A House

A longer than normal photo post, but I loved the unique interior of this place. A House is the very first A Capella Live House Cafe in Taiwan and it's a pretty cozy little spot with live performances by both local and international groups happening throughout the week. From seats made out of cardboard boxes in the shape of drums, to glasses that rolled around on the table (I guess you could say that the bottom of the glasses resembled cymbols?), this place had so much character and a clear musical theme to it. Themed cafes are indeed a popular thing here in Taipei. There was some performance scheduled for later on in the night when we went but for us, it was just chill time while sipping on some very very strong cocktails and sharing some brownie and ice cream. Oh and the bathroom smelt super sweet too!

Amber's Brunch

Another cafe in the Zhongxiao East Rd Sec 4 area which is where we hang out most days to get photographs. Amber's Brunch is on the corner of two little back streets and is a neat place to sit outside and have a quick bite or brunch. And if there was one thing we would go back here for time and time again, it would be their milkshakes! They're more like super thickshakes, the types that you sit on forever cos they are so thick that you need to wait for the ice cream to melt down a little. I had the orea milkshake and the shrimp pasta in white wine sauce, while James had the caramel vanilla milkshake and the BLT sandwich. And we've already been back there for milkshakes since I took these photos from the first time!

A Night at Homey's

We met up with a couple of friends at Homey's Cafe the other night and I've already decided that it is my favourite cafe that we've found here so far! And I'm not only saying that cos James is having an exhibition there soon but it's just a really cool place to hang out. And hang out we did, we reached the cafe at about 6:30pm, ordered some drinks, our friends arrived at 9pm and we were still sitting there at midnight! We're actually going to set up the exhibition today so I'll put some pics up of that soon. I see us spending a lot of time at this place over our last 2 weeks in Taipei!

Mr. Cat

Stumbled across Mr. Cat cafe while filling in time before meeting a couple of friends at another cafe. I love how in Taipei you never have to look very hard (or very far) for a place just to sit and have coffee, there are so many around you just need to wander down the little back lanes. This one was rather homely, felt like we were sitting in part of someone's house with their two family cats just hanging around the place. Not a huge fan of cats but it was cool to see how they decorated the interior keeping with the theme throughout. Also gave us more ideas of the sort of feel and vibe we want to create with our cafe. Some quick photos thanks to instagram (my favourite photo app at the moment!)...