The Halal Taipei Directory

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Taiwan’s capital city, Taipei, makes for a good quick getaway destination since it offers various things for travellers to experience on their own. Tour packages to Taiwan are aplenty, but for independent travellers like us, the best kind of travel are the ones we plan ourselves, and Taipei is easy for us to explore according to our own time and pace! Thanks to the Taipei City Government, we would like to share with you our halal travel experience in Taipei.

VISIT

Like every city of the world, Taipei has many places of interest that appeal to the differing interests of visitors. The Taipei Government is aware of Muslim travellers’ predicament when it is time to pray. By working closely with the Chinese Muslim Association, many places of interests have agreed to provide musolla (prayer room) at their premises for Muslim visitors.

» Taipei 101 Observatory & its latest attraction Skyline 460 (https://www.taipei-101.com.tw/en/)

The icon of Taipei in our opinion is Taipei 101. Towering above the city resembling a massive bamboo stalk, Taipei 101 is impossible to miss. Standing 508 metres in height, this engineering marvel is a must-visit when one is in Taipei.

Taipei 101 consists of a food court at the basement, and the first five floors are occupied by one of Taipei’s swankiest malls. Tickets to the observation deck can be purchased or collected on the fifth floor.

Riding the pressure-controlled lift to the observation deck is a special experience on its own. Moving at the speed of 1,010 metres per minute, it takes merely 40 seconds to get from ground level to the 89th floor. Indoor observation decks are located on 88th and 89th floors, while the outdoor decks are on 91st and 101st floors.

Don’t forget to say hello to the hardworking massive gold-coloured iron wind damper, the one that keeps the tower stable through strong winds, typhoons and earthquakes.

Since its opening in year 2004, Taipei 101 Observatory has received over 27 million foreign tourists and its facilities have been updated. New attractions such us Skyline 460 are also introduced, and service floors have been expanded vertically to accommodate more visitors.

So what’s Skyline 460, you may ask, and what’s with the digits 460? The number refers to 460 metres, which is the height from ground where you will be standing on as you trail the outdoor observation deck. For the first time in its 15-year history, the 101st floor is now open to the public, which was previously reserved for only high-profile personalities.

Enjoy the wind kissing your cheeks while observing panoramic 360° views of Taipei as far as the eye can see. The Skyline 460 package (Priced at NT$2,700) is inclusive of Taipei 101 Observatory Priority Pass Ticket, insurance, guiding service, Taipei 101 limited edition pocket water bottle, souvenir photo of yourself that comes with a folder certificate, and a cup of Cloud Coffee for you to enjoy once you have completed the walk. Since the top observation deck is a small space, it can only accommodate 12 people at any one time.

We recommend that you climb up to Skyline 460 for the truly magical feeling of standing at the top of the world! Opens daily 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Admission fee: NT$600 (Adult), NT$1200 (Priority Pass), NT$2700 (Skyline 460)

Address: No. 7, Section 5, Xinyi Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City 110, Taiwan Tel: +886 28101 8898

» Discovery Centre of Taipei (https://discovery.gov.taipei/en/) Housed within the Taipei City Hall Building from the first until the fourth floors, we had fun learning all about Taipei’s history, its progress throughout the years and its future plans. The interactive multimedia displays were engaging and entertaining at the same time.

Opens daily 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. except Mondays Admission fee: None Address: No. 1, Shifu Road, Sect. 5, Xinyi District, Taipei City 11008, Taiwan Tel: +886 22725 8630

» Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (https://www.cksmh.gov.tw/en/) The love and respect for the late President Chiang Kai-Shek can certainly be felt when we were walking around the building and the park grounds. He led China for 46 years, making him the longest serving non-royal ruler of China. Up on display are historical relics of the man himself from his early years until his death.

There is changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the start of every hour from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. The Memorial park opens daily from 6:00 a.m. to midnight, so an early morning or a latenight stroll can be done here.

Opens daily 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Admission fee: None Address: No. 21, Zhongshan South Road, Zhongzheng Districy, Taipei City 100, Taiwan Tel: +886 22343 1100

» National Palace Museum (https://www.npm.gov.tw/en/) If we had the time, we would spend the whole day exploring this fantastic museum, which houses the largest collection of Chinese artefacts in the world! Thousands of ancient artefacts and artworks beautifully preserved are up on display, spread out over three floors. The museum’s jewel in the crown that is similar in stature to The Monalisa at The Louvre in Paris would be the Jadeite Cabbage, that would blow your mind away.

Opens daily 8:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. Admission fee: NT$350, Audio Handheld Device Rental NT$150 Address: No. 221, Section 2, Zhi Shan Road, Shilin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan Tel: +886 26610 3600

» Taipei’s Children Amusement Park (https://english.tcap.taipei/) This is probably the cheapest theme park we have ever visited. This theme park has 13 rides, a free playground and a children’s theatre for visitors. Rides include roller coaster, Ferris Wheel, bumper cars and Drop Tower. There are plenty of food Opens daily 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., extended hours on weekends Admission fee: NT$30, rides are charged separately Address: No. 55, Section 5, Changde Road, Shilin Distict, Taipei City 11169, Taiwan Tel: +886 22833 3823

» Zhishan Cultural and Ecological Garden (www.zcegarden.gov.tw) Nature lovers may want to head to this 10-hectare park, located around 20 minutes away from the city centre. It was refreshing for us to see so much greenery, with butterflies and birds flying. Members of the Wild Bird Society of Taipei serve as volunteers here. There is a special area where injured birds are nursed back to health. We were lucky to meet and stroke an owl which is on its road to recovery. This park is an archaeological site too where human remains and other artefacts were excavated and put on display at the exhibition hall.

Opens daily 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., except Mondays Admission fee: NT$50 Address: No. 120, Yusheng Street, Shilin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan Tel: +886 228866 6258

Night Markets Taiwanese streetfood culture is not to be missed, and the best way to sample them is by going to one of the city’s many night markets. You are bound to stumble into one while walking around randomly like we did. Soak up the bustling atmosphere of the markets that are bound to tantalise your five senses. Foodies are surely in for a treat!

Besides food, night markets are somewhat the smaller scale versions of fun fairs with plenty of game stalls for you to test your motor skills and win prizes. We found out that even Will Smith had a go at some of these stalls when he was in Taipei to promote Gemini Man.

You simply cannot go to a market without buying anything. From fresh fruits to bags to household items to the latest fashion, there are many things available for sale at these night markets. Taiwan-made things are of high quality and durable, so shop away!

We managed to visit four night markets during our short trip; our most memorable one was Huaxi Street Night Market, popularly known as Snake Alley. Little did we know the shop we stepped into was not a pet shop, but an exotic food restaurant! Foodies may want to head to Shilin Night Market, the biggest and most popular among tourists.

EAT Taipei is a gastronomic haven! Muslim travellers would be thrilled to know that there are plenty of halal food to savour in this city, and they would never go hungry here. We had the chance to eat at halal places that are totally commendable.

Kunming Islamic Restaurant Located close to the MRT Nanjing-Fuxin Station, this restaurant is Muslim-owned and has been in business for over 20 years. Food on offer are familiar to us. Light-styled curry, sambal (stir-fried chilli paste), and various stir-fried dishes should please diners. There are also Middle Eastern and Indian dishes like biryani, tandoori chicken, and samosas. We had steamed rice with chicken curry, sweet and sour fish, ginger beef, prawn sambal, stir-fried water convolvulus and omelette.

Address: No. 26, Lane 81, Fuxing North Road, Songshan District, Taipei City 105, Taiwan Tel: +886 22751 6776

Chang’s Beef Noodles Shop A trip to Taipei is not complete if you were to miss savouring a steamy bowl of beef noodles! This comforting dish of Taiwan basically consists of noodles

in flavourful clear broth topped with tender slices of stewed beef. Chang’s is a halal-certified restaurant and operated by Muslims. It is situated in Zhongsheng district and the nearest MRT is Ximen Station, which is five minutes’ walk away. This restaurant offers a variety of beef noodles, dumplings and potstickers.

Address: No. 21, Yanping S. Road, Zhongsheng District, Taipei City 100, Taiwan. Tel: +886 22331 2791

Delhi X Press, Taipei Main Station In any city of the world, avid independent travellers like us would definitely step into the main train station. To have a halal-certified eatery inside the main station is a big plus for Muslim travellers. Delhi X Press serves Indian and Moroccan food. It is one of the many international cuisine food stalls inside the Main Station’s food court. We had the beef kadai (thick spicy beef

curry) with rice and flat bread.

Address: Second floor, Food Plaza, Breeze Centre, Taipei Main Station Tel: +886 93594 3961

Silks Palace, National Palace Museum Do come to Silks Palace whenever you have the National Palace Museum in your itinerary because this restaurant is right next to the museum. Silks has a Muslim-friendly certified kitchen and dining area on Level B2. Please note that if you wish to dine the Muslimfriendly menu, arrangements need to be made prior to your visit. Do call a few days ahead to ask. We had a wonderful lunch comprising noodle soup, tea eggs, braised tofu and deep-fried cod fish.

Address: No. 221, Section 2, Zhi Shan Road, Shilin District, Taipei City 111, Taiwan Tel: +886 22882 9393 #101

Safranbolu Restaurant Safranbolu Restaurant offers Turkish food and popular among locals. Fans of Turkish food would be pleased with the authentic and delicious taste of the dishes they serve. This restaurant is just a short walk from MRT Songjiang Nanjing Station.

The portions here are huge, so be mindful when placing your order! We had the Safranbolu Special Kebab, which is a platter of barbecued chicken, lamb, beef, eggplant, tomato and green chilli. We also had pide, Iskender kebab, salad and flatbreads. It was too bad that we were too full for desserts.

Address: No. 60, Section 2, Nanjing East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City 104, Taiwan Tel: +886 22522 2939

Taiwan Halal Hui Restaurant If you love spicy Chinese food, this restaurant should not be missed! It is a halal-certified restaurant and operated by a Muslim family.

The dishes served here are unique and delicious, which are the food of the Hui people, a predominantly Muslim ethnic group from China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Among the unique dishes we had was cumin lamb (served with bread) and steamed beef.

Address: No. 9, Alley 51, Lane 12, Section 3, Bade Road, Songshan Distriact, Taipei City 10559, Taiwan Tel: +886 22577 9851

STAY Taiwan probably has the most number of Muslim-friendly rooms in a nonMuslim country in the world! We have never encountered a country so serious and committed in welcoming Muslim travellers. The certified accommodations ranges from youth hostels to business hotels to luxurious resorts to even farm stays.

For your information, Muslim-friendly rooms in these hotels are equipped with prayer mat, Qibla direction, washlets in the bathroom, and no alcohol or non-halal food. Halal breakfast options are available too. Food are prepared in a designated halal kitchen and presented on specific tableware. Do remember to request Muslim-friendly rooms whenever you make your reservations. We have shared the list of certified Muslim-friendly hotels in Issue 14.4.

As for the following hotels stated below, we enjoyed good hospitality when staying in all of them. The staff are also friendly and attentive.

Horizon Inn (http://www.hihorizon.com/en) We love how passionate this threestar hotel is when it comes to social responsibilities. Its lobby is filled with photos and information of the hotel’s corporate social responsibility activities.

It was a comfortable stay for us and the halal breakfast (sandwich and salad) was delicious. There is a self-service laundry room, which is always appreciated by light, independent travellers.

Address: 4th floor, No. 246, Section 2, Chang An E. Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City 10492, Taiwan Tel: +886 22711 0102

Caesar Metro Taipei Hotel (https://www.caesarmetro.com/zh-tw) This five-star hotel has MRT Station adjacent to it, rendering it convenient. It offers everything that one would expect from any five-star hotel so that your stay is memorable. We love the hotel’s modern chic and minimalist décor. Our halal breakfast (sandwich and salad) is served in a designated dining room.

Address: 167 Bangka Boulevard, Wanhua Dirstrict, Taipei, Taiwan Tel: +886 22306 6777

Uinn Business Hotel (https://uinn-business-hotel.mydirectstay.com/) Do not let the name deceive you. Uinn is as much a family hotel as it is a business hotel. There is even a pool filled with balls in the children’s playground for your little ones to have a good time. Self-service laundry is available too. For breakfast, halal food options are placed at the buffet spread – it is indeed nice

to have a hot meal to start the day.

Address: No. 318, Section 4, Chengde Road, Taipei City 111, Taiwan Tel: +886 22888 1758

Green World Song Shan (https://songshan.greenworldhotels.com/ en/green-world-songshan/) This hotel is built within a residential area, so it is quite nice to walk around the neighbourhood and have a closer look on how the locals live. There is a sizeable supermarket nearby and we took the opportunity to buy local food items as souvenirs. MRT station is just a stone’s throw from the hotel. Though the room may be small, it comes with plush King-sized bed and balcony.

Our halal breakfast made us feel like we were having a picnic with many variety of snacks on top of the usual sandwich and salad! We were also allowed to take the food from the normal buffet line.

Address: No. 149, Yucheng Road, Nangang District, Taipei City 115, Taiwan Tel: +886 22783 7088

GayaTraveller team would like to thank the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Learning Trip Ltd (Ms. Tammy) for making the team’s trip to Taiwan possible and smooth-sailing.