Starbucks @ Taipei, Taiwan

Starbucks in Taipei is a big hit. Everywhere you go, there is a Starbucks. If you ask the local people for a place for coffee, Starbucks is where they will suggest. Less than 5 minutes’ walk from our hostel in Tai Chung is one of the biggest Starbucks I have ever been to. The outer walls are painted with the Taiwan Floral Expo theme. It was beautiful and it definitely caught my attention.

The similarity between this outlet and the rest of the Starbucks in the world are the furniture. It doesn’t matter where you go, the interior, furniture; wall color and lighting are pretty much the same. The only difference is no matter it is day or night, most of the Starbucks in Taipei are always full.

My top reason for loving Starbucks Taipei so much is because of the wide range of merchandise they offer. For a Starbucks merchandise collector like me, it is very hard to find unique and pretty ones especially in Malaysia. The merchandises here are crafted in Taiwan’s very own flavor and culture. So if you are a collector like me, Taiwan is definitely the top destination to be to do some serious merchandise shopping. 

IS Coffee @ Taipei, Taiwan

Few days in Taipei, my travel buddies are getting sick of Starbucks coffee. They wanted to explore and try some other café, preferably local coffee. Unfortunately, everywhere we go, the people we asked points Starbucks to us (this is the reason why I love Taipei). After walking for some time around Taipei city, we managed to find IS Café. The first thought I had was the size of the café. It was small – a counter with some pastries and dessert spread out, a few table and chairs. Such a small café would not last long (I thought). What more, finding a place to sit for a few of us is definitely a challenge. However, I was dead wrong! We were directed to a spacious area with plenty of tables and chairs and couches. The paintings on the wall, the lighting, the decoration and the music make me feel like I’m in Europe.

The service is not that bad. You place your orders upstairs, take a number, find a place to sit and they will deliver the drinks and food to you. There are not many staff working but they manage the place well.

This café serve their ice tea with whipped cream on time. I find it rather weird and it doesn’t really blend with the taste. It’s a very small cup of ice tea and since I did not pay for it, so don’t know if it is worth the money. Among a few of us, we shared 2 pastry:-

Cream puff

Not that fresh especially with the puff pastry.

Blueberry fruit tart

Much better than the cream puff. Not too sweet and the blueberry filling is tasty.

IS Café is definitely something different than Starbucks even though I think most Taiwanese would choose Starbucks than others (Not trying to be bias here). But if you are in Taipei and want to try something other than Starbucks, you can give IS Café a try. 

LavAzza @ Jiufen, Taiwan

I found this rather unique LavAzza cafe at Jiu Fen (九份), Taipei a few days ago. Jiu Fen meaning nine portion is a mountain area in the Taipei district near Keelung, Taiwan. Up to today, the tea houses, shops and houses still maintain her historical side which is why it's a renowned tourist attraction. It is hard to find such unique looking cafe in the city and nope, I did not get to try the coffee. Perhaps if any of you who happens to be in Jiu Fen can pay this little cafe a visit.