MOCA and club Luxy Taipei (Taiwan 2013 #4)

We hadn’t seen any Taiwanese art yet, so we went to the contemporary art museum (MOCA Taipei). Around the museum there are some crazy statues (some are ugly). After walking around for an hour we were not really impressed by the museum’s collection. There were many videos of stage performances such as opera and dance, some paintings and some modern ‘art’ made of mixed materials. I only liked three things: a video report about someone running away from North Korea, a photo collection about a Taiwanese school and a robot arm used in a ballet performance.

台北當代藝術館地址 MOCA Address | 台北市長安西路39號 No.39, Chang’an W. Rd., Datong Dist., Taipei City 103, Taiwan

Coffee bar Nido

After our museum visit we walked around a bit, in search for coffee. We made a stop at an ugly-looking building that was actually a temple (XiaHai ChengHuang Temple) but quickly decided to take a cab to Coffee Bar Nido, a small coffee bar with a modern, minimalistic look. We had some awesome coffee here. The same coffee was served cold and hot, to try the different flavours of it. We had some delicious cheese cake with it. It is located in a great neighbourhood, full with modern tea and coffee bars. We rate Nido with an 8 out of 10.

Address: No. 10, Alley 22, Lane 553, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Rd, Xinyi District Taipei City, Taiwan 110 (台北市信義區忠孝東路四段553巷22弄10號一樓, Taipei 110), MRT: Taipei City Hall.

Clothing designer at Songshan cultural and creative park

Songshan park

Around the corner of coffee bar Nido, we discovered Songshan park, a park with a building that had a Cuban/Colombian architectural look and feel to it, which was really cool. Inside this building, there was an event of fashion students showing their self-designed clothing. There was also a design museum, but it was closed, unfortunately. It was about dinner time, time to check out some restaurants.

Restaurant review: Ippudo

Via Tripadvisor and ‘a hungry girl’s guide to Taipei‘ we decided to go to this popular noodle restaurant. We hadn’t made any reservation and the row in front of the restaurant was pretty large, which is usually a good sign. We waited for more than 30 minutes to get a table. It looks modern inside. My wife tried the ramen soup and I had a small soup and some side dishes. The service is fast, but a bit unpersonal. Once in every few minutes, all waiters scream something out loud when a new guest enters the restaurant (or when a noodle soup is served?). However, the taste of the food is nothing special. It is just an ordinary restaurant to have a fast meal (excluding the waiting) if you don’t want to spend much. I rate this place with a 6 out of 10.

Pulse techno party – Club Luxy – Taipei

Club Luxy – Pulse party – 8 June 2013 – Taipei

Club Luxy

I really wanted to go out in Taipei. And lucky for me, there was a techno night at club Luxy, one of the most famous clubs in Taipei. We waited for a while inside a nearby Starbucks and after an hour we were both sleepy. We still wanted to go to the club, just for a couple of hours. The entrance hall is covered in green laser beams, which is pretty cool. The club looks very fancy. The main area with hiphop/pop music was just packed with people who were all ‘dressed to impress’. The techno area wasn’t busy at all. But we had great fun with around 30 other techno fans. The music was pretty good. After a good 3 hours of dancing in the night, we went back to our hotel.

Address Club Luxy: 5F No. 201, Sec 4 ZhongXiao East Rd., Xinyi Dist., Taipei 106, Taiwan

Hotel review: Via Hotel

It is our last night at Via Hotel. The next day, we will continue our journey to Hualien. Via Hotel is simple and comfortable, more like a luxurious hostel. The staff is helpful and friendly. They were very willing to give us tips about where to go in Taipei. You can do your laundry for free and they even provide free washing powder. It doesn’t serve any breakfast, but it a free snack and drink corner next to the reception. The walls in the rooms are thin, so it can be a bit noisy sometimes. But it didn’t really bother us. The hotel entrance is difficult to find, in a small shopping alley. You actually have to enter a clothing store to find the elevator to the reception. In the morning and at night, the shopping alley is empty. The area surrounding Via Hotel (Ximending) is filled with shops, restaurants and movie theatres and is very popular amongst young people in the evening. The subway (MRT: Ximen station) is only a 3 minute walk from the hotel. I rate this hotel with a 7.5 out of 10.

Address Via Hotel: 2F., No.17, Ln. 114, Sec. 1, Zhonghua Rd., Wanhua Dist., Taipei City, Taiwan