#traveltaiwan

🥩 Taiwan Hot Pot Survival Guide: Which of these 6 Famous Chains Should You Pick? 🔥

👇 See the full "Hot Pot Battle" video here:

To all the handsome guys and beautiful girls, please support and follow us! Thank you!

Planning a trip to Taipei? Then you probably already know that Hot Pot is a religion here. But with so many options, where should you spend your appetite (and your money)?

Chewing Brother and Chewing Sister just completed a 24-hour mission testing the 6 biggest names in the game. Here is the lowdown on the vibes:

✨ For the Ultimate Seafood Lover: Xiaofuli (小福利) This isn't just a hot pot place; it’s a seafood paradise. Since it belongs to the famous Eatogether group, the quality is insane. We’re talking about clams that are still moving on your plate!

🔥 For the Classic Mala Experience: New Mala (新馬辣) The go-to for many travelers. If you want high-quality meat that melts in your mouth and a wall of Haagen-Dazs ice cream to cool down the spice, this is your spot.

🥬 For the Health-Conscious Foodie: Syabu-Yo (涮乃葉) If you need a break from all the meat, Syabu-Yo has the most impressive vegetable bar in the city. Fresh, crisp, and perfect for a lighter meal (but still delicious!).

🥩 For the Wagyu Obsessed: Wagyu Shabu (和牛涮) A meat-lover's dream. It’s all about that marbled Wagyu beef and their signature Wagyu curry.

Our Top 3 Recommendation:

Xiaofuli (The undisputed King of Buffets) 🥇

New Mala (The reliable legend) 🥈

Xiangla (The stylish newcomer) 🥉

Every single one of these places is a hit in Taiwan, so you really can’t go wrong!

To all you handsome guys and beautiful girls, please follow us for more food secrets! Your support helps us keep exploring the best eats in Asia. 🙏✨

👇 See the full "Hot Pot Battle" video here: https://www.youtube.com/@Chewingbrother?sub_confirmation=1

By Chewing Brother Travel Taiwan.

If you haven’t yet visited Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) in Nantou county, you might want to consider adding it to your “places to visit” list for the future. Having claimed the title of Taiwan’s largest lake, it has become one of the most popular tourism attractions and easily attracts a few million visitors per year. I highly recommend visiting Sun Moon Lake after a few days in Taipei, as it provides a much needed slower change of pace following a busy schedule.

During this trip, Taiwan had just went through two typhoons and my mother was able to claim an amazing deal for an overnight stay at The Lalu via hotels.com. I’m guessing that they had an influx of cancellations from visitors leading to quite a lot of vacancies and were just trying to fill up the vacant rooms.

After receiving our room keys, we were invited to sit in a common lounge area, where they provided complimentary freshly toasted almonds, a cup of what tasted like a decadent version of lemon iced tea, and damp cloths to wash your face with. The common lounge area also had a classy bar and cafe next to it. After finishing the complimentary snacks, we headed up to our room. 

Amenities: 5 out of 5 – Some amenities that they provided was an “onsen,” commonly known to be a Japanese bathhouse and yes, you are expected to be au natural. The men’s onsen was rather small but was clean and empty when I entered, so it felt like a private bath. Note: the onsen times for men and women are different and they have a co-ed common lounge area that you can sit and relax after taking your bath. The onsen is quite small actually and wouldn’t be able to fit a whole crowd of people which makes me think that not a lot of people use it a lot. – They also have an outdoor pool which during the day looks out of this world because you can see the skyline reflected on top of the waters. I noticed that it was mostly empty throughout the day and night, but that might be because of the lack of visitors. If you plan to use the pool, be informed that they don’t have a proper men’s locker room and only a public bathroom that had a shower which can fit a maximum 2 people.

After dinner, I went outside to explore the resort at night. I’d definitely recommend going out for a late night stroll after your belly is full and its almost pitch dark. The ambiance and resort looks totally different and transforms from peace to more romantic.

The morning of my departure, I decided to check out the gym and get an early morning workout in. It was located in the spa area in the basement and lacked any sort of charisma. To be frank, it seemed out of place and looked like a dungeon to this upscale resort. The gym was located in a windowless, poorly lit room that only offered very basic equipments such as a treadmill, ellipiticals, a few weights, and lat machines. It didn’t seem like a lot of the customers here used the gym but maybe visitors don’t exercise when they visit. I think it would have been really nice if the gym was placed on the eighth floor with a full span horizontal windows so that visitors can have an amazing view while working out.

Overall, the Lalu was an incredible experience even though it was definitely pricey. But hey, if you are on vacation and want to treat yourself, I would definitely consider treating yourself to this place at least for a night! After my overnight stay, I can absolutely understand why Chiang Kai-Shek chose this area for relaxation, recharging and refocus. I think it’s fair to say that this will be probably be the only opportunity I’ll have to stay at such a luxurious and upscale hotel again in my lifetime and it most definitely lived up to its expectations.

Taiwan’s largest and busiest airport, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE, Taipei Airport), serves the city of the same name. With two terminals, the airport is a base and hub for Taiwanese airlines EVA Air and China Airlines, which offer direct flights to America, Europe, and Canada.

To some individuals, flying with EVA Air isn’t complete without a flight on the Hello Kitty plane. As part of EVA Air’s airside check-in experience, the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has the cute Hello Kitty check-in area. So, if you’re flying with EVA Air, make sure you book a Hello Kitty flight, if that’s your thing, of course.

This Taoyuan Airport introduction is designed to make your stay at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport as convenient and enjoyable as possible. In this article, we discuss topics such as transportation to and from the airport, airport services, and activities to keep you occupied while you are waiting at the Taipei airport.

Taipei airport services

Luggage Service

The Taoyuan Airport MRT introduced a new luggage service in collaboration with Taipei Main Station. With this service, you can send your baggage from Taipei Main Station to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport if you are traveling with China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines, EVA Air, or UNI Air. This will give you a chance to explore the area before your flight; how cool is that?

Do you know there is a bike sharing system in Taiwan? People often use YouBike to go around a current city. They can rent a bike from one spot and return it to another. This helps to reduce carbon emissions, encourages physical activity, and reduces traffic congestion. It also has some discounts when transferring transportation. YouBike has thousands of rental spots in many cities in Taiwan including Taipei, New Taipei, Miaoli, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. Besides, it is also known for its super low cost.

YouBike, The Largest Bike Sharing In Taiwan

With the increase of the population and the gradual improvement of environmental awareness, the use of bicycles as a means of transportation has become a trend, which is quite helpful for the environmental protection of the whole city, reducing the amount of carbon emissions and improving the health of citizens.

The first demonstration operation started on March 11, 2009, with 11 stations and 500 bicycles around the Xinyi Project area. The whole system was finally launched on November 30, 2012. YouBike became mostly popular thanks to the metro system. It served as a way of transportation either between stations or from one point to an MRT station. You can notice that now there is a YouBike spot next to each MRT Station.

Moreover, when YouBike was becoming more and more popular, YouBike 2.0 had a trial operation in 2020. Recently, YouBike also launched the YouBike 2.0E to make less effort when riding.

𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 🇹🇼

An image of a small street in Taipei