The world is crumbling around us and the wonderful JoJo from Vegan in Brighton is our only hope! Let her fill your dreams with escape to Taipei visions!!
Taipei turned out to be an unexpected favorite on my recent travels, I’d always dreamt of Thai island beaches and the hustle and bustle of Tokyo but a last minute change of plans saw me heading for Taiwan and capital city Taipei was my first destination. The first thing you need to know about Taiwan is that the people there are undoubtedly the friendliest people you’ll ever meet. The second thing is that the vegan eats are obscenely delicious and all over the freaking place.
Whilst I was researching the best places to eat in Taipei Vege Creek kept popping up and frankly I couldn’t see how you could go wrong with this vegan twist on a traditional Taiwanese concept. You rock up, grab a basket, and fill it with your choices of veggies, proteins, greens, and a noodle token and take it to the counter where it’ll be priced up and cooked for you. Obviously this bowl of steaming noodle soup is going to be delicious but my absolute favorite thing about this place is how customizable it is, I don’t think that I ever ate the same soup twice and it’s as good a place for your mock meat loving friend as it is for your die hard veggies-only pal.
Casual queer-friendly neighborhood cafe bar About Animals is one of my favorite places in the world to while away an afternoon. Their bacon, hash brown, and peanut butter sandwich on toasted bacon cheese bread is literally the perfect sandwich and it even comes with a side of perfectly seasoned fries. What more could you ask for?!
If you have a sweet tooth then Vegan Heaven really is a vegan heaven right in the middle of Taipei. Owner and baker Li is the kindest person you will ever meet and her cheerful and welcoming persona as well as her ridiculously decadent desserts made my visit every time. The bakery case is filled with gorgeous treats including macarons, delicate tarts, tiramisu, and mini cakes and everything is a stand out. Just hand over all of your cash, order everything, and have the best day of your life.
Vegetarian Japanese spot Hoshina have more then enough vegan options on the menu to keep you going for a while but my go-to order was the sesame tofu with wasabi, the cold udon noodles with sesame dipping sauce, and the seasonal asparagus special, all of which are delicate, simple, flavourful, and kept me coming back for more. If you wanna be a creeper you can hang out and watch the udon noodles being made through the front window of the restaurant!
Lastly Soul R Vegan is an upscale western leaning vegan spot located in the Da’an area and it is the place to hit up on date night. They serve up delicious pastas and risottos alongside perfectly fried mock meat dishes, a wide range of desserts (including an excellent tiramisu), and a huge selection of fancy tea lattes. My favourite is the rose tea latte but you should sample a few to find your perfect match.