Travel Tips for DJs Visiting Taipei, Taiwan
DJ Vicar
DJs may not know where to eat, stay, and play when they get booked in cities they’ve never been to before. To help them get the most out of their visit, DJcity launched a series called DJ Travel Tips. The series highlights some of the best things to do in some of the most popular destinations around the world.
Where to Stay
“Getting some rest in a city that never sleeps is essential. If you are a straight baller, The W Taipei is where it’s at. There is even a special for people attending the Red Bull Music 3Style World Finals in January. The W is located in the heart of the XinYi area, which has shopping, food, and nightlife around every corner. Also, nearby is the Grand Hyatt for those that are just medium pimpin’.
One of the greatest things about Taipei is its Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. Clean, fast, and orderly, visitors can get everywhere in the city and the suburbs within an hour. This means you can stay just about anywhere. Amba in the Ximending district is a boutique hotel with lots of flair and is located in the best people-watching part of the city. Ximending also has record stores, vintage shops with crazy sneakers at crazy prices, and a gay area that goes all night long.
Getting out of the hubbub of the city is the Fullon Hotel in Danshui. It’s walking distance from the Fisherman’s Wharf, a great place to YouBike around, and about a 20-minute cab ride to Baishawan Beach. It’s at the end of an MRT line, too, so you can get back to business very quickly.”
Where to Eat
“Taipei is known for two things when it comes to food: Din Tai Fung for dumplings and night markets. Ningxia Night Market 寧夏夜市 is my favorite for just about any street food like stinky tofu or duck’s blood popsicles.
My favorite restaurant in Taipei must be TangKung/唐宮. Located on the second floor of an old apartment, TangKung is a kind of old-style Taiwanese restaurant, featuring all-you-can-eat Mongolian Barbecue and authentic meat with pickled cabbage hot pot. Never underrate TangKung because of its shabby design or reasonable price! The hot pot here is definitely the best in Taipei City. The side dish bar here is impressive, too, because it serves boiled grass jelly (燒仙草) and shaved ice (挫冰).”
What to Do
“Diggin’ diggin’ diggin’ is what I love to do every day.
I love collecting DVD, Vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and even VHS tapes. Everything about sounds, I’ll get it! My one favorite spot is a basement in a personal old apartment in the Kuting area of Taipei, but I can’t tell people where that is or it will be ruined! After digging, I’ll go to Ximending, which has a traditional restaurant I recommend to anyone called 黔園川菜 for lunch. After that, I’ll go to pick up some clothing at a shop called DSSENT, which really supports Taiwan street culture! Around the shop, there are a lot of really dope graffiti parks for people to chill out in and see some interesting art.
After lunch, I head back to my record store, Soul Amazin’ Music. There, I will clean and check the condition of the things that I found, as well as listen to music, practice deejaying, and have fun with my cat. For dinner, I frequent a Japanese restaurant called 赤綠/Taiwanippon. The owner is a chef and DJ, too, so I’ll spend a lot of time at his restaurant talking about different music and cultures. Later on, I spin jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop, and R&B at two luxury bars, KOR Taipei or Barcode. The next day I do it all again.”
Where to Party
“Taipei has a little something for everyone when it comes to partying, just hold on to your liver. If you are looking to bang it out, tables filled with champagne, and lasers and smoke cannons, then you should definitely head to either OMNI or AI. Both venues look amazing and have a long list of International guest DJs spinning every week. At Triangle, mingling, dancing till dawn, and vibing out to more diversified music genres such as hip-hop, 80s/90s/2000s parties, house music, and funk nights on Wednesdays and weekends is a must.
The XinYi district is home to numerous clubs offering open bar nights, which attract a younger crowd in top-notch venues that play EDM, hard trap and hip-hop. IKON, WAVE, Klash, and Franny are all located next to each other and therefore makes it easy to hop from one venue to another.
The house, techno, and underground electronic music scenes are very much alive in Taipei with Korner, PIPE and 23 Music Room showcasing new DJs every weekend. “
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