Taipei comes alive after dark. Night markets bloom next to busy intersections, karaoke bars crank up the volume, and the scooters zip past in an endless current. It’s a city for night owls, with a kaleidoscope of after-dark activities that go far beyond hitting up bars. Think: dancing to techno in the city’s burgeoning futurist club scene, catching and cooking your own shrimp into the early hours of the morning, and of course, lots of eating.
Part of this nocturnal paradise comes down to cultural preference: Many Taiwanese people start the day later, with businesses and even trendier coffee shops opening as late as 11 am. And while many of Taiwan's famous night markets date back hundreds of years, the island's industrialization and economic expansion in the later half of the 20th century brought even more interest in eating, shopping, and simply living after dark. Read on for a plethora of these after-dark activities, and fuel up with an early evening bubble tea if you have to—you can sleep when you get home.
Double Check Music Lounge
A high-tech listening bar experience
Slip your shoes off before ducking into Double Check, a cozy listening bar (with a shoes-off policy) that feels more like hanging out in someone’s living room—if the living room was decked out with five top-of-the-line Focal Beryllium speakers and DJ decks featuring a rotating lineup of Asia’s best. Double Check’s vibe might be laid-back, but they take music seriously. The genre changes nightly, from jazz to techno, with the only common theme being excellence. A Saturday night might feature local talent like Eva Select, playing a few skittering beats of a South African house track from Mbuelo before diving into an energetic (and largely unShazamable) set. The bar gets packed by 10 p.m., upon which point the staff will probably produce floor cushions to squeeze in more. Come early to snag a seat and flip through the shelves stocked with old issues of Vice Japan, or drop by later on as the party picks up.
Nanjing Road
Nocturnal, indie shopping
Many stores in Taipei don’t open until 2 p.m. and close around 10 p.m., making shopping the ideal after-dinner activity. Especially on the weekends, the streets in Da’an and Zhongshan flow with friends carrying shopping bags and bubble tea, going store to store. Head to the side streets off Nanjing Road in Zhongshan for a good array of options: wildly popular bookstore chain Eslite誠品, “cityboy” clothing store FUMBLE臺灣 (for dripped-out beanies or a t-shirt depicting the legendary Faye Wong), six-floor department store UR LIVING生活美学｜南西一店, eclectic PAR Store, rife with small-press zines, records, and sweatshirts, and 19991232 — a treasure trove of archival vintage, cool-kid indie Asian designers, and a cybercore in-house accessories line (think gloves and beanies depicting CAPTCHA tests and Hello Kitty). If you want a more customized shopping experience, head to Da’an to hit up DIWhy 低艾歪手作體驗館. There’s an array of cute patches to choose from, or you can even screenprint your selfies onto a t-shirt.
大灣碼頭-松隆店 and Chan Shifan (饞食坊)
Hot, fried, late night dining
Rechao translates to “hot stir-fry,” and refers to a class of late-night restaurants offering Taiwanese classics you can’t find anywhere else. (If you type “Taiwanese restaurant” into Google Maps, most of the ones open late are probably a rechao spot.) They’re a true gathering point for families, friends, and workers just getting off a shift, uniting at communal tables over plates of three-cup chicken and stinky tofu, and endless bottles of Taiwan Beer. 大灣碼頭-松隆店 is for feasting on tender fried oysters dipped in white pepper and crispy roast chicken, grabbing beer from the fridge as the night stretches on. It stays open until 2 a.m. on weekends, providing the perfect excuse for a late night snack—or more realistically, a whole meal.
