10 'Century-Old' Stores in Taipei

1. 小花園繡花鞋 (Little Garden Embroidered Shoes)
Established 1949

Emei St. 70, No. 1 Building (Emei Street and Kunming Street intersection)
Tel: (02) 2311-0045, Open Daily 12:00 to 18:00

2. 林田桶店 (Hayashida Barrels Store)
Established 1928

Zhongshan North Road, Section 1 No. 108
Tel: (02) 2541-1354, Open Monday-Saturday 10:30-20:30 Sunday 10:30-12:00

3. 郭合記(Kuohezi’s Shilin Knife)
Established 1870

74 Da Bei Rd. Shilin District
Tel. (02) 2881-2856, Open Mon-Sat 9:30-22:00, Sun 15:00-22:00

4. 日日用打鐵店 (Wang’s Blacksmith)
Established 1913

Hsin-Chuang Rd. No. 414, Hsin Chuang City, Taipei County
Tel. (02) 2201-4363

5. 響仁和 ( Big Bang Drum)
Established 1924

Chung-Cheng Rd. No. 171, Hsin Chuang City, Taipei County
Workshop tour: One week advanced telephone booking
Tel. (02) 2992-7402, Open Mon-Sat 8:30-16:00

6. 乾元蔘藥行 (Qian Yuan Ginseng Medicine)
Established 1875

Di Hua Str. Sec. 1 No. 71
Tel. (02) 2559-1041

7. 峰圃茶莊 (Feng Tea Garden)
Established 1883

Chong Ching South Rd. Sec. 1 No. 35

Tel. (02)2382-2922, Open Mon-Sat 9:00-21:00, Sun 9:00-19:00

8. 尤協豐豆腐工廠 (Youxiefeng Tofu Workshop)
Established (1870’s)

Hsin Chuang Rd. No. 416, Hsin Chuang City, Taipei County

Tel. (02) 2201-4213

9. 郭元益 (Kuo Yuan Ye Foods Co.)
Established 1867

Wen-Lin Rd. No. 546 1F, Shilin District. Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of Cake and Pastry 4F.
Tel. (02) 2831-3422, Open Daily 9:30-21:30


(That’s how it started in 1867)

(That’s how it was in 2002)

10. 老順香餅 (Lao Shun Xiang Bakery)
Established 1940

Hsin Chuang Rd. No. 341, Hsin Chuang City, Taipei County
Tel. (02) 2992-1639

** Hsin Chuang half/one day Old Town Walking Tour includes No. 4,5,8 & 10.

A special mention: Best ‘You Bing’ (fried pan cake) stall in Taipei

溫州街蘿蔔絲餅‎ (Wen Zhou St. Shredded Luo Bo pan cake)

Hoping East Rd Sec. 1 No.264-3 (and Wen Zhou St intersection). Near Taipei Da-An Forest Park. Look for queue…

The stall is at least 35 years old. I used to live opposite ‘Da-An’ Park in my teens, and past it to get the bus to school. It was then run by a couple and their little boy helping out on holidays. Now the couple have retired and the ‘little boy’, now a grown man runs the stall with a few helpers.

It closes at mid afternoon, and best to get there before 10:00 am or be prepared to queue for up to an hour!

Traditional flavours: Spring onion, with or without eggs; Shredded Luo Bo; Sweet red bean paste.

If you want to know more about any of the above, just ask and I'll answer as best as I can.

Taiwan – the ‘quirky’ island



I’ve been living abroad for over 20 years. During this time, I have maintained my interest in all things Taiwanese. I am particularly interested in foreigners’ (the ‘outsiders’) views of the island during the various phases of its economic development. Only fairly recently, perhaps in the last 3 or 4 years, I heard or read about foreigners, in particular Westerners, describing Taiwan as a ‘quirky’ island, and I can’t help thinking it is an impression Taiwan made on the West after the impressive construction of modern technology Taipei 101 and High Speed Rail. Along with the modernity, the old is carefully preserved. And it is the array of old and new cultures, the contrast and the oddity that makes it ‘quirky’.

While I was scanning through photographs of my grandparents for my last post, I came across this one

(Grandma far left, and Grandpa far right. Some of you might be wondering why grandpa is sitting on his own, looking sorry for himself – if you ask, I will tell!)

It was taken in front of the family home of my grandma’s parents in Tainan – a temple called Wan Fu An not too far from the first class historical site Chikan tower. The temple was used as a school - her father was a teacher - and the family resided in the school. The residential part was demolished several years ago but the main part of the temple is preserved and is now a listed building.

It was while searching for information about this temple that I came across this site and there saw these two brilliant ‘oddities’ in the heart of Tainan ‘old town’:

The Wire破屋 (The Wire broken house) Direction here.

And Kinks pub and for more interior details here.

Both these belong to a series of renovated old homes converted to modern day cafes/pubs.

Oh, one tip for anyone is planning a trip to Taiwan – it is currently under a ‘trial and error’ transition stage of ‘The Romanization of Chinese’ and don’t be surprised if you find the name of a place spelt in half a dozen different ways. For example,四重溪 is known to have been signposted as ‘Sichongsi, Shuchunghsi, Ssuhngnghsi, Sichongshi, Sichongxi, and Shih Chunghsi”. If you are worried how you’ll ever get to the place you want to be, don’t, the Taiwanese people are very friendly and helpful, they WILL, help you find the place –it just might not be on the same day! And in your frustration, I suggest you just relax and enjoy the oddities before they all disappear!

A tribute to Grandpa and Grandma on the eve of

the 228 incident 1947

Grandpa and Grandma’s marriage wasn’t an arranged one – which was a novelty in their time (early 1900’s). They met in Tokyo in the Taiwanese students’ community – he studied economics, she dentistry. He graduated with a first class degree and went on to become the first graduate from a colony (Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule 1895-1945) to hold a senior position in the Japanese government at the Department of Finance. Grandma never finished her degree.
Grandpa gave up a high profile, well paid job in Japan to return to his homeland where he pursued an extraordinary ambition he had to become the pioneering educationist for the Taiwanese. His dream to establish a first college was cruelly destroyed during the ‘White Terror’ period.



Grandpa was kidnapped at gun point by KMT secret agents and incarcerated for 100 days. They pressed him to admit to crimes he had never committed. Never once under such extreme circumstances did Grandma ask him to stop – she supported him with incredible strength and courage despite the difficulties and hardship of bringing up three children and a constantly absent husband. Grandpa knew – he owed her.



Grandpa was incredibly composed when Grandma died. He wanted her to go before him – he couldn’t bear the thought of her coping through a lonely life without him at her side. Gandma died in a coma in 1993. She never had to experience the pain of the thought of leaving her loved ones behind, she would have hated it.
Grandpa lived a further 9 years, I saw him a few years before he passed away. He was in a joyful and relaxed spirit about life in general, though we all knew it was more about death. He had been waiting patiently with earnest devotion to join Grandma. It would have been the end of his journey through this disturbed life, but a brand new one in the next with his beloved wife.

Miss you Grandpa, Grandma – you are a blessed couple. And you are with each other now for eternity…

Your most privileged xxx
February 27, 2010


“Formosa Betrayed” a movie about the 228 event and the “White Terror Era” in Taiwan now shown in US. (Trailer link)