Taipei Entertainment

  1. Chocoholic

    Leave room for desert. This tiny, brightly painted café is an old favourite, dating back to the days when good chocolate was impossible (as opposed to merely inconvenient) to find. Expect cakes, chocolate drinks and a clientele of smiley young things galore.

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  2. Corridor Cafe

    Smack in the middle of Taiwan's most respected institute of higher learning, the Corridor Cafe offers a small-stage performance space for both planned and ad-hoc performances. Good coffee, artistic vibes and a good place to meet up with Taipei artists.

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  3. Fong Da

    One of Taipei's original coffee shops, Fong Da dates from the 1950s and still uses some of the original equipment. Whenever we've been away for a while we always stop in as absence makes the heart grow Fong Da.

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  4. Living Room

    Part supper club, part music lounge, this low-key venue is a great respite from everything huge, noisy and self-consciously trendy. It's filled with sofas, curtains and has classy wood flooring. Living Room is popular among musicians, and every night has a different theme. Expect jazz, jam sessions, electronica dance parties and more. Check the website to see what's going on.

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  5. Maussac

    Maussac is an upscale teahouse, complete with a bookshelf's worth of jars featuring teas from around the world. In addition to tea, set-meal specials, including pasta, meat and seafood dishes, are all served with a haute European flair. Maussac's charming jazz atmosphere makes it a popular spot for Taipei's chic looking to unwind with a meal, tea or both.

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  7. Norwegian Wood

    A very cool coffee house serving espresso drinks as well as alcohol. Known as a hangout for Taipei's literary crowd, as well as being a gay and lesbian friendly venue.

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  8. Orange Music Cafe

    Orange is the predominant colour of this bar and café located across from Shilin MRT station's exit two. An up and coming chill-out spot, Orange serves food, but is better known for another fire-related activity, the 'fire dance' performances which begin every Friday night at .

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  9. Red Pavilion Theatre

    The Red Pavilion Theatre is one of Taipei's older buildings. The wooden, octagonal structure was originally a public market, then a theatre for Chinese opera as well as a second-run cinema. Since beginning life anew as a multipurpose centre for vocal and visual arts it has hosted a variety of performers and performances, such as Taiwan-based world music group A Moving Sound and the Taipei run of the Vagina Monologues .

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  10. Rose House

    Readers have written in praise of this teahouse, which, despite its normal store front, looks like it could have been decorated by Laura Ashley inside. Among its dozens of varieties are Earl Grey and Mango. Teas are sold by the cup, the set or the tin.

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  11. Taipei Eye

    Situated in Zhongshan, this new venue showcases Chinese opera together with other rotating performances, including puppet theatre and aboriginal dance. Even though it's meant for tourists, audience members have the unique opportunity to watch the actors as they rehearse and put on make-up, wigs and costumes. Enter from Jinzhou St.

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  13. Velvet Underground

    Rock and roll lives, baby, at this underground (literally) club across from Taipei Main Station. Live bands, full bar, Mexican food and walls covered with kick-ass rock art not unlike something out of a museum of album covers. ROCK ON!

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