Vegan in Taipei

I've been in Taipei for two weeks now and I love it now just as much as I did upon first impressions. It's a real foodie city so of course I've been delving into that side of things and it seems that Tiramisu is the hot trend right now. You can get a rice and soy based version at Vegan Heaven, a raw version at The Green ROOM, and a super authentic coffee-full version with the perfect ratio of cake to cream at Soul R Vegan.

You can also grab a piece at Yummy Vegan House in the Beitou district and at the Xindian branch of Loving Hut. I'm sure there are more delicious variations of this Italian dessert to be found in the city and I'm looking forward to stumbling upon them!

Tiramisu aside Soul R Vegan has become one of my favourite spots to visit in the city. They're at the pricier end of the spectrum because of their location in the Da'an area but the combo of delicious desserts, fun flavoured tea lattes and hot frothy soy milk drinks has me well and truly won over.

Both their rose tea latte and their chocolate brownie, more like a dense nutty cake than a brownie, are well worth the splurge but the tiramisu is where it's at if you only have one chance to stop by.

Disappointingly the service at Soul R Vegan is a bit hit and miss, everyone working there is incredibly friendly, speaks amazing English, and happily answers all of my menu questions, but I definitely find it confusing when your meal comes out with a dessert first, then a drink, then the main part of your meal, followed by another drink and then the second dessert. When Nick and I have been for lunch we've really enjoyed our creamy risottos and sandwich combo plates but on our first visit Nick had almost finished his meal before mine had even arrived and of course he waited a polite amount of time before digging in. I'm not opposed to this in more casual settings but it's not what I'd usually expect from somewhere more upscale. 

Another of my fave's so far is casual neighbourhood joint About Animals where you can get a delicious hot cocoa and a bacon sandwich in an openly queer friendly environment. If you're into craft beers and ciders this is also the place for you. For me though it's all about this sandwich!

Lightly toasted bacon cheese bread piled high with vegan bacon, a hash brown and crispy lettuce and topped off with both a smear of peanut butter and a squeeze of mustard. It's the perfect sandwich and the fries that accompany it are both crisp and excellently flavoured. About Animals is located around the corner from iVegan, Taipei's 100% vegan supermarket, and my favourite place to shop in the city. Not having to read ingredient labels is awesome although I wish that they didn't sell products by companies that test on animals. They do have almost all of the ingredients for a bacon sarnie though which is a definite win but you'll need to make a pit stop at either the Guangfu or RenAi Road Loving Hut branches to score some vegan margarine unless you want to spend 350TWD / £7 / $11 on a tub of Earth Balance.

Another of my go-to iVegan purchases is this sesame seed covered, ketchup drizzled hot dog roll. It's ridiculously cheap, 30TWD / 65p / 90¢, totally delicious and the perfect day trip snack alongside some fruit from iVegan's excellent produce section and a piece of pineapple cake from either Loving Hut or Vegan Heaven. 

This next recommendation isn't food based but you can eat there... mysterious! NanShan theatre is a second-run or second chance cinema and it seems to be the done thing to rock up with a steaming bowl of noodles or a handful of snacks from the closest 7/eleven.

I'd never heard of a second-run cinema until I stumbled upon NanShan but I have fallen head over heels for both the place and the concept. NanShan is situated in a 60's era movie theatre, think slightly less comfy seats than in a brand new theatre and squat toilets in the bathrooms, and they show movies that are no longer on at the regular cinema but that haven't yet been released on DVD. As the weather here has been hovering somewhere in-between rain, rain and more rain since we arrived the cinema is the perfect place to chill after spending the morning walking around one of Taipei's many museums. At 140TWD / £2.90 / $4.20 for a ticket that'll get you into as many movies as you want all day long it's also a solid budget friendly entertainment option. Nan Shan is located on lane 24 off of Tonghuà Street in the Da'an area and it has four screens showing 8 movies throughout the day so the chances of finding something you'll enjoy is high. It's a true Taiwanese experience and I'd highly recommend it. Bonus: Vegan Heaven is only a short walk away so if you have a gap between movies you can fuel up with some of the world's best sugary treats.