I think it’s difficult to write about secret Taipei things. It’s a city that is changing constantly, with little pop-up stores, food carts that move all around and ever-changing places. I have my secrets now, but I suspect they won’t be current a year from now, which makes posting about them futile. The best secret about Taipei is to go out on foot and explore. Walk down little alleys and wander through the markets. Take it all in because if you go back the following week, it will be different.

That being said, here’s some ideas for exploration that might not make the guide books and will probably be there later.

The Grand Hotel Tea – The Grand Hotel has a huge buffet tea every day starting at 2pm until 5pm, and at the time of this writing, cost NT$590 per adult. (about $19) It is an all you can eat buffet, complete with sushi, lots of Chinese and Taiwanese foods and a huge dessert spread. The food is good, not great, but the setting is spectacular and it gives you a reason to wander the grounds. You can get a shuttle bus to the hotel from the Expo Center, just south of the Yuanshaun metro stop. (Red line)

If you go to the Aborigine Cultural Center in Expo Park at 4pm on Saturdays, there’s a free craft class. Even the materials are free. It’s first come, first serve, free for the first 20, but it’s usually no problem to be included. Sometimes there’s a dance performance there, too.

For a lunch or dinner that is completely unique, go to the Beitou Refuse Incineration Plant. Yes, you read that right – I’m sending you to a dump. But on the tower, there’s a lovely revolving restaurant with a five course dinner offered! No English on the menu, but the food was great and the views were wonderful. A dump was never so romantic! If you don’t want to eat, there’s a viewing platform you can visit for free.

While we’re on the subject of unlikely meals, try the Modern Toilet Restaurant. It’s a kitchy themed place, but the food is decent and it’s good for a laugh. The restaurant is decorated like a bathroom, you sit on toilets to eat, and the food is often made to look, well… it fits the theme.

A very moving little museum we found that’s not in the guidebooks is the AMA museum, dedicated to the “comfort women” of WWII. Many of them were from Taiwan. The museum is very well done and all the signage is translated into English. Plus, it’s in a fun location – walk north into a gentrifying area that is being filled with interesting little shops and restaurants – including a fantastic place that makes wooden kitchen implements and a Chinese lantern store.

SPOT Theater is a movie theater with mostly art films, and occasionally there’s one in English. Why is this place special? Because it used to be the US Ambassador’s house when Taiwan was a recognized country by the US. How often can you go to the movies in an ambassador’s home?