Yellowface author RF Kuang shares 5 Taipei spots beyond the usual tourist trail
From a neighbourhood vegetarian noodle shop to an art-house cinema and a campus store known for ice cream sandwiches, these are the places that stayed with the bestselling novelist after a summer in Taipei.
RF Kuang, a bestselling novelist, spent two months in Taipei in 2023 for a Mandarin course. This experience became the basis for her novel Taipei Story. The protagonist, Lily Chen, is a Chinese American who navigates mistranslation and grief during a summer in Taipei. Though Lily is a fictional character, the novel's settings are based on Kuang's own experiences.
One memorable spot was Qingtian Tea House, a Japanese-era wooden home in Da’an District, known for its Taiwanese oolong teas and a giant mango tree in the courtyard. Kuang fondly recalls counting mangoes that fell from the tree during a rainstorm, totaling around 85. Another vegetarian-friendly option was the Vegetarian Tomato Beef Noodle Restaurant in Xinyi District, which offered a lion's head mushroom soup in a tomato broth, a vegetarian twist on a popular Taiwanese dish.
Kuang also discovered Vegetarian Healthy, a buffet chain that catered to vegetarians with dishes like crispy fried tofu, braised eggplant, and multigrain rice. The campus shop N.T.U. Agricultural Products Sales Center, which sold milk and ice cream sandwiches, was another favorite. The ice cream sandwiches, made with rich dairy from the university's farm, were particularly memorable.
Taiwanese cinema has a strong indie scene, and Kuang visited the SPOT Huashan in Zhongzheng District, where she saw Ryusuke Hamaguchi's Passion. The film explored the complexities of communication and emotion, themes that Kuang incorporated into Taipei Story.
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