#fivedime

[jaydriftshard-blog]

So fresh

[sinclaireprowse]

Handmade in Taiwan

This weekend I visited two amazing places in Taipei worth blogging about. The first is the newly opened Songshan Cultural and Creative Park. The second is a restaurant that had some pretty stunning architecture. See below!

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區)

The Cultural and Creative Park has been set up in an abandoned warehouse area in Taipei city and is an exhibition space for some really awesome Taiwanese design. You can also attend design workshops like jewelry making, pottery, glass blowing and sewing classes to make bags and clothes. They also have an incredible collection of restaurants and cafes to hang out in and a 24hr bookshop. I can’t believe it took me so many months to get to this place!

  The Five Dime Boathouse (伍角船板)

Next up is the Five Dime Boathouse - I'll preface this by saying I was so stunned by the architecture of this restaurant that food was the last thing on my mind. Big deal. 

From the outset, the drawcard of this restaurant is the unique design of the building – the architect and owner of the restaurant is self taught! When my friend told me that the building is made completely out of driftwood, clay, iron and oyster shells – I have to admit it was with trepidation that I stepped inside.

But the result of her vision is quite incredible – the building is a fantastical structure resembling a cave-like-castle with twirling clay towers and twisted ramp stairs.

The designer and restaurant owner, Xie Li-xiang is a famous designer who takes her inspiration from traditional Taiwanese aboriginal design. 

The restaurant itself serves classic Taiwanese delicacies – including drunken chicken, stewed pork ribs and a delicious house-made mochi!

This is a really classic Taiwanese experience, I will be highly recommending it to anyone wanting to visit Taiwan.