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Is Go Dumpling A Legitimate Go To Restuarant In Taipei?
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In Taipei there is no shortage of places serving dumplings. That’s an understatement. You can find dumplings everywhere within this foodie haven of a city. It takes a special dumpling to really stand out within the city. After having spent my evening watching a Wei Chaun Dragons baseball game (a professional baseball team in Taipei) I was looking to cap my night with delicious food and stumbled upon Go Dumpling as I was walking back to my hotel.
The Go Dumpling Experience
Go Dumpling is pretty small and non-descript on a street in the Shilin District. What caught my eye was the green door, the violin menu holder (or whatever stringed instrument that may be lol), and the pig in a bowtie cutout that are all out in front of the restaurant.
Intrigued by these quirky items and colorful door and most importantly hungry, on the verge of hangry (lol), I decided to check out the menu.
There were definitely a lot of interesting items that caught my eye. The menu wasn’t huge but what they had sounded pretty tasty! There were six different sections on the menu: dumplings, noodles, soup, private home cuisine, braised dishes, and frozen dumplings. and the prices were certainly reasonable, so it was an easy choice to stop here and grab some food!
The Food
So, here’s what I ended up getting during my visit to Go Dumpling: dumplings in spicy sauce (220 NTD, $6.86 USD), hot and sour soup (50 NTD, $1.55 USD), and sesame oil noodles (50 NTD, $1.55 USD).
The Spicy Dumplings
Eating at place called Go Dumpling, it was a no-brainer to grab some dumplings here. Spicy dumplings? Sold! I liked the presentation of these. There were about six or seven of these in the bowl with finely shredded cucumber layered over the top with green onion and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top.
The dumplings were really tasty. The dough wasn’t too thick and seemed quite fresh. The meat filling was well seasoned with some green onion mixed in providing a different texture and crunch to the mix. The spicy sauce had some chili oil and sesame in it and packed a pretty decent punch. It certainly left the mouth burning a little bit, which is always the tell tale sign of a good ol’ fashioned spicy dish! The cucumber provided a nice little crunch and blended in well with the dumplings and sauce. The dumplings themselves were well coated in the spicy sauce which helped to enhance the flavor of them even more.
Hot And Sour Soup
Hot and sour soup, of course is something that’s popular world wide and isn’t some unique soup found only in Taiwan. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d had it, and being a soup lover, I thought it was a good time to get myself a bowl during my Go Dumpling visit.
This was a good sized bowl of soup and was only 50 NTD ($1.55 USD)! The soup had carrot, a couple of different types of mushrooms, egg, chicken, green onion, and tofu. Typical trimmings for a hot and sour soup.
The soup was flavorful and tangy with that familiar balance of spicy, sour, and savory flavors. After a long day of going all around Taipei this was a nice comforting bowl to sit down and enjoy. After eating a few spoonfuls I quickly remembered why I enjoyed this soup so much and questioned why I hadn’t had it in so long, lol. The complex combination of tangy, spicy, and savory flavors, the thickness of the soup broth, really makes the soup memorable, especially when it’s well-made, which this one was.
Sesame Oil Noodles
Something that I hadn’t had, but sounded simple yet tasty, was the sesame oil noodles.
It didn’t get much simpler than this dish: noodles, sesame oil, minced garlic, and some green onions, that’s it. I enjoyed this dish. It was flavorful due to the sesame oil, the noodles were thin, quite soft, and very fresh. The noodle dish overall was very, very light and would go well as a side dish with just about anything, especially a heavier kind of meal.
Final Thoughts
Go Dumpling is a solid little restaurant to grab some food if you’re in the Shilin area. It’s not necessarily a place that you’re going to go out of your way to put on your foodie list when visiting Taipei, but it’s a good option that serves some great dishes. I found the food to be well-presented and just flat out comforting. The prices are incredibly cheap which is another bonus and adds to the allure!
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Unlock the Treasures of Taiwan’s National Palace Museum: A Captivating Journey Through Time and Culture
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If you’re a fan of museums and learning about a country’s culture and history, the Taiwan National Palace Museum is the place for you while visiting Taipei. Housing over 700,000 pieces of Chinese artwork and artifacts the museum is absolutely massive. Depending on how you like to enjoy your time at museums, you can easily spend half a day at the Taiwan National Palace. There’s a variety of different exhibits to view within the cavernous building and the surrounding area, which includes a huge pond stocked with koi fish.
The History Of The National Palace Museum And Its Artifacts
Originally established in China’s Forbidden City, the National Palace Museum has a history that dates all the way back to 1925. Due to fear of the valuable pieces falling into the hands of the Japanese, the musuem pieces were constantly on the move. From 1931 – 1947, the artifacts, artwork, and other objects of value, were shuttled within thousands of crates, from the Forbidden City to Shanghai to Nanjing to Anshun / Leshan then back to Nanjing.
In 1948, following the end of World War II, the Chinese Civil War resumed. It was due to the worsening conditions from this Civil War on mainland China that led to some of the artifacts being shipped to Taiwan. It’s estimated that about 22% of the original collection made its way to Taiwan. Much of it remained in China after the controlling Communist party had seized control of the National Beijing Palace Museum where many of the artifacts were being stored.
The collection was stored in the mountain village of Beigou, which is located in Taichung. Here it stayed in storage until a small exhibition hall was built in 1956 where a small sample of the artificats could be displayed.
By 1960 a special fund had been created for the construction of the National Palace Museum. It took over fiver year to build and opened in August of 1965. After 40 years traversing several cities, the many artificats, artwork, and other valuables, had found a permanent home.
The National Palace Museum Experience
The National Palace Museum isn’t located near a subway exit so it’s a little more complicated to get to as opposed to some of the other attractions and will require taking the bus if you plan on taking public transportation.
Once you do get there, you are greeted to a huge tree-lined walkway with the massive National Palace Museum looming in the distance. It’s really a beautiful setting since there’s nothing but lush greenery behind the museum. It takes your mind out of the busy city vibes of Taipei and transports you to another time and place in Taiwan’s history.
As you walk up to the museum, to the right there’s a path that leads to a huge pond that has walkways and bridges and pavilions with places to sit, escape the sun, and have a snack or drink. The pond is stacked with huge koi fish. It’s peaceful little place to take a stroll before or after the visit and take a breather. It’s cool little area.
Once you make the walk to the museum itself, you’ll be impressed with the sheer size of the building. It’s HUGE. The price of admission is 350 NTD ($10.89 USD).
There’s multiple levels here, each absolutely packed with exhibits stocked full of all those artifacts, artwork, and other valuables that had made the journey through all those cities decades ago.
Notable Artifacts
In total, it’s estimated the museum has accumulated nearly 700,000 artifacts. Of which, only about 1% is exhibited at a time at the National Palace Museum which is about 3,000 items. Exhibits and items can get swapped out and the remaining items are stored in temperature controlled vaults.
Of all the artifacts and items at the museum, there are two which are very popular and famous.
The Jadeite Cabbage is a piece of jade that’s carved into the shape of a cabbage head with a small grasshopper hidden amongst its leaves. It’s a beautiful piece of craftsmanship.
The Meat Shaped Stone is a piece of jasper, which was carved into a piece of pork, which looks incredibly real.
Based off the official website, you’re not supposed to post any pictures of the actual artifacts on sites like this so I decided not to include any pictures of anything within the museum itself, unfortunately.
Is The National Palace Museum Worth Visiting?
If you’re going to Taipei the National Palace Museum should certainly be circled on your list of places to visit within the city. It has so much history within its walls. The exhibits are impressive and huge and are all very nicely displayed. The museum building is massive and it will take some time to walk through if you want to really see everything and learn about all the pieces displayed. The property itself is quite nice to walk around, especially the nearby pond area.
