Food & Drink

Occupying the 12th floor of the recently opened Kimpton Da’an hotel, restaurant-slash-bar The Tavernist offers yet another reason to venture around this district after dark.

With a group of young, wildly creative chefs leading the way, the Taiwanese capital is emerging as Asia’s buzziest culinary destination.

Craft beer isn’t the sole domain of men anymore. Across Asia, trailblazing female brewers are transforming the industry.

Asia’s craft suds scene keeps getting better. Craig Sauers checks in with six exciting breweries using local flavors and ingredients to push beer boundaries.

Taihu might be Asia’s most progressive brewery. The bathrooms are gender neutral, for starters, and when it comes to beer, head brewer Winnie Hsu is as relentless in her devotion to quality as she is in her rejection of traditional boundaries.

“We make cocktails for people who usually order beer,” says Angus Zou, the brains behind Draft Land. After building a name for himself at Alchemy, a trailblazer in Taipei’s speakeasy scene, he opened this taproom in 2018 to take the fuss out of ordering a mixed drink.

Like most speakeasies worth their salt, the first rule of Staff Only Club was, “do not tell anyone.” But good news travels fast, and soon after opening late last year, this members-only club became Taipei’s worst-kept secret.

This tiny cocktail kitchen in buzzy Da’an district actually serves up a full culinary experience. In his space of dimly lit booths around a stage-like bar, owner Seven Yi takes guests on a two-hour tasting journey.