Taipei Eats: More than just Ruins

Animation: photos taken in the cafe.

Cafe is one of my favorites places to spend leisure time, though I don’t drink coffee (I know right, don’t judge me XD). Therefore, for me, a qualified cafe isn’t just about a cup of good coffee, it’s more. Nice decors (good to have but not a must), stable wifi (very important to me when I’m running out of data), drink options other than coffee and tea (since I can’t take caffeine), delicious desserts (nice for those have a sweet tooth like me), no time limit (seems strange but many cafes in Taipei has a 1.5 to 2 hour time limit), etc. Sounds picky, right?

Ruins Coffee Roasters is a cafe that fulfilled almost all the above expectations. The café itself was an abandoned warehouse and is now redesigned as a loft cafe, The ceiling is low on one side, yet it’s well-decorated in the industrial vintage style. The day I visited was a sunny day and the natural light shining in was just amazing. However, if you know the climate of Taipei, you’d know that there’s afternoon thundershower. It’s enjoyable sitting at the cafe, hearing the sound of raindrops on the roof, and reading.

As for food, most menu options they have are either drinks or desserts. The only dish they serve other than cakes is hamburgers (I didn’t order it so I don’t know if it’s good or not). I had a banana & peach cake with a glass of honey lemonade. The cake itself is a bit dry but tastes good with the cream on top. The staff is very kind and friendly. 2019 is their 7th anniversary and they gave me a postcard saying that I could leave it in their mailbox, and they’d send out for me. How sweet! It’s a lovely café to spend a whole afternoon at.

What’s your favourite cafe in the city you live in?

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@ChanneLing Thank you for sharing your experience with us. That cafe looks nice. It’s a good place to spend time and hang out with friends or even alone. One of my favorite cafes is here.

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The Ruins Cafe looks amazingly @ChanneLing so does that Banana Peach Cake!

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Hi @Ant_Bad_Yogi ,

Thank you! And yes that’s true.

Thank you for sharing the cafe in Thailand. I like its style, especially the entrance aisle. It has that kind of “Zen” feelings. :slight_smile:

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Hi @AdamGT ,

Thank you!

The banana peach cake is pretty good. The texture is firm and you can taste the flesh of banana and peach. Also, the cream is the highlight. It tastes rather light and a perfect match to moisten the cake. :slight_smile:

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Hello @ChanneLing ,

What a great area, thank you for sharing it with us. This place is everything that I love, an old building managed and turned into something beautiful with an incredible taste!

Do you go there often? Is there something must-try once at this place?

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Hi @BorrisS ,

Thank you! There’re more and more old house renovation projects running in Taipei. It’s pleasing to see old houses to be lit up again and turned to bookstores, galleries, cafes, or restaurants. It’s also one of my favorite places to discover in old town Taipei, like Dadaocheng district. Is there any place like that in the city you live in? Such as an old town district with many ancient abandoned buildings but are now under redevelopment? :slight_smile:

It was my first time visiting there and I’m planning my second go with friends. As for the must-try, since I don’t drink coffee, I don’t know much about it, but many people say they have good coffee. I would say that it’s nice to have desserts there. Their cake options are changing all the time, depend on the season. And I believe what’s the best is always the one in season, like strawberries in winter or mangoes in summer.

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Sounds amazing @ChanneLing , thank you for the details and information.

I love this concept of changing the menu according to the season, however I thing that a nice place should have a meal which serves as a signature for that particular location, and everyone knows that it is famous for.

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Good questions. @BorrisS Actually I don’t remember they have a signature dish, maybe chocolate brownie with ice-cream? Because I saw many customers ordered it. But well, it’s a pretty common dessert so it’s hard to say.

I agree with you that a nice place should have a signature dish to impress visitors so that it could spread positive word-of-mouth and attract more customers. The signature could also make the difference between a place having hundreds of reviews with an average rating of 4-5 stars and a place having thousands of reviews with an average rating of 4-5 stars.

As for me, the former one is a nice place to visit, but of course, it will not be as famous as the later one, which has signature meals or spots (could be theme decors or else). However, the later one could either be a well-known spot or be Internet famous, and sometimes it’d become too commercial or too Instagramique, then lose the calmness I expect/hope a cafe could have. But that’s just my thoughts while looking for a cafe to read, study, or spend hours. If it’s a restaurant, then yes, the signature meal will be everything I’m looking for lol. :slight_smile:

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Fascinating! @ChanneLing

Deeply impressed with your photos.

Toyo

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@ChanneLing I’ve been to Taipei 3 times and this is my first time learning of this cafe. Great intro. btw :slight_smile:

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Hi @user_not_found ,

ありがとう! Thank you!

I’m glad you enjoy the photos I share. :slight_smile:

Hi @user_not_found ,

Nice to hear that you’ve been to Taipei, and wow, 3 times!

This cafe is a bit far from downtown Taipei so most customers visiting are either local residents or college students (Chengchi University is around). It’s defo a hidden gem to visit. :wink:

:pleading_face::pleading_face::drooling_face::drooling_face:

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