Where to buy practical items in Tianmu / Shilin

 

Red Apple 紅蘋果生活百貨

 

I call this "The Everything Shop", because they have everything. 

No. 63, Tianmu W Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111

 

Kitchenware, shampoo, stationery, cosmetics, Japanese candy, 

electric adaptors, umbrellas, you name it, they have it. 

 

Red Apple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muji is a great Japanese chain with household items and clothing staples. In Tianmu, head upstairs in Mitsukoshi department store. 

 

An alternative would be to go upstairs in Carrefour hypermarket 

No. 47, Dexing W Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111

White goods / electrical things like fridges / blenders / aircon etc. 

It is quite a confusing experience walking round.

 

For larger items, furniture such as shelving, visit Hola in Shilin (like B&Q)

No. 258, Jihe Rd, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111 

Tasteful household goods in the basement. 

 

Hola

Hola

 

 

 

 

For larger items, head to IKEA for the meatballs, and then take a look in NITORI, the Japanese furniture store just beside it 宜得利家居 台北敦北店, which is arguably preferable to IKEA. Similar prices, good product quality, more enthusiastic service, less exhausting to walk around.Not much English spoken though.

Places to chill out in Tianmu: introducing 3 Department Stores and cinema

All over Asia, people love department stores, not least for the air-conditioning! Taiwan's department stores are mostly Japanese. In Tianmu you have a choice of three: here are a few suggestions of how to while away a couple of hours while you cool down. 

Sogo

The food court has a good view. Supermarket in the basement carries a decent range of international food and drink brands. Quality and price are both high. Pick up some clothing from Uniqlo upstairs, their range seems to be an unofficial uniform for blending in in Taiwan. If you have come from Europe, the fabric of your cotton clothing is likely much thicker than the local versions, so it's well worth investing in some thinner and cooler staples. Taiwan offers super-fashionable sportswear in very thin fabrics and Sogo is possibly the most stylish of the three stores. 

Mitsukoshi

Two Mitsukoshi stores side by side. The one further from the traffic junction offers a cinema on the top floor, which shows Hollywood and Asian films (alas not Bollywood). Cinemas have THE BEST AIRCON in Taiwan! You may need to take a scarf or socks! If you want to buy a ticket, but don't speak Mandarin, you could show a photo of the movie poster, and the sales person can probably figure it out. They will ask you where you want to sit, the default position in Taiwan is for everyone to sit in a group in the centre of the cinema. You can request a seat at the side or back; usually there are plenty of seats free for seat-hopping. Unless its the first weekend of some Marvel blockbuster when it might be absolutely packed.  

 

The restaurant just underneath the cinema ticket office is famous for bubble tea, and great beef noodle soup. Their menu shows english (in the world's smallest font). Go up to pay first when ordering. On the basement floor is a FNAC selling a few electronics. 

The food court here is small and not impressive.

Takashimaya

Situated beside the baseball stadium. A gigantic aquarium display is popular weekend attraction for kids. The basement food court is probably the best of the three department stores' food courts, and the supermarket is very good.