Ximending on your own

4 min read · Updated 2026-10

Ximending is Taipei’s busy pedestrian shopping district, right by Ximen MRT station. It is full of young locals and visitors at all hours, which makes it one of the easiest places in the city to wander and eat alone. Many of its food stops sell single portions, and several stay open late.

Getting there

Take the MRT to Ximen station (Blue and Green lines). The pedestrian streets start right outside Exit 6. Most places below are within a 10-minute walk of the station.

A day in Ximending, alone

1. Breakfast. A local breakfast shop such as Xikelai: an egg pancake and milk tea at a small table. Breakfast shops close around midday. How breakfast shops work.
2. A snack while you walk. A bowl of mee sua at Ay-Chung, eaten standing on the street like everyone else.
3. Lunch. A Taiwanese buffet such as Shanzhen Haiwei, where you pay by the plate, or beef noodles at Lao Shan Dong in the basement of the Wannian Building.
4. Afternoon break. Coffee at Fong Da, a scoop at Snow King or a bowl of tofu pudding at Origin Tofu Pudding.
5. Dinner. Individual hot pot, where every seat has its own pot: Chan Chi, Wangjiao or God Guo. Or a yakiniku set for one at ChaCha.
6. Late night. Ximen Noodle Shop runs through the night for most of the week, and Xiao Wu serves beef noodles around the clock.

Nearby

• Lungshan Temple and its night markets are one MRT stop away (Longshan Temple station). See Huaxi Street and Guangzhou Street night markets and night markets on your own.
• Taipei Main Station is one stop the other way, with more places on our near Taipei Main Station list.

Good to know

• Bring cash. Most small food stops here take cash only. See how paying works in Taiwan.
• Opening hours vary a lot, from breakfast-only shops to 24-hour noodle places. Each place page shows the hours and closing days.
• See everything on the map: all places in Ximending and Wanhua.

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