Global Ranking of Weird Restaurants: 6 Taiwanese Entries Make the List

Written/Compiled and Reported by Li Xinyi, MOOK Travel & Lifestyle Network

 

Taiwan has an astounding 70% of its population dining out, and this massive takeout market has led to fierce competition in the food and beverage industry. Business owners constantly rack their brains to innovate, resulting in a vibrant scene where all kinds of creative cuisines flourish. This not only attracts local consumers, but even Bob Blumer, host of TLC’s Travel & Living Channel, made a special trip from Los Angeles to experience it. His first stop was Taipei’s Toilet Restaurant, where diners eat while sitting on toilets, and even the utensils are shaped like toilets. Bob, watching everyone enjoy their meal, exclaimed, “This is absolutely crazy!” But he never expected the toilet-themed dishes to be surprisingly delicious — so much so that he even wanted to bring the Toilet Restaurant back to Los Angeles!

The “World’s Weirdest Restaurants” show selected over 50 uniquely themed, delicious restaurants from around the globe, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, Germany, Amsterdam, the Czech Republic, and the UK. These range from a Japanese pub where monkeys serve beer, to a naked dining restaurant in New York, and even a Czech eatery where you can soak in a beer pool. Taiwan alone boasts six entries on the list. In addition to the Toilet Restaurant and the Airplane Restaurant, Bob also visited the Nurse Restaurant, where beautiful nurses diagnose and serve you “medicine,” the Cardboard Restaurant where cardboard boxes double as tables and chairs, and the Puppet Theater Restaurant, offering an immersive experience of traditional Taiwanese puppetry culture.

At the Puppet Theater Restaurant, Bob boldly ignored his mother’s advice about focusing while eating — here, you’re meant to watch the show while you dine, and even get to go on stage and try your hand at glove puppetry. Eating and playing openly is the way to go! Visiting the A380 Air Kitchen Restaurant at the other end of Taipei, Bob felt the best part was being able to enjoy first-class-level service for just a few hundred dollars, with the added guarantee of no turbulence — completely changing his previous bad experiences with airplane food! But what he remembers most is Taiwan’s 50¢ Pier, a bizarre architectural creation handcrafted by a female designer that feels like a Gaudí building transported to Taipei. The restaurant serves authentic Taiwanese cuisine. He said, “I’ve never tasted these dishes before, but they were really delicious!”

Bob was deeply impressed by Taiwan’s endless creativity and vibrancy in cuisine. He stated, “Many people think theme restaurants like these are just a flash in the pan, but I don’t see it that way.” Using the Toilet Restaurant as an example, he said, “You might think using mini toilets as plates is just a gimmick, but these restaurants not only operate as chains, they also evolve with the times and know how to keep what the public loves.”