Halloween is the time to get spooky — hotels and restaurants pull out all the scary stops

By Chi Bing-hui, compiled & reported

Chinese people have the Ghost Month, while the West celebrates Halloween. November 1st every year is the well-known traditional festival Halloween, and the night before — Halloween Eve — is the most anticipated event for kids and teenagers. Not only can they go trick-or-treating in broad daylight, but they can also dress up as ghosts and ghouls and hit the streets. These days, Halloween has evolved into a festive nationwide celebration. Hotels and restaurants such as Sheraton Taipei Pizza House, Ambience Garden Western Restaurant at Ambassador Hotel, L’Aria Lounge, and The Regent Taipei have launched various packages and celebration events to join in the fun.

On Halloween Eve, Sheraton Taipei Pizza House hosts a Vampire Halloween Party, inviting Count Dracula himself to lead guests on a quest for vampire relics. There will be magical balloon performances and mime shows. Limited-edition Halloween dishes include Vampire Spinach Tuna Duck Salad, Red Pepper Soup with Evil Spirit Yam, Black & White Impermanence Squid Pizza, Avocado Graveyard Risotto, and either Leech Roll or Vampire Coffin Beef Ribs. Kids’ meal sets include Devil’s Blood-Eyed Ed Chicken, Demon-Crushing Cross with Pumpkin Chocolate Pudding, along with a terrifying cocktail and a serving of maple syrup California plums. On the day, diners who take photos at the restaurant and upload them to Facebook with a check-in mentioning the Sheraton Taipei Pizza House Halloween Vampire Party will receive a Shu Uemura sample kit (valid for 30 minutes after check-in, while supplies last).

Ambience Garden Western Restaurant at Ambassador Hotel in Taipei also offers a Halloween-themed menu that evening, featuring dishes such as Pumpkin Ghost Salad, Magic Ultra Black Pork Ribs, Eerie Black Sauce Grilled Squid, and a Devilish Seafood Medley. In addition, in collaboration with professional face painters, the restaurant provides complimentary partial body art for diners, allowing them to sport cool designs like evil pumpkins, black skulls, and mysterious bats.

Yangmingshan L’Aria Lounge has launched a “Halloween Mischief & Mayhem” special package from October 29th to 31st. The children’s playroom transforms into a spooky haunted house called “The Altered Playroom,” while delicious meals become part of the “Ghostly Feast.” The open-air hot spring area introduces two uniquely themed baths: “Witch’s Soup” and “Blood Flame Spring,” offering both thrills and enhanced skincare benefits. There’s also a “spooktacular” accommodation package with discounted “brave-heart” rates (up to 50% off), with more details available by contacting the hotel directly.

Finally, The Regent Taipei offers families an alternative way to celebrate the holiday. On October 22nd afternoon, it hosts a “Halloween Surprise: Parent-Child DIY Cooking Class” led by Executive Pastry Chef Xie Mingsong from Cloud Lounge Western Restaurant. Both kids and parents can make pumpkin pies and DIY pumpkin carvings in a fun yet professional environment. Participants can even take their creations home. The registration fee is NT$1,500 per group, and advance booking is required.