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- They Say Santiago Has No Icons—But I Found a Few Surprises
They Say Santiago Has No Icons—But I Found a Few Surprises
Nostalgic shopping mall; veggie alternative for local must-eat; authentic TAIWAN boba!
Jessie Chen
August 17, 2025
People often say Santiago doesn’t have iconic sights, which might be true if you’re expecting a Paris-like experience, where the whole city feels like a museum. Still, I had fun exploring and wanted to share some of the gems I discovered with you!
Table of Contents
A cool mall worth checking out. Inside, you’ll find all kinds of stores—jewelry shops, shoe repair, clothing, and more. What makes it special is the nostalgic vibe, like stepping into an old era I never belonged to, but it has its own unique charm.
2. 🥕Vegetarian restaurant - El Naturista
7 minute walk from the unknown shopping mall. A lot of must-eat cuisines in Chile or let’s say South America are not vegetarian. Here you can find veggie alternatives! The Pastel de choclo (Corn pie) I ordered is pretty good!
People say Pastel de choclo (Corn pie) is a must-eat!
3. 🧋Boba place - BOBIBOBI Innovación del té
1 minute walk from El Naturista. As someone from Taiwan, where boba reigns supreme, my life motto is simple: see boba, drink boba. When I saw the name “Bobibobi”, I had a feeling it would be good! “Bobi” is actually a Taiwanese word meaning “blessing.” I’d boldly assume that if the person running this bubble tea shop isn’t Taiwanese or has no experience with Taiwan, there’s no way they would have used the word 'bobibobi' as the shop’s name.
I still couldn’t confirm if the owner is Taiwanese, but I confirmed their tea is from Taiwan! (they displayed so on their screen) Well, since it’s from Taiwan, the quality is assured ha. It’s super authentic! The same taste as the one I usually have here. Definitely give it a try if you are missing Taiwan version boba or you just want to know what it tastes like.
It says the tea is from Taiwan!
4. 🍨Ice cream & cafe - HELADERÍA y CAFETERÍA SAN ISIDRO 43
8 minute walk from BOBIBOBI Innovación del té. Their brownie is so good that I went 2 times! Didn’t have a chance to check out other cakes though. Recommended if you want some sweets.
5. ☕️Cafe - Cafe Trieste
12 minute walk from HELADERÍA y CAFETERÍA SAN ISIDRO 43. I discovered this place after coming back from Atacama desert. The food is decent but the vibe is great! I like the owner and the customers could easily and naturally started a conversation. A cute community vibe! Also the area is such a nice walking district with bars and cafes. I can imagine couples having a date here in the evening ha.
My breakfast in the cafe
Streets around the neighborhood - 1
Streets around the neighborhood - 2
6. 🛌Hotel - Sweet Stay Chile
This is such a nice apartment that I left a long and positive review on Google map 😂. I even started to dream of having this type in the future ha. Here are its pros:
About the layout & facility: It’s 1B1B layout with an open kitchen and a cute living room with big windows. If you are lucky, you could have magnificent mountain views, which is especially stunning in the evening when the sunset light shows! (I still can’t believe this is Chileans’ daily 🤯)
Open kitchen of the apartment
In the apartment, you have everything you need - bowls, cups, pods, utensils, fridge, microwave, oven, kettle, hairdryer, portable water and even adapters! You can also do the laundry on 26F, which requires 1500 equivalent coins. Though they have online payment for the machines, it doesn’t work for international cards.
View taken from 26F laundry room/
💡 Better prepare some coins in advance if you plan to wash clothes. Otherwise, you could end up going here and there just to get some coins like I did 🫣 (I’m so glad my basic Spanish came in handy!)
About the service: it’s self-checkin and everything was arranged well. When you arrive, just go to the counter on 1F of the apartment. The staff will give you the key. They are also very responsive on WhatsApp. My question about building code, laundry and payment got answered pretty quick.
💡 Initially I had concern about paying through a link they sent in advance because of recent booking scams. I then proposed paying when checkin, which they agree. It turns out they are very trustworthy so no need to worry about the payment. After paying through the website, you’ll get a receipt and therefore can forward to the email they provide.
About location: it’s not exactly in downtown but only takes 10 min walk to get there, which avoids the crowd and grants the opportunity to explore a new area. Also, it’s close to a Chinese grocery store (I discovered it by my hunch as soon as I saw the red signboard ha) and a yummy Thai restaurant, how can I say no?
