I lived for a lot of my childhood and adolescent years in Taipei, and visit family there once a year or so. I'm sure my view is tinted by my own family background and emotional attachment, but I do think Taipei is indeed a very livable city that offers many examples of urbanism done right (one of the most highly functional metro systems in the world, and a surprisingly good network of urban parks, as some examples). It doesn't quite have the polish of say, Tokyo, but Taipei is similar in offering a mix of very dynamic, highly-trafficked commercial districts and quiet, leafy neighborhoods. And yes, the food on the whole is excellent on any budget
I can't say I have a good read on how "rated" Taipei is in general, but it does seem like the city has gotten a lot more positive attention in the international press in the last decade (completely putting aside issues related to China). It's certainly way more buzz than when I was growing up in the 90s and 2000s. I never would have imaged it in the top 10 of Monocle magazine's livable cities list last year, for example.