Comparison

Palate Journal vs Taiwan Handshake

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Palate Journal

Create a private, personal guide to your favorite dining experiences. Log meals, dishes, and companions with custom tier marks. Generate an annual PDF summary of your culinary year.

Highlights
  • Editorial tier system
  • Visit log with details
  • Dish-of-the-year highlighting
  • Annual PDF guide generation
  • Cross-device sync
  • Private by design
Features
Read full description

Palate Journal is a private restaurant journal — a place to keep a record of the meals worth remembering, the dishes that surprised you, and the rooms you'd return to. No reviews to publish. No followers. Just your own quiet guide to the places you love. Each restaurant earns a tier mark — three stars for a journey, two for a detour, one for a very good meal in its category, plus Bib, Plate, Watching, and a private Blocklist. The system is yours; the marks are yours; nobody else sees them. Add a place in seconds: tap +, find the restaurant from a search or a dropped pin, give it a tier, and write as much or as little as you like. Photograph the dishes. Tag the companions. Note the occasion. Each visit becomes a card in your guide. Every December, Palate Journal renders your year as a beautifully typeset PDF — a print-ready volume of the restaurants you visited, the dishes of your year, and the patterns hidden in twelve months of eating. Print it. Share it. Shelve it. FEATURES • Editorial tier system: three star, two star, one star, Bib, Plate, Watching, Blocklist • Visit log with companions, occasions, photos, and per-visit tier marks • Dish-of-the-year highlighting • Map view across every city you've eaten in • Annual PDF guide auto-generated each December • Trips: group restaurants by city and dates • Cross-device sync via iCloud • Sign in with Apple, Google, or email • Private by design — your guide is never published, ranked, or shared without your asking Palate Journal is for people who keep track of where they've eaten the way they used to keep ticket stubs and theatre programs. A guide to the places you love — by you, for you. Terms of Use: https://www.palate-journal.app/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.palate-journal.app/privacy

About

Taiwan Handshake

Features
Read full description

Welcome to Taiwan Handshake, your guide to Taiwan's hand-shaken drinks. 【Personalized picks】 Tell us your sweetness and ice level and we suggest what to order. 【Shops near you】 Find the closest bubble tea shops on the map, with full menus for 40+ brands. 【Your drink log】 Record every cup with your sugar, ice and notes, so you never forget a favorite. 【Community】 See what other boba lovers are drinking right now.

Screenshots

Palate Journal4 screens
Taiwan Handshake4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Palate Journal at none against Taiwan Handshake's shown. Palate Journal also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 10 days). Taiwan Handshake's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Palate Journal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per year and Taiwan Handshake sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Palate Journal ships an update every 4 days, Taiwan Handshake every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Palate Journal versus Taiwan Handshake: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPalate JournalTaiwan Handshake
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB89 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Ivy Studios LLCTING CHUN WANG

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Palate Journal

Subscriptions1
  • Palate Pro$4.991 Year
One-time1
  • The 2026 Edition$9.99
1 purchases

Taiwan Handshake

Subscriptions1
  • 臺灣手搖+$0.991 Month

Questions

Is Palate Journal free?
Palate Journal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Taiwan Handshake free?
Taiwan Handshake is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Palate Journal or Taiwan Handshake have ads?
Taiwan Handshake shows ads; Palate Journal does not.
Which is updated more often, Palate Journal or Taiwan Handshake?
Palate Journal ships an update every 4 days, and Taiwan Handshake every 10 days. Most recently, Palate Journal was updated on October 14, 2026 and Taiwan Handshake on October 28, 2026.

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