After our one day layover in Tokyo we are going to taipei for a week with a couple of friends are there any can’t miss market stands or restaurants?
Bumping this thread as we’re planning a visit next month.
we went to:
Yong kang beef noodles
Ling dong fang beef noodles
Ay Chung for rice noodle soup
Hot star for fried chicken patty
Yong he for soy milk
Raohe night market for black pepper buns. They have tons of other food too that is good
Sunny hills for pineapple cake
Tian jin for scallion pancake
Jin Feng for lu rounfan
She zi Dan for bing
Hangzhou and dtf for xlb
Most of the night markets and areas have good food just use google maps for reviews or look for places that have lines
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Quite the itinerary! I so miss the food in Taiwan. Although cooked foods may be the focus, I would simply recommend eating every fruit possible while you are there. I can’t recall what is in season by November, but just. eat. everything. The quality versus what we get in the States is incomparable because the Taiwanese are so proud of their fruits and the growing conditions are so perfect. Watermelon is always sweet, juicy and ‘swa’ (that perfect watermelon texture that is crisp, slightly gritty, juicy but not to watery.) Lychees. Pongkam (mandarins that are sweeter and juicier and make a mockery of the overpriced Sumo mandarins. Lianwu (wax apples). Dragonfruit. Grapes.
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I’ll be going end of December, so I wanted to remind myself of my favorite spots and also share them for the thread!
Beef Noodle Soup
This place remains my favorite Beef Noodle Shop place, after sampling around all the commonly-frequented places. The food truly is emblematic of ugly delicious.
- But I think their best dish is their Zhajiangmian. Unbelievably garlicky savory pork coating a thick,chewy, udon-like noodle. QQ AF
- Being Vietnamese, Beef Soups are just something I grew up eating, and I never connected with Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup until I had this shop’s.
- I was so attached to this spot, that I intentionally chose a 12 hour layover in Taipei just to eat here again,
- YMMV!
- Google Maps
Ba-wan
or Taiwanese Meatball at any of these chains 彰化肉圓 [copy and paste those characters into google maps and you should see a few locations]
- This is the location that introduced the dish to me
- Essentially, this is a gluttenous rice flour dumpling stuffed with pork, bamboo shoots, wood-ear mushrooms
- Its then poached in a cauldron of oil until the inside is cooked
- Then, it’s topped with a super garlicky sweet and sour sauce
- Optionally, you lace on as much hot sauce [which perfumes of habanero chilis to me IMO] and cilantro to your discretion
Sushi
- complicated colonization history has given Taiwanese people an affinity for sushi and raw fish; the prices are incredible if you’re in the mood and there are plenty of Seafood Donburi places you can gorge yourself on excellent seafood for a great price.
- Google Maps
Addiction Aquatic Development is a nice spot; affordable and good vibes. Nothing grand, but pretty competent sushi and great QPR
Lou Rou Fan [Braised Pork over Rice]
- My Stove Google Maps
- Nearly every restaurant in Taiwan will sell their version of Lou Rou Fan, but many people say My Stove is the best version of the dish.
- Go for any other homestyle taiwanese food you’d order stateside and be amazed at the discrepancy in quality and execution.
Late Night & Late-Late Night Food
- Not sure how much of a night owl you are, but there are a few options I loved going to after a night out near Taipei101/XinYi
Xindian Hotpot
- Google Maps
- AYCE, closes at 1:30 am
- probably the first place in my life that made me enjoy hotpot, super hyperbolic, but you get pretty high quality and flavorful products
- also all you can eat haagen-dazs, or my preferred brand, movenpick
Zhi Xiang Chicken Rice & Cold Noodle
- Google Maps
- Closes 6am
- Cold sesame noodles with chicken is great
- Lou rou fan is solid
- But the showstopper here is their soup that literally is 3 flavors of soup in 1: 1) miso soup; 2) egg drop soup; 3) these pork meatballs
Any Taiwanese Breakfast spot
- it just hits really hard late night
NingXia Market
- My go to night market, but it’s been such a long time that even the shops within this market could’ve shaken up. There were 2 super distinct dishes I got here that I will always come back for until I find a better version
Big Sausage Little Sausage
- Quite literally, a rice sausage that’s been split open, stuffed with an insane amount of toppings, then add a sweet taiwanese sausage on top.
- it’s pure madness, but the version I loved the most at the Ningxia stall that sold it came with wasabi, and that wasabi provides such an incredible nose-hit to chase the grease and sweetness of the sausage.
BOMB cong you bing
- Essentially, this was an invention from south Taiwan where instead of simply pan frying a scallion pancake, you throw the entire pancake into hot oil and the entire pancake puffs up like a donut [hence the BOMB name]
- The result is an insanely craggly, crispy pancake. Ask for it to be slathered in soy paste, garlic, and with egg and basil.
- I was introduced to this at Ningxia, and I hope they’re still there and hoping this has spread to other night markets in TPE
- a blogpost showing the process here https://nellydyu.tw/blog/post/bomb
Mao Kong Mountain
- Take the brown line all the way south till you hit the Taipei Zoo, then you can either get a Taxi or Gondola to the top of Mao Kong mountain, known for their teas and views
- There are a ton of restaurants that have a view overlooking the mountains and you can see Taipei 101 in the distance
- I haven’t eaten at too many places, but I really enjoyed my time at Big Tea Pot
- Google Maps
- Basically, restaurant is focused on cooking with Tea, tea leaves, or any tea product
- I’m sure it’s not unique to this restaurant up here so definitely feel free to shop around
- Really really good place to decompress after being overstimulated
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Made it back after eight long years… I missed Taiwan so much. Wife and I are now thinking about retiring there at least part of the year.
- When people talk about losing weight in foreign countries despite eating like pigs, others will quickly rebut that you tend to walk a lot more. That may be true and it certainly doesn’t hurt walking in Taipei humidity. That said, portion sizes are far smaller, the ingredients tend to be less fatty meat heavy, and far less oil/sugar are used. I’m convinced that if i lived in Taipei longer-term, I’d quickly lose weight even if I didn’t walk around so much!
- Draft Land: Cocktails on tap. what you lose in the joy of seeing a bartender make you a drink is offset by the fun of getting to try multiple cocktails before selecting one. I wouldn’t say the drinks were memorable, but they were cheap and good.
- Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle: After all these years, still the best. Perfect consistency. Heaping bowl. Nice, big chunks of intestine that were just fatty enough and thick enough to give the right mouthfeel. There is nothing like a steaming hot bowl of this early in the AM after not having it for eight years.
- Da Li Ma Ji in Ximending: I’ve dreamed about this place. Randomly found it on my last trip. Simple concept… a small brick of mochi that is grilled to crisp, airy, and brown and then doused with your topping of choice (brown sugar, chocolate, matcha, sesame, peanut, soy sauce, cheese.) These things are so addictive. Had 3-5 each time I went on the trip.
- Mian Xian Ding in Datong: In case you can’t tell, I love mian xian. This is a wonder twist where the topping is not intestine but rather seafood… The house combo is oysters, small squid, intestine, chicken meatballs and fish crisps. The seafood gives the broth a wonderful aroma. It is not cheap at 170NT but it is very satisfying.
- Dai Gou Mian Xian in Da’an: Another mian xian dian. Not as good as Ay-Chung bc the consistency wasn’t quite right but I greatly enjoyed the intestine which is a different cut - more chewy/crisp without the ring of fat. More white than gray/brown and more textured with ridges. I wish I could name it, but it’s a fairly common part of intestine but not the big intestine that is usually used.
- 豐盛食堂 in Yong Kang: This was Taiwanese cuisine and my favorite restaurant on the trip. We went twice on back to back days. Honestly, just try whatever looks good that you see other people ordering. White-cut boiled chicken, grilled pork jowel, any stirfried veggie, pan fried sea bass or other fish, fresh boiled shrimp. Just wonderful execution. Little to no grease. Subtle seasoning but flavorful.
- 永康水果園 (Yong Kang Fruit): Pricey but such a great place for ready to eat fresh fruit. Mangoes, pineapple, and especially wax apples. A pleasant surprise as I thought wax apples were only available in winter but apparently are year-round. Definitely shell out for the black pearl ones… worth every penny of premium.
- Xiaonanmen tofu pudding: This place brought back so many great memories. When my now wife, then fiancee and I visited Taiwan for the first time, we took special joy in buying the iced tofu pudding with boba, aiyu, mung bean, and peanut. It’s just such a nice treat and we would eat it on our hotel room bed. Fast forward almost 20 years and this was one of our first stops and it was especially nice to bring our two sons with us. It’s as good as we remembered and it’s easy to find bc there are branches all over. Nowadays, there are more artisanal joints, but for my money, I still like the OG versions best.
- 白水豆花 (Bai-Shui Tofu Pudding): One such artisanal joint. It’s great. The toppings are unique, like the peanut crunch. The tofu is lighter and silkier and more flavorful. It’s delicious. But my taste buds simply prefer the XNM version
- DTF @ Taipei 101: Had to check it out, if nothing else because it’s less than half the cost of DTF in LA. So my son was able to basically eat to his heart’s content. Worth it for that alone.
- Restaurant at Aquatic Addiction Development: I’d heard so much about this place and my kids love sushi so we went. During our visit, it rained a ton so crowds were muted and waits were short. Honestly, I was bummed. The value is there for sure. The miso fish soup was very enjoyable. But the sushi rice is mediocre and for me, that ruined it. But the kids wolfed it down. My favorite thing may have been the grilled bluefin tuna chunks. Marinated hunks grilled to perfection, a slight char on the outside, still moist and tender on the inside. Warning, it is very fishy. But if you’re into that, its an incredible bite.
- A-Cheng Goose: I wanted to love this place, but I got the much-hyped smoked goose and realized I prefer the cleaner, white-boiled version. It was still good, but I realize I’m just not a smoked goose person. That said, there is nothing I love more than a bowl of mung bean vermicelli in goose soup. Such a simple dish but so soul-warming and cleansing.
- 春美冰菓室 (Chun Mei Ice Shop): If you love mango, go here. They specialize in both versions, the milkier, fluffier snow ice and the more traditional bao bing. I much prefer the latter because it allows the mango to shine. Minimal additional sugar means its a perfect balance of sweet, tart mango chunks and puree over perfectly crushed ice. So freaking good. We only made it once and I wish it had been more times.
- Fu Hang Soy Milk: This is THE place to get Taiwanese breakfast right now and to be honest, I hated it. The experience sucks. It’s chaotic, it’s dirty. The lady next to us spilled her glass of soy milk and nearly doused us and then we had to slam our meals down while workers furiously mopped soy milk all over. But more importantly, everything was way to greasy. I don’t get the appeal at all.
- Ruian Soy Milk: We were staying at the Shangri-La so one morning I decided to walk to Yonghe Soy Milk. Of course, it was the one day it was closed so I instead hit up Ruian. What a pleasant surprise! I’ll be the first to admit that I tend to like my food lighter, less greasy. And this hit the spot. The shao bing was crisp and flaky, the chive pocket was delicate. It may not get as crispy or flaky as at Fu Hang, but the trade-off is a much lighter meal that leaves you with ample room to eat more.
- Yu Pin Yuan Iced and Hot Tangyuan: This stall at Linjiang Night Market is much hyped but unlike Fu Hang, lives up to the promise. I’d never had this but it is tang yuan, or boiled mochi balls stuffed with sesame paste, that are cooked and immediately put on top of shaved ice. Then you add lemon juice and honey syrup. So you get the contrast of hot, chewy, almost too sweet tang yuan that threaten to take off layers of the skin in your mouth and then you finish it off with the shave ice that you douse in the lemon juice and honey syrup. So freaking good.
- Oyster place on Dihua Street: I don’t have the name of this place. It’s near the start of Dihua Street on your left. Simple money. Fresh oyster noodle or mung bean vermicelli in soup. Boiled oysters and squid lathered in soy and garlic. So simple, so fresh. This area is pretty touristy so I wasn’t expecting much, but this was an incredible find.
- Orange Shabu: We love shabu. This place seemed super nice. It is and it is a very pleasant dining experience. The ingredients are high quality. The dipping sauces were elite. But was it worth spending a meal? Eh, probably not. It’s shabu and the execution in the States isn’t that far off.
- Shin Tung Nan Seafood: Didn’t have a great experience here but that was our fault. It’s a higher-end seafood joint where you pick you items and they cook it in your preferred style. But everything comes in large portions so as a family of four we really didn’t get to try much. The Typhoon Shelter Style soft-shell crab was excellent. Fresh and lightly battered. Sizeable portion for what we got. We also got a beef cheek dish that my kids devoured. But this is the type of place you go with ten people and get a king crab and all other sorts of crazy seafood.
- Pin Xian Seafood: For our first night, we went to kuai chao joint. Kuai Chao being fast stir fry where dishes are ordered and prepared in a few minutes. We tried a ton of stuff, most of which I can’t remember. But, what I’ll say is that while the value is great, the preparation was nowhere near what we experienced at 豐盛食堂 in Yong Kang. Things were just a little less fresh, sauced a bit more heavy-handed, a bit oilier, etc. Still a wonderful meal and we got to try ten dishes but if you want high-quality execution, this isn’t the place. It’s more of a “I just got out of work and my buddies and I want to get a reasonably priced meal and throw down some beers” type of place
- Tianjin Scallion Pancake: Another one of those much-hyped places with a long line that was easy to get in the dour weather. This was worth it. Light, flaky, chewy scallion pancake bursting with scallion. Delicious. You’ll see variants of this all over town, but many of them are much greasier, especially the ones that are deep-fried. To each their own, but I much prefer this more light-handed version.
Hope this helps!
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You ate well! Try 點水樓 on the next Taipei trip!
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duly noted!
it’s hard not to eat well in Taiwan, lol.
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