Taipei Food: the Best Dishes and Where to Find Them
For adventurous eaters, the Taipei food scene is a positive mecca, with everything from comfort dishes to the exotic, all capped by an unrivaled night market culture.
Visiting Taipei for the first time, one of our primary goals was to positively eat our way through the city. In order to prepare, we surveyed multiple friends who grew up in Taipei, for their local’s recommendations of what to eat and the best places to find it.
This list is the result of that research, all diligently tested over subsequent forays into Taipei’s food scene.
To help you best strategize your itinerary, we’ve organized the list by neighborhood. We’ve also included each food’s name in Mandarin, which helped us immensely in navigating menus without any Westernized characters — if you can’t read the text, you can at least find the corresponding character!
Travel writer Deborah Cater has said that “you have to taste a culture to understand it,” and you’ll rarely gain a better understanding of a place through its cuisine than in Taipei.
So without further ado, leave any hesitations at the door and dive in. Bon appétit — or as they say in Taiwan, kān píng kāi!
Jump to:
- Da’an District
- Zhongzheng District
- Raohe Night Market
- Shilin Night Market
- Night Market Staples (choose your own adventure)
Da’an District
Traditional Taiwanese Breakfast
A traditional breakfast usually consists of you tiao (deep fried sticks of dough), shao bing (cake stuffed with egg or beef), dan bing (egg with scallions), fan tuan (rice rolls stuffed with shredded pork), and soy milk (either savory or sweet).
Where to go: Yong He Soy Milk King, one of the more popular spots for an authentic, no-frills meal. You can sample multiple dishes for a reasonable price. There are multiple locations around town, but the original is in the Da’an District (directions).
Beef Noodle Soup (牛肉麵)
If you’re going to eat anything in Taipei, beef noodle soup is it, with thick noodles and meat simmered in a rich broth.
Where to go: Yong Kang Beef Noodle. It’s a local institution, and the menu also offers a wide variety of other dishes to compliment your soup (directions).
Shaved Ice (剉冰, 雪花冰)
A decadent dessert that comes loaded with your choice of either frozen mango, tapioca pearls, condensed milk, or other toppings.
Where to go: Smoothie House, whose Instagram-worthy concoctions always produce a line out the door (directions).
Taiwanese Fried Chicken (雞排)
A simple dish, but you’ll notice subtle differences between Western fried chicken and a Taiwanese spin.
Where to go: Shi Yun does fried chicken well. They have multiple locations around town, but their main storefront is in the Da’an District (directions).
Daikon Radish Pancake (蘿蔔絲餅)
Taiwan is big on pancakes. Unlike the Western version, these are thicker patties that are frequently stuffed with veggies, before being fried golden crisp on the outside. Radish is usually the go-to vegetable for these palm-sized pancakes, although you can opt for other fillings as well.
Where to go: Wenzhou Street is a small, no-frills spot that cooks them to perfection. You can also get egg on top, for extra protein (directions).
Traditional Taiwanese Tea (台灣茶)
As big tea aficionados, we may be a tad biased, but a traditional tea tasting feels like a must while you’re in Taipei. It’s a genteel experience steeped (no pun intended) in traditional culture, and you’ll find that the subtle complexities of the beverage are no less intricate than a wine tasting.
Where to go: Qingtian Tea House in the Da’an District does the experience beautifully (directions).
Note: we also loved Eighty-Eightea Rinbansyo over in the Wanhua District. Housed in a 100+ year old former monk’s residence, tea is served in a traditional Japanese setting (among cushions, on the floor). For the sake of organizing this guide geographically, we listed the equally enjoyable Qingtian, but if tea is your thing and you have more time to spare, you won’t regret Eight-Eightea either (directions).
Zhongzheng District
Boba Tea (珍珠奶茶)
Boba tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s, so it’s no surprise to find boba shops on nearly every corner in town.
Where to go: It’s a hard drink to mess up, so you honestly can’t go wrong anywhere. But if you want to sample a bit of history, both Hanlin Tea Room (directions) and Chun Shui Tang (directions), each with a Zhongzheng location, claim to have invented the tapioca beverage.
Braised Pork Rice (滷肉飯)
Another simple, hearty dish, it doesn’t get much more “comfort food” than steamed rice topped with flavorful minced pork.
Where to go: Jin Feng is one of the most highly-regarded local spots. You can sample smaller plates, if you’re too full to order a full entrée, and they also have chicken options (directions).
Raohe Night Market
Did you know? Raohe has more Michelin Bib Gourmand spots than any other night market in Taipei. You can't go wrong with any of the food stalls on this vibrant street.
Pork Pepper Bun (胡椒餅)
These thick, doughy buns are stuffed with marinated pork and black pepper, then cooked crisp and served piping hot.
Where to go: Raohe’s Fuzhou Pepper Bun has made the Michelin Bib Gourmand guide and doesn’t disappoint (directions).
Fried Stinky Tofu (臭豆腐)
It doesn’t get more quintessentially Taiwan than this classic night market staple. The dish typically comes with kimchi on the side, which offsets the strength of the tofu.
Where to go: while you can find stinky tofu at any night market, we’ve flagged Raohe’s Hsia Kang Ming Peng for the quality (directions).
Pork Rib Soup (陳董藥燉排骨)
What makes this soup a Taiwanese specialty is that the fall-apart ribs come stewed in medicinal herbs, for a uniquely light broth.
Where to go: Chen Tung’s version is also on the Michelin list (directions).
Shilin Night Market
Shengjiang Bao (水煎包)
These savory buns are simple as they come, yet fully satisfying, with light bao filled with juicy minced pork.
Where to go: Shilin’s Chung Chia Sheng Jian Bao has made the Michelin Bib Gourmand for their interpretation (directions).
Cold Noodles (涼麵)
This comfort food dish is great for hot months. Noodles are chilled, before being prepared in a rich sesame sauce with julienned cucumbers.
Where to go: Good Friend is another of Shilin Night Market’s Michelin Bib Gourmand nods (directions).
Night Market Staples (Choose Your Own Adventure)
Lastly, there’s a slew of Taiwanese staples that are so simple, you can’t go wrong wherever you choose to indulge. These dishes are omnipresent at every night market, and you’ll feel satiated wherever you end up.
Scallion Pancake (蔥抓餅加蛋)
Prepared more like a traditional Western pancake, these buttery flatbreads are deftly blended with scallions (also known as green onions) and a variety of other ingredients you can choose to mix in. Locals encourage you to also add an egg on top.
Flame-Torched Beef (火炎骰子牛)
Thin slices of roast beef are seared to order, then finished with a sprinkling of pink salt.
Oyster Omelet (蚵仔煎)
Oysters are prevalent in Taiwanese cuisine, and most stalls specializing in this dish will let you choose either oyster or shrimp. While it’s called an omelet, it better resembles a thick pancake, with egg, sweet potato starch, and more whipped into savory goodness.
Pig’s Blood Cake (豬血糕)
Indeed, some Western palettes may have a bit of a mental hurdle with this one, but these blood puddings come mixed with sticky rice and coated in ground peanuts and cilantro, with sweet side sauces.
Tea Eggs (茶葉蛋)
These hard-boiled eggs are boiled, cracked slightly, then boiled again in a savory blend of tea, sauce, and spices. As a result, the shell appears marbled, with a uniquely flavorful interior. You can also find them at convenience stores (7-11 and Family Mart are big in Taipei).
Tanghulu (糖葫蘆)
Tanghulu is essentially just candied fruit on a stick. The sugar crystallizes into a sparkling glaze that’s as visually appealing as it is delicious. You can choose from a variety of fruits, although grape tomato is a traditional version that is as sweet as any strawberry.
Fried Sweet Potato Balls (地瓜球)
These bite-size poppers are exactly what they sound like. The deep-fried crust and sweet, fluffy insides are almost reminiscent of a donut hole.
Douhua (豆花)
Tofu becomes dessert in douhua, which mixes either mung or red beans, peanuts, fruit, taro, and more into a sweet treat.
Aiyu Jelly (愛玉)
With a consistency similar to Jell-O, aiyu comes from the seeds of a fig that is unique to the region. It’s typically served with honey and lemon, but can also be incorporated into sweet drinks or shaved ice.
Papaya Milk (木瓜牛奶)
While not as famous outside the region, this creamy dessert drink is as Taiwanese as boba tea. Chilled papaya is blended with milk and sweetener into a simple yet satisfying beverage that’s incredibly refreshing in the Taipei heat.
Pineapple Cake (鳳梨酥)
A light pastry stuffed with pineapple jam, this ceremonial cake has become a symbol of Taiwan, and is one of the top souvenirs to grab while you’re on the island. It’s so ubiquitous, you can easily grab a pineapple cake in the airport on your way out, to share a taste of Taipei with friends and family back at home.
Looking to take a break from eating in Taipei? Check out our guide on how to best spend 36 hours in Taiwan’s vibrant capital city.
Featured image courtesy Vernon Raineil Cenzon.
