Yilan is one of the places in Taiwan popular for hot spring. Hot spring was made popular by Japanese when they colonised Taiwan in the past. Therefore, many best eating places in Yilan are Japanese food.
I will also be adding in one of the best eats in Jiaoxi, one of the township in Yilan.
In this article, I’m going to share some of the best eats in Yilan,
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1. Dang Dai Teppanyaki 当代铁板烧坊
No. 53號, Xinxing Rd, Yilan City, Yilan County, Taiwan 260
A small eatery which serve up teppanyaki, a type of Japanese grill where the chef ‘perform’ their cooking skills in front of you in a large flat grill that resembles a metal table. Most patrons enjoy sitting at the counter in front of the grill to have their food serve immediately.
Taiwanese are very hospitable people. Some of the eateries we went to serve up free desserts. This is no exception. We had grilled banana after the meal for free.
2. Mai Zui Izakaya 買醉串烧酒场
No. 51號, Deyang Rd, Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 262
This is a top eats at Jiaoxi which is near we stayed. Their kitchen was outside dining area. A very small but also very popular Izakaya joint. Before you are seated, you choose the food that you want from the fridge outside. The staff will ask how you like the food to be cooked. Talk about hospitality.
3. Tang Bu Yuan Japanese Hotpot 汤布院日式火锅
No. 168號, Section 5, Jiaoxi Rd, Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 262
As we visited during end of 2023, the weather was cold and wet. A good hotpot quickly warm us up. They serve hotpot in individual serving that in embedded into the table. We selected 2 different soup base, Mala and clear soup.
If you are used to Sichuan food, their mala (numbing and spicy flavour) is more of the sweet side. It’s not as spicy as those from Sichaun. If you cannot take too spicy, this is a good flavour to have. We love how fresh their seafood is,and their veggie basket is huge at an affordable price.
4. Jia Chi Wan 呷七碗
No. 201, Section 2, Wubin Road, Wujie 268 Taiwan
This is located at Wujie County when we visited the National Centre for Traditional Art. It’s outside of Yilan City, about 25min drive away.
The eatery serve traditional local cuisine which they call it 古早味. Most people wouldn’t like rice vermicelli because they are very plain tasting. Even to a-lot of Chinese. It’s kind of like food for the sick. But their rice vermicelli in braise meat sauce was very flavourful that even my hubby who does not like rice vermicelli commented that it was very good. I was supposed to share with my girl, Sophie. We ended up ordering another plate of it.
5. Wei Jie Heart Tapioca Desserts 魏姐包心粉圆
No. 1079號, Gongyuan Rd, Luodong Township, Yilan County
This is located at Luodong Night Market. As we all know, bubble tea was popularised in Taiwan. And one of the ingredients that got people all obsessed with is the boba or tapioca balls.
Instead of serving bubble tea like the rest, they serve up tapioca balls inspired dessert. They have them with grass jelly, soy milk pudding, red beans, rice dumplings and top it with syrup. There are also additional toppings if you would like. You can have it cold or hot too.
6. Lao Jie Huai Jiu Canteen 老街怀旧食堂
No. 177, Section 3, Qingyun Rd, Toucheng Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 261
This is an old school eatery that is located at Toucheng Old Street. It gives a nostalgic feeling with the old style decor. With the colourful hot flask, big bulky TV and wooden rocking horse, it made you feel that you have stepped into the 1960s.
The dishes that they serve up are pretty old school as well. They have deep fried chicken thigh which was well marinated and not dry. Very comforting braised meat rice and chicken mushrooms noodle soup. Even the drinks they serve are befitting the theme as well. Think pineapple drink which we only got them when we were kids at the night market.
This pretty much sums up the best eats we have in Yilan. Do you have any best eats in Yilan? Do share in the comment section below. If you are also going to Hualien, do check out my top eats in the link here.
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