Taiwan is a food paradise. With as many as 700 night markets plus the many restaurants available across the island, there are no lack of food, only the lack of stomach space.
We went from Taipei 101 to to Keelung to share with you some of the best food in Taipei. Do you know that Taiwan is also the birthplace to the famous bubble tea or some people call it Boba. We tried one of the popular one and shared our findings below
Let’s get ready to ride with us, as we share the top 10 food recommendations for Taipei.
In order to search for good food, strong internet is very important to find the exact location. E-sim has been rather popular lately due to it being environmentally – friendly. You can find it HERE and it’s really easy to install without having to search for it when you land.
Table of Contents
- 1. Din Tai Fung
- 2. Xiaolizi Rice Porridge 小李子
- 3. Yonghe Soy Milk King 永和豆浆
- 4. Formosa Chang Braised Meat Rice
- 5. Big Tea Pot, Maokong 阿義師的大茶壺茶餐廳
- 6. James Kitchen
- 7. Miao Kou Wu Ji Crab Soup 吴记螃蟹羹
- 9. Ay Chung Mian Xian
- 10. 大村武串燒居酒屋-西門店
- 11. Xin Fu Tang
1. Din Tai Fung
Multiple locations across Taipei
I’m very sure this Michelin – starred restaurant is a familiar name to many. However, do you know that the menu varies slightly at different countries? Staples such as their famous 小笼包 soup dumplings are of course available at every country.
Items that are not available in Singapore’s outlet included braised beef tripe, and black fungus salad which we ordered. Beef tripe is actually the stomach lining and it is chewy in texture. Braised in soy sauce and spices, it was very addictive right to the very last piece.
2. Xiaolizi Rice Porridge 小李子
Address: No. 142之1號, Section 2, Fuxing S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
While many Chinese generally have rice porridge for breakfast, this eatery is only open from 5pm onward to 6am. The timing makes it more of a dinner and supper place. Unless you don’t mind having a super early breakfast at 5am.
If you don’t fancy rice porridge because of its mushy texture, they serve rice too.
What I love is about this place is that they have a vast array of dishes for you to choose from. From appetisers to vegetables, meat and seafood, there is something for everyone.
I have known this place through social media before I stepped foot into it. This porridge restaurant is very popular with locals and they are very affordable. The only drawback about this place is the location. Not located near any metro station or central shopping area. However, you can take a bus down.
3. Yonghe Soy Milk King 永和豆浆
Multiple locations across Taipei
This breakfast place have been covered by many bloggers in the past. There are practically an outlet at almost every corner at Taipei. There are talks that their standard has dropped slightly due to opening too many outlets. However, I think if you want to immerse yourself into their breakfast culture, this is one of the places to visit.
4. Formosa Chang Braised Meat Rice
Multiple locations across Taipei
Braised meat rice 卤肉饭 is the most popular dish in Taiwanese cuisine. Many eating place that you visit in Taiwan will serve a little meat sauce on their plain rice even when they do not have Braised Meat Rice on their menu.
Formosa Chang is a must visit if you want to eat one of their most favourite dishes. Apart from braised meat rice, they also serve up vegetables, soup making your meal a complete one. However for those who don’t feel like having rice, there are no other carbs option available.
5. Big Tea Pot, Maokong 阿義師的大茶壺茶餐廳
Address: 116, Taiwan, Taipei City, Wenshan District, Lane 38, Section 3, Zhinan Rd, 37之1號1樓
Having visited Taipei for the third time, Maokong is a must visit for me. As the area is full of tea plantation, cuisine above the mountain are mainly inspired by the various tea leaves. If you are someone who enjoys healthier 养生 dishes, visit Maokong. Being in the suburban area, the scenery is breathtaking and the air is definitely fresher.
From Taipei Zoo station, you can walk about 10-15 min to the gondola station. You need about 30min for the journey and approximately 1 hour waiting time during peak hours.
6. James Kitchen
Address: No. 65號, Yongkang St, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
This eatery is somehow like a private kitchen serving up simple yet homely and authentic Taiwanese food. It’s a very small and cosy place that probably house less than 10 tables. They are situated at the end of Yongkang Street in Da’an District.
Their dishes are classic and old school, with Three Cup Chicken, Steamed Tofu with Oysters and Stir Fry Cabbage. They do not have a huge menu. As they are very popular with both tourists and locals alike, reservations is highly recommended.
7. Miao Kou Wu Ji Crab Soup 吴记螃蟹羹
Address: 200, Taiwan, Keelung City, Ren’ai District
Miao Kou Night Market located at Keelung. It’s one of the top places to visit in Keelung. We went via a bus ride after our trip to Jiufen. If you are going directly from Taipei Centre, you can take a train.
This crab soup is one of the famous stall in the night market.
Food in Taiwan is largely inspired by the Fujian and Teochew Region in China. Therefore soups sold here are rather different from those clear type in Guangzhou, Japan, or even South Korea. Soups in Taiwan are called 羹 (Geng). They are thick and slightly sticky, normally thicken with corn starch.
Want some ease of travelling to Juifen after visiting Miaoli? There are small group tour available for booking. HERE
8. Fuxing Road Sogo Foodcourt
Address: No. 300號, Section 3, Zhongxiao E Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Besides night market, restaurants and eateries, Foodcourt is another avenue to fill in your tummy. In an inexpensive way. You can see many stalls selling different cuisine and dishes.
We will go to the stalls that we want, queue up, choose the items we want, pay up while waiting for them to cook at the side of the stall. Once the food is ready, we’ll collect it and bring it back to our seats. Nowadays, there are buzzers given by stalls that require longer cooking time.
9. Ay Chung Mian Xian
Address: No.8-1 Emei Street, Wanhua, Taipei, Taiwan (Wanhua District)
Mee Sua is one of the most famous export from Taiwan. Ay Zong is the OG of all Mee Sua. There are no seats available in the shop.
Nestled at the main shopping area of Ximending, you will see a lot of people standing outside the stall slurping up bowls of Mee Sua. Like the crab soup from Miao Kou, the texture is sticky and gooey while strands of Mee Sua noodles and mouthful of oysters.
10. 大村武串燒居酒屋-西門店
Address: No. 2號, Lane 83, Section 2, Hankou St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
This place needs reservation. It’s very popular, ranking top Izakaya in the area with 4.8 stars from 8k reviewers on Google Review. Well unless you can eat early like what we did.
After that Mee Sua, we continued walking around Ximending and felt hungry. We found this by pure chance. Best of all, it was empty when we went. Therefore we were pretty lucky to get a table on our last night in Taiwan.
11. Xin Fu Tang
BUBBLE TEA!!
Address: No. 101號, Hanzhong St, Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan 108
How can we missed out the boba when Taiwan gave rise this iconic drink? The craze was so bad in Singapore during COVID that people went into frenzy when the government announced the closing of bubble tea shop. The queue at every shop was insane back then.
One of the very famous shop in Taipei is Xin Fu Tang with their Black Sugar Milk Tea. The queue was super long when we arrived. But luckily, the process was very organised. Therefore we managed to get our cup of the boba very quickly.
Have you tried anything on the list yet? If you have, share with me if you like it over in the comment section.
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Thank you for reading!
Till next post.