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When in Taiwan – Must Eat Till You Drop

Voted as the best food destination in the world, the culinary philosophy here is eat often and eat well. Sure, there’s the internationally accepted three-meals-a-day dining format — but why limit yourself when you can eat like the Taiwanese and do gourmet snacking any time of day?

The Taiwanese capital, Taipei, has about 20 streets dedicated to food. Every time you think you’ve found the best streetside bao, the most incredible stinky tofu or mind-blowing beef noodle soup, there’s another Taiwanese food shop that surpasses it.

The island’s food is a mash-up of the cuisine of the Min Nan, Teochew and Hokkien Chinese communities, along with Japanese cooking techniques. It’s a culinary love-in with diversely delicious offspring. Arguments about Taiwan’s best food risk ruining relationships and lifelong friendships. Food: it’s serious, it’s respected, it’s all excellent when you travel to Taiwan.

Taipei Nights is able to help you make reservations even at some of the hardest to book restaurants in Taipei. Just let us know your budget, the type of food and we can make the rest happen !

Taipei Night’s Favorite Goodies

Taiwan Beef Noodles

You know a dish is an obsession when it gets its own festival. Beef noodle soup inspires competitiveness and innovation in Taiwanese chefs. Everyone wants to claim the “beef noodle king” title.

Whether you’re visiting the trendy Pin Chuan Lan’s rib-eye steak noodle restaurant or have made a foray into the first makeshift noodle shack you spot, it’s almost impossible to have a bad beef noodle experience in Taiwan.

Lin Dong Fang’s beef shanks with al dente noodles in herbal soup are a perennial favorite. The streetside eatery’s secret weapon is the dollop of homemade chili-butter, added last. But many locals prefer a stall without a sign on Tao Yuan Street (once you spot the queuing crowd you’ll know you’ve arrived).

It’s so famous that the store is now synonymous with the street, dubbed “Tao Yuen Street beef noodle” — most supporters don’t actually know its real name is Lao Wang Beef Noodle — and has inspired a few other wannabes on the same road.

Lao Wang “Tao Yuan Street” Beef Noodle, 15 Tao Yuan Street, Zhongzheng District

Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian, No.274, Section 2, Bade Road, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2752 2556

Mega Fried Chicken

Taiwan deserves a special place in the fried chicken hall of fame. Not only has it made the giant fried chicken cutlet — Hotstar Chicken Cutlet — a cult legend (which has swelled from one street stall to an international franchise owner), but its popcorn chicken is dangerously addictive.

The chicken is chopped into bite-sized pieces, marinated, dipped in batter and deep-fried. A generous sprinkling of salt, pepper and deep fried basil complete the morsels.

“Fried chicken stalls are definitely one of Taiwanese people’s favorite late night eateries,” says Rae Lin. “Stalls usually offer a range of food like calamari and sweet potato.”

Taiwan’s First Popcorn Chicken Store, 530-1, Bei’an Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City

Taiwanese Sausage in Glutinous Rice

Taiwanese Sausage Sandwich invented in Taiwan in the late 20th century. A segment of Taiwanese pork sausage is wrapped in a (slightly bigger and fatter) sticky rice sausage to make this delicacy, usually served chargrilled. It may be compared to a hot dog, but Taiwanese version. Deluxe versions are available in night markets in Taiwan, with condiments such as pickled bokchoi, garlix, wasabi and thick soy paste to complement the taste.

Gua Bao

In spite of a wave of bao madness overseas in recent years — a lot are overpriced and underwhelming — the best gua bao still comes from the island. It’s a hamburger, Taiwan-style.

A steamed bun sandwiches a hearty filling of braised pork belly, pickled Chinese cabbage and powdered peanuts. The filling is chopped into small pieces and mixed together so there’s a bit of everything in every bite. Take a big mouthful and you get salty, sour and sweet flavors and greasy pork swimming in your mouth.

Lan Jia‘s famous gua bao has peanut powder sprinkled on it for extra sweetness.

Braised Pork Rice

“Where there’s a wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney, there will be lurou fan [braised pork with rice],” goes the Taiwanese saying. The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.

“Lurou fan” is almost synonymous with Taiwanese food.

“Lurou fan is the more ordinary and down-to-earth dish for any Taiwanese,” says Rae Lin, founder of dearbnb, a Taiwanese travel website. “From your mother’s version of lurou fan to the one served in a restaurant, it’s the one dish we truly can’t live without.”

A good bowl of lurou fan features finely chopped, not quite minced, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five spices. There should be an ample amount of fattiness, in which lies the magic. The meat is spooned over hot rice. A little sweet, a little salty, braised pork rice is comfort food perfected.

Jin Feng Minced Pork Rice, No. 10-1, Sec. 1, Roosevelt Rd., Zhongzheng Dist, Taipei Taiwan;

Oyster Pancake

Here’s a snack that really showcases the fat of the land in Taiwan. You’ve got something from the sea and something from the soil. The eggs are the perfect foil for the little oysters, which are easily found around the island, while sweet potato starch is added to give the whole thing a gooey chewiness — a signature Taiwan food texture.

No wonder the soup was voted best snack to represent Taiwan in a poll of 1,000 Taiwanese by Global Views Monthly a few years back.

Lai Ji Oyster Omelet With Eggs, No. 198-22 Minsheng W. Rd., Datong Dist, Taipei Taiwan; +886 2 2558 6177

Stinky Tofu

This could be the world’s premier love-it-or-hate-it snack and Taiwan does it just right. The “fragrant” cube of bean curd is deep-fried and draped with sweet and spicy sauce.

If you hold your nose, it looks and tastes just like a plain ol’ piece of fried tofu, with a crisp casing and soft pudding-like center. But what’s the fun in eating that? Inhale deeply and relish the stench. The smellier, the better.

Jiang Ho King of Stinky Tofu, No. 347, Jiangong Road, Sanmin Dist, Kaohsiung; +886 7 396 1199

Bubble Milk Tea

Bubble tea represents the “QQ” food texture that Taiwanese love. The phrase refers to something that is especially chewy, like the tapioca balls that form the “bubbles” in bubble tea. It’s said this unusual drink was invented out of boredom.

Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin Tea Room both claim to have invented bubble tea by combining sweetened tapioca pudding (a popular Taiwanese dessert) with tea.

Regardless of which shop did it first, today the city is filled with bubble tea joints. Variations on the theme include taro-flavored tea, jasmine tea and coffee, served cold or hot.

Chun Shui Tang teahouse, 48 Yi-shu St., Longjing, Taichung County; +886 4 2652 8288

Hanlin Tea Room, 313, Section 2, Minzu Road, Tainan City; +886 6 221 2357

Din Tai Fung

Xiaolongbao may be a Shanghainese delicacy, but some argue the Taiwanese perfected them. Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung does its Shanghai comrades proud with its succulent pork-soup dumplings.

Din Tai Fung’s bite-sized xiaolongbao have a consistently high quality. Their paper-thin wrappings hold rich hot broth and tender pork meatballs. Gasps can be heard intermittently at Din Tai Fung as diners brace for the scalding hot soup that squirts out upon biting the dumpling.

Din Tai Fung Dumpling House, 192 Xinyi Road, Section 2, Taipei City; +886 2 2321 8929

Fish Market

Addiction Aquatic Development is a massive space that houses fresh seafood and aquamarine products, a large Japanese-style supermarket, and many themed restaurants and food kiosks under one roof. At the main entrance, you will be received by the Live Aquamarine area. Expect a spread of fresh oysters, king crabs, lobsters, abalone, uni, scallops and more.

Mango Ice

One good thing about the hot, humid and stormy Taiwan summers? It’s a great excuse to eat shaved ice mountain. A pile of shaved ice is heaped with fresh fruit and flavorings, such as mango pieces, juice and sweet condensed milk.

Food blogger Joan H from A HUngry Girl’s Guide to Taipei recommends the traditional version — red bean stuffed tapioca shaved ice. “Originating in Yilan, my favorite version of this dessert is from Sister Wei Heart,” she says. “Scoops of creamy shaved ice topped with honey and condensed milk with a side of chewy boba stuffed with red beans.”

Mango shaved ice at Smoothie House, 15 Yong-kang St., Taipei City; +886 2 2321 3367

For classics there’s Sister Wei Heart, 35 Jiaoxi Road, Section 5, Jiaoxi Township, Yilan County, Taipei; +886 3 988 9566

Restaurants

Taipei is one of the most eating-obsessed cities in the world. It is renowned for its night markets that stretch into the wee hours of the morning. Street food is an integral part of the culture in Taiwan’s capital, and it can be found in virtually every neighborhood. But there is also a host of Modern dining Taipei restaurants like RAW and Meowvelous that are constantly innovating new, creative dishes. They take traditional ingredients like pork belly or grilled squid and add their own twists, layering on crisped rice or throwing in an unexpected touch like guava. Taipei is filled in Michelin star restaurants such as

RAW – For Taipei’s single best fine dining experience, head to RAW, where acclaimed chef Andre Chiang serves a carefully curated tasting menu in a stunning space. Chiang (who is perhaps best known for his eponymous restaurant in Singapore) is a Taiwan native who offers traditional local fare with a Western twist. The experience might start with giant oysters topped with tiny pearls of sago (also known as tapioca), followed by fatty pork over rice creatively layered with puffed rice and mushrooms. The star dish is the duck breast — cooked to tender perfection. [$$$]

Ryugin Taipei – One of the most expensive tables in town, Ryugin is also one of the city’s finest kaiseki destinations. It hails from the Roppongi district of Tokyo, where chef Seiji Yamamoto was awarded three coveted Michelin stars for his avant garde take on Japanese fine dining. The Taipei location is appropriately fixated on Taiwanese ingredients — imagine lightly grilled fish sprinkled with roasted mullet, or wax apple, a fruit unique to Southeast Asia, marinated in ginger syrup. [$$$$]

For the complete list 2018 refer to https://guide.michelin.com/tw/en/taipei/news-and-views/taipei-michelin-guide-2018-results-full-list/news