Taipei is any foodie’s dream destination. With bustling night markets lined with delicious dishes as far as the eye can see to local mom and pop shops serving up the best of the local cuisine, you can easily make a vacation out of just eating in this city. Taipei is also home to an impressive craft beer scene for all you beer snobs out there đ
Best Places To Grab A Drink In Taipei
Driftwood
A stellar craft beer joint with an awesome atmosphere. Driftwood is open to the street which you don’t really see in Taipei and they have some delicious local craft beer on tap and bottled beers from around the world (including Oregon! Shout out to our home state!).
Revolver
Taipei’s self-proclaimed coolest bar is actually… well pretty darn cool. They have a nice selection of craft beer and good happy hour deals. The best part is they have live music most nights and an actual venue for it upstairs. Definitely a chill place to head for a night out with some friends.
Bravo Beer
If you are like us, then you probably like to just chill out and unwind after a long flight. Stop by Bravo Beer and get some delicious food and great beer. They have over 100 Belgian beers to choose from and the pizza and pasta are incredible. Try a spinach crust pizza with a hoppy IPA!
Dream Color (Ximending Market)
These colorful juices are any Instgrammers dream. We shamelessly bought our favorites and walked around the streets taking selfies. If you’re heading to Malaysia, they also have a Dream Color! In Taipei, it’s found at the Ximen MRT stop.
Best Places To Eat In Taipei
Airport Bakery
Feeling hungry after your long flight? Stop by Ijysheng in the Terminal 1 food court for some delicious savory and sweet pastries. The pizza, pesto quiche, and almond croissants were amazing, and much needed after our 2am arrival and subsequent nap!
Ay Chung Flour Rice noodles (Ximending Market)
This goopy snack is not to be missed. It may look a little mucusy, but this noodle dish is a local favorite for good reason. You can order large or small and add your favorite accouterments like pureed garlic, vinegar, and chili sauce. The line can get long at times, but it moves fast as they only serve the one dish. Just hop off the MRT @ Ximen on either the Blue or Green line.
Fu Hang Dou Jiang Breakfast at Hua Shan Market
As with most cities in the world, the trip isn’t complete without sitting down to an authentic local breakfast with all the trimmings. And thatâs exactly what youâll find at Fu Hang Dou Jiang. This popular eatery is located on the 2nd floor of the Huashan Market Building; youâll have to find the side door with a staircase that will take you up to the food court area. It’s hard to miss as there is usually a massive line stretching around the block, but it moves fairly quickly so don’t be discouraged. Things to try: Shaobing, Sweet Dou Jiang (soy milk), Salty Dou Jiang, Youtiao.
Modern Toilet
Maybe a tad bit too strange for some, but we couldn’t pass up an opportunity of stopping at this toilet and poo themed restaurant… Everything from the tables and seats, to the plates, and of course the dishes served are fecally themed. We had a bowl of ice cream served to us in… you guessed it, a toilet bowl!
Lunch In Malls
Ok, we know malls don’t usually tend to have quality cuisine, but in Taipei, this couldn’t be further from the truth. If you know us, you know we’d prefer to be out and about in nature or on the streets instead of in a mall (except for an Alli shopping spree from time to time…) but the food here drags us inside! Every mall we visited had an extensive food court with everything from fast food to full on gourmet meals! If you’re doing a bit of shopping or are just hungry while on the MRT line (most malls are connected to the MRT underground), stop at the food court and scope out the offerings. We guarantee you will find something that you will enjoy for a good price.
Our Favorite Taiwanese Foods
Sorbet Ice Cream Cilantro Peanut Spring Roll
A visit to Taiwan is not complete without eating at least one of these tasty treats. They can be found at practically all the night markets and many street stalls around Taiwan. Our first one was enjoyed after hiking the Pingxi Crags đ
Fu Hang You Jiang Breakfast: Shaobing (With Egg), Salty/Sweet Don Jiang, Youtiao
Mentioned above, this local breakfast spread is a must try. Though the line to get it may test your patience.
Blow Torched Octopus
You can find these curious little critters at most night markets. The Octopus legs shrivel up into the sky as they get torched…
Ay Chung Flour Rice noodles
Mentioned above, this goopy snack was one of TJ’s favorites. Find this famous street restaurant at Ximending Market.
Dream Color Juice
Mentioned above, this #InstaWorthy juice is just too cool not to try. Find it at Ximending Market.
Pork Pepper Buns (Hujiao Bing)
You will find these delicious and peppery buns at most night markets as well, but Fu Zhou Shi Zu Raohe Night Market is arguably one of the best.
Torched Beef Cubes
Juicy and slightly charred, its just a cube of meat, but for some reason, it is so darn good. Again, most night markets will have them.
Devils Chicken
Another TJ and surprisingly Alli favorite, this chain of fried chicken stalls can be found at Raohe, Shilin, and a few other night markets. Ask for the extra spicy and enjoy as your lips begin to tingle!
Muah Chi
Like Mochi, and so much better. Both muah chee and mochi are made using glutinous rice flour but muah chee uses long grain glutinous rice flour while mochi uses short grain. Try it in Juifen. They are known to have the best.
Custard Wheel Cake
You can get them filled with bean paste, sweet potato, and chocolate among other things. Alli went with the chocolate of course. As she said, “it is the closest thing to a s’more I can get in Asia!”. A delicious treat nonetheless.
Run Bing (Cabbage Wrap)
Thin wrap with pork, cabbage, mushrooms, noodles, pork sausage, and peanut shavings. Absolutely mouthwatering. Found at most night markets.
Sweet Potato Balls
A nice dessert that will push your stomach capacity to its limits. Basically just a fried ball of sweet potato dough filled with sweet bean paste. Can be found at practically all night markets.
Dumplings
Taiwan is famous for its amazing dumplings. There are so many good places to eat them, just try as many as you can.
XLB Xiao Long Tang Bao
Juicy pork soup dumplings are to die for. There are many places that claim to be the best. Unfortunately they were all closed for the New Year the day we went to get them in Taipei City, but we did find some tasty ones in Shifen, that although maybe weren’t as good as the ones served at famous eateries in the city, were half the cost and we didn’t have to wait in line. Oh so delicious!
Beef Noodle Soup
This dish is intoxicating. The flavor is strong and spicy and the beef is melt in your mouth tender. Try it at Lin Dong Fang, a famous street restaurant that will not disappoint. However, this dish is served equally well at countless places all over the city. Alli opted to get hers with wontons.
Feeling hungry yet? Check out our Ultimate Taipei Night Market Guide for our roundup of the best night markets to eat at in the city!
Planning a trip to Taipei? Then you will definitely find our Ultimate Taipei City Guide a useful tool for planning your itinerary.
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