Taipei: Psst, Go for the Food
Raohe Market, Image by Vernon Raineil Cenzon
Taiwan is an underestimated neighbor to mega mainland China, more British Hong Kong, and currently popular Singapore.
Hands down the most impressive element of Taipei is the deliciousness of fresh good food. Which sits on the shoulders of its sustainable farming practices as well.
There’s a huge range of food as access points to its culture. From tiny stalls street-side to expansive markets and impressive formal restaurants. What’s consistent about the street food and markets of Taipei is the cleanliness of it. If you’re health-conscious and don’t want to eat only junk food while traveling, but also crave new flavors, want to save money, and try street fare, Taipei food culture will be a playground for you.
Here are the top food I suggest seeking out in Taipei:
Scallion Pancakes: with meat, cheese, or plain, all the ones you see streetside
Fan Tuan: sticky rice balls filled with pork floss, crueler, pickled greens, and marinated egg
A particular vegetarian buffet: the scope of vegetables on the island is unending
Shaved Ice with Sweet Mochi: coffee jelly and sweet tofu are my favorite
Boba Tea baby: the OG of Boba
Milk Hot Pot: a sensational twist to the infamous interactive soup occasion
Soup Dumplings: another iconic staple that Taiwan masters
Tofu: the island hosts a diverse range of this soy-based food
Scallion Pancakes
Scallion pancakes are the flavor.
In Taipei, they are found streetside in the form of breakfast burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, plain, with meat inside, or the cousin to the scallion pancake, chive pocket. They are the epitome of satisfaction being crispy, chewy, oily, savory, peppery, and hot.
Streetside savory breakfast pancakes, buns, and pockets
Savory crisp-bottomed buns
Fan Tuan set up, Taipei
Fan Tuan
On the streets of Taipei, you can find these traditionally made out of large bamboo bins where the rice resides. It’s a meditative street food snack that can hold you for a meal on a rigorous hike. Eating these in Taiwan will be memorable. Though they’re traditionally made with pork floss and egg as the protein component, they can be made vegetarian with soy or seitan floss and are just as tasty. A great traveling food, an excellent breakfast food: totally Taiwanese.
Vegetarian Buffet
The vegetarian buffet at Q Square in Datong is located very centrally at the Taipei Main Station. I’m not vegetarian and don’t effuse vegetarian or vegan food abroad. That being said, I grew up vegetarian…so when there is good vegetarian food, I can appreciate it for what it is.
Let me tell you how good this vegetarian buffet is. You might have vegetables you’ve never had before, like sweet potato tendrils, or soy-marinated meat wrapped in an umami-bomb of nori blanket. There will be some mysterious vegetarian crunchy stuff making it taste delicious and textures and flavors galore.
Sweet potato leave stalks, soy-marinted steaks, a kimbap roll, vermicelli and sweet green beans with some boiled super greens, tempura soy meat, a dumpling
Fake spam and nori, seaweed tofu medley, fake chicken croquette
The meat replacements vary a lot in texture and taste which is not something I can say about a lot of vegetarian restaurants. The scope of vegetable variety is incredible. This is an excellent spot.
Shaved Ice
For the sweet tooths I suggest trying the peanut flavor and coffee flavor ice dessert in Taipei. The coffee includes super soft coffee jelly and iced Americano that’s to be poured over the delicacy. The sweet tofu is a bit of a surprise and perhaps an acquired taste. It’s comprised of a sweet broth with little bite-sized mochis, sweet potato, and silken tofu.
Coffee jelly and ice
Americano makes the ice dessert soupy
Taro dessert in a not too sweet syrupy soup
Taro dessert in a not too sweet syrupy soup
Boba Tea
Boba tea, originally from Taiwan, it’s reverent. The boba is smooth and bouncy, just the right chew. The tea is strong yet creamy and it’s the perfect pick-me-up while walking around the city.
Milk Hot Pot
Have you ever tried milk hot pot? Neither had I. The location I swooned for this at is actually in Taichung, an hour and a half drive from Taipei at a farm and sustainable food locale, Flying Cow Ranch and Hot Pot Restaurant.
Milky soup and kombu base with all the sauces, meats, and veg fresh from the farm
The farm-freshness of the food is outstanding and the dairy-base that the savory soup consists of is particularly unique. One of the experiences of this meal is the dessert which is a custardy pudding in a little balloon. You pop the balloon with your toothpick and there you have your delicious milk pudding; perfect.
The dessert at this place rivals the top 3 desserts I’ve ever had in my entire life.
Soup Dumplings or Xiao Long Bao
Soup dumplings or xiao long bao have a big place outside of China and Taiwan these days. The crab is sumptuous and a variation specifically popular in Taiwan. Another difference to the soup dumplings of Taiwan is that the dumpling skin is sometimes made by combining wheat and tapioca flour giving the resulting dumplings more of a satisfying chew. The traditional oyster vermicelli soup is a popular pairing with them. Also, Din Tai Fung, the internationally acclaimed dumpling spot is of Taiwanese origin and gives testament to the craft of soup dumplings from here.
Tofu
Tofu has a hearty presence in the country with many local producers that emphasize organic production. The variance in texture and dishes throughout the island is extreme. You could almost mistake the core ingredient for an entirely different substance plate to plate. From savory to sweet to spongey to silken, from firm to meatlike to deep fried, from stinky to plain, the options are endless.
The spongy tofu and the sausage-like tofu are truly unusual
Almost like a deconstructed Fan Tuan, some silken tofu with pork floss, seaweed, green onion, and sweet soy sauce
Thick gravy over fried tofu pockets that soak up all the sauce and are pillowy and soft
Where to Stay? The Royal Rose Hotel at Taipei Main Station or Wholesome Hotel at Longshan Temple
For places to stay in Taipei, Taipei Main Station is a sure way to be in proximity to the central metro as well as walkable to things like markets, the mall, temples, and more.
The Royal Rose Hotel is a sleek one, it provides boutique vibes, almost verging on a hostel ambiance, but manicured and clean, private rooms and cute balconies.
Just two stops from Taipei Main is Longshan Temple where Wholesome Hotel is. It has a playful retro vibe, very Taiwanese, and youthful humor but with elevation, and nice spaciousness. The location near Longshan Temple also hosts a legit market and an overall charming neighborhood area to situate in.
*Safety tip
Taiwan is fairly humid and when it rains, it rains. Pack prepared for varying weather situations, particularly if you plan to travel the island to more remote areas.
Bottom line
Taiwan has some of the best food worldwide. I found that the food scene is better than Singapore, more specific than mega China, and extremely playful. Overarchingly, there’s a pattern of quality ingredients, and freshness of fare whether it be streetside or in ambiance sit-downs. Alongside the emphasis on local dishes, the farming sector of the island is worth scoping which is part testament to the deliciousness of the food in my opinion. Because Taipei is so pedestrian-friendly, exploring food from street stalls and markets to specialty haunts and more decadent eateries is manageable for anyone who visits.
