Best Food in Taipei, Taiwan

Like you, we’re serious foodies. We’ve put together this guide of the signature must-try dishes and snacks in all your favourite cities in Asia. For first-time visitors to any Asia’s greatest food cities, this guide will highlight the most famous food in each city and the best place to try it. Of course, ‘best’ is subjective. If you have a suggestion of an even better place, leave it in the comments!

Scroll to the bottom to see the rest of the Asia’s Greatest Food Cities. Here we’re looking at the best food in Taipei to try on holiday.

Best Food in Taipei, Taiwan

Must Try #1: Mee Sua

Eaten traditionally with only a spoon, Taiwan’s mee sua commands a silky, smooth and starchy broth with soft rice flour noodles. Complete your bowl with vinegar, garlic sauce and chilli and have your belly warmed for the rest of the day and night!

CC 2.0 / yf Chan

Best Mee Sua in Taiwan:

Ah Zhong Mian Xian
Don’t be put off by the queue, Ah Zhong’s Mian Xian is one to be ticked off when you visit Taipei!

Ah Zhong Mian Xian
No. 8-1, Éméi St
Wanhua District,
Taipei City, Taiwan

Must Try #2: Beef Noodle Soup

Taiwan is famous for its beef noodle soup, a dish of rich, flavourful beef broth. The noodles are slippery, smooth and delightfully chewy, while the thick beef slices are so stewed to such softness that they melt in your mouth the moment you take a bite.

 CC 2.0 / Connie Ma

Best Beef Noodle Soup in Taiwan:

Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian
Despite fierce competition with most eateries claiming to serve the best beef noodles in Taiwan, nondescript-looking Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian may not seem like they have much to offer, but if you’re talking about local, hidden treasures, this is it!

Lin Dong Fang Niu Rou Mian
No. 274, Section 2, Bade Road
Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 10491

Must Try #3: Fried Chicken Cutlet

How could you come to Taiwan and not try the ultimate sinful indulgence? Soft and tender on the inside, and crisp on the out, you’d have a difficult time resisting this street snack. Bite on it and the chicken’s juices just oozes out. Don’t say we didn’t warn you about how piping hot it can be when it’s freshly fried!

Best Fried Chicken Cutlet in Taiwan:

Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken
No. 36, Hànzhōng St
Wanhua District
Taipei City, Taiwan 108

Must-Try: Oyster Omelette

A hot favourite among Taiwanese street food. Oyster omelette known locally as 蚵仔煎, pronounced “oh-ah-tzen”. Oysters and crispy bok-choi green veges wrapped in a thick tasty omelette. It’s topped with a red sauce that makes all the difference, as each stall has its own secret recipe for this red sauce.

 CC2.0 / Prince Roy

Best Oyster Omelette in Taipei:

Easily found in night food markets across Taiwan. A great market to try is Taipei’s Shilin Night Markets.

Alternatively, wait your turn at Yuan Huan Bian for a local favourite oyster omelette restaurant.

Yuan Huan Bian
No. 45 Ningxia Rd
Datong District, Taipei

Must-Try: Bubble Tea

In Asia, we love love love our bubble tea. If you’re a fan yourself, you’ll love Taipei. Bubble tea is absolutely everywhere! The classics like milk tea are of course something you must try and compare yourself from brand to brand. But here are a few of our favourite bubble tea stores and their signature drinks.

 Toby Oxborrow

Boba tea (aka bubble tea or pearl tea), are variations of tea with chewy tapioca balls at the bottom of the cup. As you sip your cold desert tea, the little pearls travels up a fat straw along with your flavoured tea, creating an interesting chewy texture.

These days bubble tea, despite the name, is not limited to just tea. You can have fruit flavours, milkshakes, coffee, yakult-mixes and more.

Best Bubble Tea in Taiwan:

It really comes down to personal preference. Some have better frothy finishing to their drinks, whereas others do the fruity flavoured teas much better. Keep your eye out for these 3 top Bubble Tea brands in Taiwan and sip your way through to your own favourite.

Chun Shui Tang (春水堂)

The birthplace of bubble tea. Good for Pearl Milk Tea. If you prefer a café-like environment to sit down and enjoy your tea over a chat, Chun Shui Tang is your place.

50 Lan (50嵐)

Good for tea latte, hazelnut milk tea, black tea macchiato.

Chen San Ding

A local favourite. Signature drink – fresh brown sugar bubble milk. Pearls are made with fresh tapioca. Expect long queues.

Famous Food Street Market in Taipei: Ningxia Night Market  (宁夏夜市) 

Street markets are all about the little snacks – or xiao chi. Shilin Night Market is Taipei’s largest and most well-known nightmarket, on Danan Road. A smaller one that is more popular for local Taiwanese is the Ningxia Night Market. Head to Ningxia for a more authentic Taiwanese night market experience, with a good selection of food with far less crowds.

Photo CC2.0 / llee_wu

If you are travelling with young children, the little ones will enjoy the live ‘gaming’ stalls. They can, for example, can catch little fish or play pinball in an open-air arcade style.

Try: Apo Rice ball, oyster omelette, Taiwanese sausage, Liu’s Yam Ball, Tainan savory rice pudding, rice cakes, imagawayaki, sugarcane juice

Ningxia Night Market
Ningxia Road
Datong District
Open 6pm – midnight
Nearest train stations: ShuangLian (雙連) station, ZhongShan (中山) Station and TaiPei Station.

Photos: Various photographers under CC2.0 license, Shutterstock

Expedia: Asia’s Greatest Food Cities

Friends, countrymen, makan kaki, lend me your ears. I shall show you the way to paradise. Food paradise, that is. Loosen your belt and get your ENO ready, for we are about to journey through Asia’s Greatest Food Cities and mark out the treasures the great food gods have laid on the table.

In this series, Expedia highlights the best food to try in each city, as recommended by locals who have lived & tasted it. Read on to find out the most popular local dishes and the best places you should go to try them.

Find Out More About Asia’s Greatest Food Cities

Jump to Cities:   Bangkok  |  Hanoi  |  Hong Kong  |  Osaka  |  Penang  |  Seoul  |  Singapore  |  Taipei

Ready to Eat?

Made just for foodies, Expedia’s travel deals now helps you travel to Asia’s Greatest Food Cities for less. Save on flights and hotels when you travel to any of these 8 cities before May 2015. Check out the latest deals to carve your own food trail through Asia. Happy belly, happy traveller.

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