The Best Street Food I Tried In Taiwan
Although often overlooked by its more infamous neighbours the tiny island nation of Taiwan punches way above its weight in travel experiences it can offer particularly for foodies. As the home of Din Tai Fung and bubble tea, Taiwan is a heaven for any traveller who loves to eat but it’s the street food markets that really make the plane trip worth it. With over 100 scattered around the island selling a mixture of staples and more regional favourites, Taiwan’s street food markets are next level and popular with tourists and locals alike. Most often beginning in the late afternoon and ending well into the night or the next morning, these markets are the best way to experience the amazing diversity of Taiwanese food at a very reasonable price point.
Basically, everything you can buy at these markets is delicious but here are a few special dishes that I either ate myself or a companion of mine ate:
Black Pepper Bun
Situated at the entrance at one of my favourite Taipei night markets, Raohe, the fragrant smell of these buns cooking combined with the long lines, make this stall hard to miss.
Best eaten steaming hot, these little beauties, with there crunchy outside and inside filled with heavily seasoned beef or pork rolled in a generous amount of spring onions, are the most popular street food at Rahoe for good reason.
2. Beef Noodle Soup
Although similar dishes can be found throughout east and south-east Asia, the Taiwan version of beef noodle soup is infamous for a reason. These steaming bowls of braised beef, noodles and vegetables often served with pickles and other sides are so celebrated in Taiwan that the dish has its own dedicated festival making no surprise that many see beef noodle soup as Taiwan’s national dish.
Almost every eatery in Taiwan dishes up a version of beef noodle soup with many also claiming to have the best version my picks are the two mainstays: Yong Kang Beef Noodles, who almost always win the fierce competition held during the beef noodle soup festival, and Lin Dong Fang, who base their broth on Chinese medicine traditions.
Bonus: As Taiwan is very vegetarian and vegan-friendly a lot of restaurants and street stores sell versions of beef noodle soup using mock meats.
3. Ice cream roll or burrito
Everything in this shouldn’t work together but this was my favourite dessert in Taiwan. Shaped similarly to a spring roll or burrito this ice-cream wrap filled with peanut candy shavings and coriander started out as a speciality in Yulin as a sweet version of the local run bing , a relative of jianbing and filled with pork, cabbage and peanuts, and is now arguably more famous. Available in most night markets around the country this sweet but savoury dessert is a must.
4. Baobing
Although this is not technically a street food I felt compelled by my fierce love of mango to include this. Imagine a bowl pretty much the size of your head pilled high with a variety of shaved ices, toppings like tapioca pearls, condensed milk and fruit and you have baobing. Although it is available in flavour combinations the mango version has reached cult status in Taiwan and for good reason. There are more than a few famous stores selling baobing and particularly mango baobing buy my pick is Smoothie House on Yongkang Street in Da’an.
5. Flaky Scallion Pancake
This is the street food that dreams are made of. Equal parts greasy and flaky it isn’t the most healthy option but it might be the yummiest. Filled with as many spring onions as possible and often served with a variety of hot or not so sauces this is by far my favourite Taiwanese snack that I had the chance to try. If you are feeling more adventurous you can add other fillings such as egg and ham but honestly the original is perfect the way it is. Join the line at Tian Jin Onion Pancake, one of the most popular stalls in Taipei and directly across from Smoothie House you won’t regret it.
6. Gua Bao
It would be a travesty to go to Taiwan and not try possibly the most recognisable street food item in Taiwan. With origins in the Chinese city of Fuzhou, this recipe was brought over by immigrants from the city and quickly became an ingrained part of Taiwanese street food culture. Soft, sweet, savoury and crunchy all at the same time these buns filled with pickled vegetables, pork belly and peanut powder are so good you will be scoffing them all night long.
7. Stinky Tofu
If you can get past the smell (wet used socks mixed with garbage is a great description) this unique street food staple is at least worth one try. Available either soft and stewed in hot sauce or crispy with pickles, stinky tofu is made by soaking tofu cubes in fermented milk, meat, and vegetables. Polarising even in Taiwan due to its strong odour, it is hard to miss in any street food market due to the lines and well the smell.
8. Oyster Omelette
If oysters in a starchy omelette with cabbage and sprouts and served with lashings of sweet and sour sauce sounds like the best comfort food it is because quite possibly is. Found all over Taiwan and a staple of any night market this dish works as a snack or an entree as you stuff your face. My pick is the stalls at the Miaokou markets at the port city of Keelung which you can make a stop at for a quick dinner on the way back to Taipei after a day trip to .Jiufen and Shifen.