The Taiwanese food scene is incredibly tasty and on every trip, we’ve been completely blown away at how delicious Taiwan’s food is.
We think Taiwan has to be one of our top foodie destinations in Asia and the abundance of incredible Taiwan night markets offers visitors the opportunity to sample a wide variety of delicious (and cheap!) dishes.
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Having eaten our way across many of the major cities, we’ve created this Taiwan food list as an introduction for first time visitors to Taiwan.
Here are 32 examples of the best Taiwanese food that you need to eat for a fantastic food time in Formosa.
This article was originally published on cktravels.com on 16 February 2021
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Best Taiwanese food guide
1. Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao)
The Xiao Long Bao is originally from Shanghai, but is one of the most popular dishes sold in Taiwan. They are thin flour dumplings filled with a pork meatball and also a gelatinized meat stock – which melts into a rich soup broth when the dumplings are steamed in a small bamboo basket.
We tried this dish in various places all over Taiwan, but it was at the very famous chain restaurant Din Tai Fung in Taipei where we learned the correct way to eat a soup dumpling (an instruction card is provided with the dumplings).
- Add a small mixture of soy sauce, vinegar and matchsticks of ginger into your deep soup spoon
- Transfer the Xiao Long Bao dumpling onto the top of the mixture using your chopsticks
- Poke a hole into the side of the Xiao Long Bao to let the steam escape and the soup spill out and fill the spoon
- Pop the whole contents of the spoon into your mouth and enjoy! We would actually recommend slurping out the soup first before eating the dumpling to avoid burning your mouth!
You might like – Our guide to Din Tai Fung: Taiwan’s delicious dumpling restaurant >
2. Beef Noodle Soup
Beef noodle soup is THE national Taiwanese food and every year Taipei holds the International Beef Noodle Festival every October which is a landmark event on the city’s culinary calendar!
The dish is made from slow-cooked, stewed or braised beef in a rich dark broth with vegetables such as cabbage and scallions, and chewy knife cut noodles.
This quintessential Taiwanese comfort food is easy to find – famous places to try these noodles in Taipei include Yong Kang Beef Noodle and Lao Shan Dong Homemade Noodles in Ximending.
However, we think Liu Shandong Beef Noodles 劉山東牛肉麵 might be Taipei’s best beef noodles – check out our guide >
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3. Scallion Pancakes
This flaky and chewy scallion pancake is one of our most favourite things to eat in Taiwan and a popular Taiwanese street food.
They are round savoury flatbreads cooked on a griddle, filled with ingredients such as Taiwanese basil (our favourite), egg, ham or cheese and served with a thick soy or hot sauce.
The best version we found was from Taipei Tian Jin Scallion Pancakes halfway up Yongkang Street in Taipei (you’ll spot the long queue of hungry locals!).
Or head to Gongguan Night Market to discover Hsiung Chi Scallion Pancake (stall No 48). This is Gongguan’s famous flaky pancake stall that is included in the 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand guide – given the credentials, Hsiung Chi Scallion Pancake often has a long line that loops around the stall.
You might like our guide to Taipei Tian Jin Scallion Pancakes in Yongkang Street >
4. Taiwan Stinky Tofu
Hate it or love it, you will 100% encounter this Taiwanese food on your travels and you will know because the stench is hard to miss.
This iconic snack is made from cubes of firm tofu marinated in a brine (that usually includes dried fish, meat and fermented milk) and left for months, then deep fried or steamed to serve.
The flavour is a bit of an acquired taste – slightly sour, and apparently the worse it smells, the better it tastes (there are 13 different grades of stinky tofu).
The tofu is best served deep fried, so crispy on the outside and soft inside, and presented with a sweet and spicy sauce or kimchi on the side. You can try stinky tofu at one of the few restaurants across Taiwan dedicated to selling this dish, and at pretty much every single night market.
We tried stinky tofu recently during a food tour at a popular stall near Huaxi night market, one of Taipei’s best night markets – check out our video below.
5. Taiwanese hamburger (Gua Bao)
Often referred to as a “Taiwanese hamburger”, the gua bao is a popular snack that has become famous around the world.
The dish consists of a soft fluffy steamed bun with hearty fillings such as braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, peanut powder and coriander.
We tried an amazing version of this dish at the famous and award winning Lan Jia Gua Bao restaurant in Gongguan. The bao is served in a plastic bag so that you won’t lose any ingredients that may slip out whilst eating it.
6. Pork Pepper Bun
One of the most popular Taiwanese street foods in the night markets are these small crispy pastry pockets filled with juicy minced pork that has been marinated with sugar, soy sauce, white pepper or black pepper, and scallions.
Head to Raohe Night Market in Taipei and you’ll find a famous stall called Fuzhou Pepper Buns at the entrance near Songshan Temple with very long queues serving the best version of this snack (the average wait is usually around 30 minutes).
They also have a branch at Shilin Night market and one in the Zhongzheng neighborhood within walking distance of Taipei Main Station.
Whilst you are waiting you can watch the stall holders make them from scratch and bake them to crispy perfection in a high heat cylindrical clay oven.
As of early 2025, Fuzhou Pepper Buns at Shilin cost NT$65 per bun (around £1.50 / $2 USD).
Taiwanderers tip – you might want to wait a few moments before biting into the pork pepper buns as they are hotter than the sun inside and the filling / oil inside can be very VERY hot, especially if served straight from the oven.
7. Pineapple Cake
These iconic Taiwanese snacks are mini crumbly and buttery shortcrust cakes filled with zingy, thick and chewy pineapple jam. They are very popular with locals to buy as a gift item and are usually sold in nice presentation boxes.
If you want to try some of the best pineapple cakes we recommend avoiding the ones in the tourist shops and heading to bakeries such as Chi Te Bakery and SunnyHills.
As it is such a popular topic of conversation in our Taiwan Travel Tips Facebook group, we put it to the group for a vote – which is the best Taiwan pineapple cake? There were a few clear favourites plus a lot of other great suggestions. Read our pineapple cake poll results here >
8. Oyster Omelette (O-a-chian)
Oyster omelettes are one of the best Taiwanese street foods and can be found in almost every night market across the country.
The omelette is prepared slightly differently from western omelettes because they use sweet potato starch as an ingredient, as well as using eggs, fat moist oysters, flour, bean sprouts and lettuce.
The dish is usually topped with sweet hot sauce or served with some spicy chilli sauce on the side.
One of the best places in Taipei to try one is Ningxia night market. It has a few famous food stalls that feature in several guides including Liu Yu Zi (famous for its deep-fried taro balls and cake) and the Yuen Huan Pien Oyster Omelette and Circle Oyster A restaurants, next to the market (handily open at lunch too).
You can purchase a Klook exclusive set meal voucher for Circle A Oyster >
9. Taiwanese Fried Chicken (Yan Su Ji)
Fried chicken is one of Taiwanese people’s favourite late night snacks and can be found at many night markets, stalls and fast food restaurants, as either popcorn chicken bites or a large cutlet.
Hot Star Chicken in Shilin Night Market is one of the most iconic chicken shops in Taiwan and has become a cult legend, with branches across the globe.
You have to try their juicy ‘large fried chicken’ – a pounded thin piece of chicken breast which is seasoned with salt, star anise and spicy chilli powder then deep fried twice.
It’s so big it is almost the size of your head! Hot-Star chicken at Shilin Night Market costs NT$90 per portion as of March 2025 – and it is MASSIVE!
We also really rate MONGA fried chicken which has branches all over Taipei including Ximending.
You might want to also consider a trip to TKK Fried Chicken 頂呱呱. Taiwan’s local version of KFC, TKK Chicken has been serving up fine fried fare since the 1970s – you’ll see it everywhere from huge restaurants to tiny little kiosks in stations.
You might like – Our guide to Taiwan chain restaurants and cafes >
10. Peanut Ice Cream Roll 花生冰淇淋
This ice cream roll is a fun and quirky Taiwanese dessert and consists of peanut candy shavings and two creamy scoops of taro ice cream wrapped in a handmade thin rice flour tortilla (like a burrito!).
The stall holders usually shave a huge brick of peanut and caramel brittle right in front of you so watching this dessert being prepared is great fun.
The tastes are sweet, nutty and salty, whilst the texture is creamy and crunchy – coriander is also a strange and optional ingredient to add to the mix but is highly recommended!
You can find this dessert at many of Taiwan’s night markets and it is pretty addictive.
You might like – 15+ easy day trips from Taipei including Jiufen and Wulai >
11. Taiwanese Cold Noodles (Ma Jiang Mian)
Taiwanese style cold noodles are a popular street food dish that is widely eaten during the brutal hot summers.
The dish uses thin wheat sesame noodles served with a homemade peanut sauce or a sesame sauce, or a combination of both, sometimes with bean sprouts, cucumber and carrot shavings on top.
The dish is so popular in Taiwan that you will be able to find it at the 7-Eleven stores. We tried a nice version of cold noodles with peanut sauce at the Taiwanese chain restaurant Ba Fang Yun Ji Dumplings (they also do great dumplings).
You might like – Our guide to Raohe Night Market in Taipei >
12. Braised Pork Rice Bowl (Lu Rou Fan)
Braised Pork Rice is a simple but popular Taiwanese dish that can be found everywhere from street vendors to posh restaurants.
A bowl of this dish will usually consist of finely chopped small cubes of pork belly which has been slow cooked with soy sauce, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise and cinnamon, served over rice with toppings of coriander, pickled vegetables and a hard boiled egg. The dish bursts with aroma and the tastes are sweet and salty.
Make a bee-line to Wang’s Broth on Huaxi Street in Taipei for some Taiwanese chopped braised pork belly over rice, with cabbage and bamboo shoots (this is another 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand rated restaurant).
This was another featured restaurant on the Taipei edition of the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil. Read our guide to all the Somebody Feed Phil Taipei eating locations >
13. Oyster Vermicelli (Orh Ah Mee Sua)
The oyster vermicelli dish comprises thin rice noodles in a thick and flavoursome broth, mixed with fleshy chunks of oysters and pieces of tender braised pork intestine!
Add some chilli sauce, black vinegar, minced garlic and coriander to the bowl to elevate the flavour!
Head to the popular and iconic food stall Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle in Ximending to try this – you’ll see a long queue of hungry locals waiting to purchase a cheap take away tub of this silky smooth dish.
You might like – Our guide to Ximending at night >
14. Coffin Bread (Guan Cai Ban)
Popular since the 1940s, the coffin bread is the Taiwanese version of a western bread soup bowl and one of the signature dishes from the city of Tainan.
It is made from a very thick piece of white bread that’s been hollowed out and deep fried to make a crunchy box shaped ‘coffin’. This is then filled with a seafood chowder or a sweet creamy stew using chicken or vegetables.
We tried coffin bread at the Tainan night markets and also the Dongdamen Night Market in Hualien.
You might like – Things to do in Hualien, Taiwan >
Check out the range of Taipei and Taiwan tours that you can book online with Viator >
15. Meatball Dumplings (Ba-wan)
The Ba-wan is a Taiwanese street food also known as meatball dumplings. The disk-shaped chewy dumpling casing is made from a glutinous rice flour which when steamed become slightly transparent.
The juicy meatball filling is made from tender pork meat that’s been soaked in red yeast, mixed with bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms. When served the dumpling is cut into bite sized pieces and topped with a thick gravy or a sweet and sticky sauce.
The most famous of these dumplings are found in Jiufen at a restaurant called Jin Zhi Red Yeast Meatball Dumpling which also has a separate vegan stall a few doors down with dumplings made with mock meat instead of pork.
You might like – Our 1 day Taipei highlights itinerary or our best of Taipei 3 day itinerary
16. Meat and Fish Ball Soup
Meat and fish balls are found everywhere in Taiwan, are inexpensive to purchase and can be found in soup or on skewers in street markets.
The meat and fish ball soup is a popular Taiwanese snack and is a rich bone broth filled with pork, codfish and squid balls and topped with fresh coriander.
You might like – 35+ things to do in Taipei at night >
17. Taiwanese Sausage
The beloved Taiwanese pork sausage is very popular with locals as a quick snack and are a lot sweeter than western sausages.
At the night markets, the plump and juicy sausages are usually served grilled on a stick and brushed with a sweetened garlic soy sauce.
For a tasty ‘One Bite sausage, visit stall 45 of Keelung Night Market – this also features on the Taipei episode of Somebody Feed Phil on Netflix.
Each mini sausage costs just NT$8 and was packed full of flavour – it was less ‘gristle’ than other Taiwan sausages we’ve encountered. We had to queue about 5 minutes on a mid week evening but it was so worth it.
More things to try at Keelung Night Market >
You might like – Our guide to Taichung’s Fengchia Night Market guide >
18. Wheel Cakes
Wheel cakes are a pancake like dessert and are made from two halves of dough cooked in a cup-shaped waffle pan, which are then sealed together by a creamy filling that comes in a variety of flavours such as adzuki bean, red bean paste, chocolate, matcha and vanilla custard.
You can also purchase savoury versions too with fillings such as corn, egg, tuna, curry, meat and vegetables. You can find this dessert at most of Taiwan’s night markets.
19. Danzai Noodles
This popular and simple dish originates from the city of Tainan and consists of a a bowl of Chinese wheat noodles in a shallow light broth that is made from simmered pork bones, prawns, onion, spices and vegetables.
The soup and noodles are served with coriander, black vinegar and garlic, and then topped with minced pork and prawns, and is usually sold in small portions to eat as a snack rather than a main dish.
You might like – Our guide to the best Taiwan souvenirs to take home and the best places to buy souvenirs in Taipei
20. Milkfish (Bandeng)
This mild white fish is a Southern Taiwanese specialty and a dish you must try when visiting Tainan or Kaohsiung.
Cheap to purchase and flaky in texture, milkfish can be prepared in numerous ways – in a congee porridge, in a soup, stir fried, steamed or braised.
The dish is loved by locals so much that there is a museum in the city of Tainan dedicated to the fish and even a milkfish cultural festival in Kaohsiung!
21. Shrimp Rolls
Shrimps rolls are another specialty of the city of Tainan and are made from shrimps and scallions which are rolled in batter and deep fried, then served with ginger or yellow mustard.
Head to the famous Chou’s Shrimp Rolls where the contents of the rolls are a mix of shrimps, minced pork and fish paste, enclosed in the intestines of pigs – we’ve tried it and it does taste good!
You might like – things to do in Tainan >
22. Tea Eggs (Cha Ye Dan)
Tea eggs are a very popular Taiwanese snack and you’ll definitely see them at the night markets and in every 7-Eleven convenience store across the country (the chain sells an average of 40 million tea eggs per year!).
They are basically boiled eggs that have been slightly cracked and then boiled again in tea with sauce or spices – simple as that!
You might like our Taiwan 7-Eleven best food, drink and souvenirs guide >
23. Grilled or fried mushrooms
We might just have ate our own body weight in grilled or fried oyster mushrooms over the years when visiting Taiwan.
A popular night market snack, just find the best stalls by looking for the big queues – a special shout out to the grilled mushroom stall at Raohe Night Market and the fried mushroom stall Fengchia Night Market.
In terms of example prices, we recently visited 燒烤杏鮑菇 at Shilin Night Market.
We bought 240g of diced grilled king oyster mushrooms. You could pick 2 flavour seasonings from 9 different ones. We opted for lemon pepper and seaweed. It cost $120 NTD.
Check out our guide to Shilin Night Market >
24. Crab Soup and Glutinous Oil Rice
Towards the eastern entrance to Keelung Night Market, there are two crab soup and glutinous oil rice stalls but based on the queues, most people wanted to dine at stall 5.
This was our first experience of Taiwanese crab soup and glutinous oil rice – all we can say is we are now total converts and where has this blissful dish been all over lives?!
The crab soup is rich with so many flavors and ingredients like coriander, wild mushrooms and soft crab meat – the rice just slides down and has mushrooms, shrimp and lots of oil / lard.
Keelung Night Market crab soup costs NT$80 a bowl and a portion of glutinous oil rice is NT$35 (be sure to get both).
You might like our things to do in Keelung guide >
25. Taiwanese Ice Cream Pao Pao Bing 泡泡冰
Something to keep you cool after spicy food or a hot summer’s day. Taiwanese pao pao bing usually comes in a variety of flavors.
It genuinely just tastes like ice-cream but is somehow more refreshing – a pleasant surprise!
You might like – Miyahara: Taichung’s famous ice cream palace >
26. Sweet Potato Balls
Taiwan is famous for its sweet potato balls. As a random aside, one of our tour guides once said they were popular because the island itself looks like a sweet potato!
We aren’t sure about that fact but what we do know is that sweet potato balls are so tasty – they also taste a little different than expected, slightly more chewy on the inside due to the inclusion of starchy tapioca but crisp and delicious on the outside.
Sweet potato balls usually cost around NT$35 for a small portion and NT$55 for a large portion. You’ll find sweet potato balls at most Taiwan night markets and they are a staple of Gongguan Night Market’s student scene.
You might like – Our guide to Modern Toilet Taiwan: Taipei’s poo themed restaurant >
27. Turnip Cake
Often enjoyed at breakfast time in Taiwan (although originally from China), Turnip cake is a tasty way to start the day and consists of fried grated white radish and rice flour, served up in little cubes (and often quite greasy).
If you are staying in Ximending, a good breakfast place to try Taiwan turnip cake is Yong He Soy Milk.
28. Steamed Buns (Baozi)
Fine and fluffy steamed buns, you will see baozi day and night in restaurants, kiosks and night markets across Taiwan.
Often with a variety of flavours like pork, beef, chives or cabbage, baozi are a cheap culinary snack and one of our favourite Taiwan snacks.
You might like – Our guide to Taiwan’s 30+ most Instagrammable spots and colorful places >
29. Taiwan train bento box (Bian Dang)
No long railway journey in Taiwan is complete without a Taiwan railway bento box (also known as a ‘bian dang’ 便當).
A delicious traveller rite of passage, enjoy a TRA bento box meal bought from the station and enjoy it onboard – best served with epic Taiwan views through the window (and maybe a Taiwanese tea or beer!)
Taiwan train bento boxes are surprisingly cheap and they are served hot, ready to eat in the carriage – they are so good, you might even want to get another as you exit the station as a snack for your hotel room!
Usually served with meat or fish, the vegetarian (and vegan) bento boxes in Taiwan are really good too, with lots of veggies and tofu style ‘fake’ meat.
From menus to prices, here is our guide to Taiwan’s bian dang / lunchbox meals >
30. Stuffed Rice Roll (Fan Tuan)
A breakfast favourite of many (although it can be eaten any time of day), Fan tuan 飯糰 is a carby, glutinous rice roll usually wrapped with fried dough, pork floss and other naughty but nice fillings.
Various flavours and combos are available and many Taiwanese enjoy their fan-tuan with soy milk – delicious!
You might like – Our guide to Taiwan SIM cards and eSIMs >
31. Pan-Fried Buns (Sheng Jian Bao)
We’ve already mentioned steam buns (baozi) but these little pieces of love are a little different – the top is a soft doughy bun with the bottom is pan-fried to give it a crispy textures.
One of favorite places to try Sheng Jian Bao is Far Eastern Laijia Fried Buns (map) which we discovered totally by chance in Keelung – we just saw a long line of locals and just knew we had to try it!
We joined the large line and had to wait about 20 minutes until we had some tasty Taiwan buns in our hands. Cheap too and available in a variety of flavours including chives, pork and cabbage – Taiwan tea was also available and some locals were buying 20 at a time!
Our final Taiwanese food to try
32. Lava Custard Taro Ball
Simple but sublime, these hot taro balls of goodness are filled full of hot salty yolky custard and are a great way to end your epicurean evening at Taiwan’s night markets.
Just remember (similar to pork pepper buns), the filling inside can sometimes be a little hot if they’ve just come out of the fryer so eat the custard with caution!
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