[Taiwan] Eating Guide - What to Eat in Taipei

There are many great places to eat in Taipei and during my short trip, I managed to visit quite a variety from local places to coffee shops to dessert bars - here's a list of places that I visited and would recommend based on my experience!

Lin Dong Fang 林東芳牛肉麵
No. 274, Section 2, Bade Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei

We actually landed in Taipei late at night and headed straight to Lin Dong Fang for some Taiwanese beef noodle soup! Rumor has it that this is the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup so is it? Well I have to say that this is the best beef noodle soup I've had in Taipei after trying the likes of Yong Kang Beef Noodles and Tao Yuan Street Beef Noodles. The broth here (aka the soul of the beef noodle soup) was so pure, flavorful and not oily at all while the noodles and beef were both excellent as well. I usually prefer the spicy version (紅燒牛肉麵) but you can add chili butter, sauce and powder which is provided on the side here.

The shop also recommended this signature appetizer which seems to be marinated tofu but I wasn't a big fan of its bland flavors.


The chili butter on the left is apparently a homemade specialty that you can buy as well. Just be careful to only add a bit at a time into your noodles as it is actually pretty spicy!

Jin Feng Lu Ruo Fan 金峰魯肉飯
No. 10, Section 1, Roosevelt Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei

I've heard from many people that Jin Feng serves the best lu ruo fan (Taiwanese braised pork rice) in Taipei and I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint! We got there early to avoid the lines and selected what we wanted on a piece of paper. You can order the rice in 3 different sizes and they serve other appetizers, soups and noodles.

This is the menu with all of its selections. 

We ended up choosing the lu ruo fan in medium as well as braised tofu and a chicken soup with pineapple and bitter melon. The lu ruo fan is probably one of the best I've ever had as it was super flavorful but not oily at all. The restaurant is also well-known for its soup so try one when you are here along with the braised pork rice!


原西園橋下燒餅油條
No. 242, Section 1, Xiyuan Road, Wanhua District, Taipei

My friends took me to this really local place near Longshan Temple for some traditional Taiwanese breakfast - think soy milk (豆漿), shaobing (燒餅) and sticky rice roll (飯糰). Mostly locals frequent this place so you know it's legit. Everything is made from scratch and they close when they run out so it's best to come early. They are best known for its shaobing (a type of baked flatbread) which is stuffed with youtiao (油條) and fried egg, and it was amazingly delicious with its super crispy youtiao and freshly baked shaobing! The prices here are very reasonable as well so try both the shaobing and the rice roll if you can.


No. 8, Section 5, Nanjing East Road, Songshan District, Taipei

Spicy hotpot is a must in Taipei and this time I checked out Spicy Spirit which was recommended by a friend. I've been to the popular Elixir Health Pot (無老鍋) before, but I prefer Spicy Spirit with its irresistible duck blood (鴨血) and spicy hotpot broth that you can actually drink! There were lots of options for hotpot ingredients while the service was good and quick so I highly recommend this place if you like spicy hotpot. 

Pepper Bun @ Raohe Street Night Market 福州世祖胡椒餅
No. 249, Raohe Street, Songshan District, Taipei

Night market is another must-do activity in Taipei and while the quality of food can be subpar, the pepper bun at 福州世祖胡椒餅 was super delicious! It's a popular stall right at the entrance of the Raohe Street Night Market, and the buns are all made on the spot and baked in a clay oven. The pepper bun was piping hot with a deliciously peppery pork filling and bun that was both crispy and chewy at the same time - it was the best pepper bun I've ever had!



No. 33, Yitong Street, Zhongshan District, Taipei

Fika Fika Cafe is a popular Scandinavian-style cafe in Taipei whose name fika means "coffee break" in Swedish. Aside from style, the cafe is known to be serious about coffee since its owner James Chen had won the Nordic Roaster competition in 2013. You can choose from a variety of special coffee blend but we just ordered our usual flat whites and sat outside which faced a lovely park - what a relaxing way to spend the morning!

No. 561, Mingshui Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei

Yellow Lemon is a trendy dessert bar founded by Italian chef Andrea Bonaffini who aims to surprise guests on a sensory level through his creative cuisine. We ordered his gorgeous PIC-NIC afternoon tea set where the chef personally laid the grass and arranged all of the dishes on top before pouring a stream of dry ice around our picnic to elevate the visual effects. Food-wise, there were a variety of seasonal savory and sweet bites which were all really good - what it lacked in quantity, it made up for it with its high quality. I enjoyed pretty much everything in our picnic set and I would love to go back to try more of its beautiful desserts!






Happy eating! Please let me know if you have other recommendations below and click here if you haven't checked out my other posts on my trip to Taipei.

Follow me on Facebook! www.facebook.com/supertastermel

Follow me on Instagram! www.instagram.com/supertastermel

Comments