eating and drinking in taipei, taiwan.
ratio coffee.
april 2023
back in 2015, james and i did a 24 hour layover in taipei and the goal was simply to eat at as many of the places i loved as possible. i never feel like i have enough time in taipei, so this was basically the goal again for our sprint 2023 visit, and if you read the post from 2015, you’ll see that a lot of the places are the same this time around.
coffee & breakfast
new to us this trip were all the specialty coffee shops! the coffee scene has absolutely boomed here.
ratio coffee
no 10-6 lane 160, section 1, dunhua s rd, da’an district
cute glass!
cute pastry on a cute plate.
curista coffee
no. 563, zhongxiao e rd, section 4, xinyi district
fancy latte art.
paper street coffee
no 28, section 1, bade rd, zhongzheng district
阜杭豆漿 fu hang dou jiang
no. 108 2F, zhongxiao east road, section 1, zhongzheng district
fu hang is almost always my first stop in taipei (especially for early morning arrivals). this is the taiwanese breakfast of my dreams.
the line goes out the food court, down the stairs to the street..
all the shao bing fresh baked.
order prep.
tray of goods.
you tiao unwrapped.
lunch & snacks
林東芳牛肉麵 lin dong fang niu rou mien
no. 322, section 2, bade rd, zhongshan district
my favorite niu rou mian or beef noodle soup spot is now FANCY. last time i went it was still a hole in the wall where you could see the soups simmering from the street and you sat folding tables on metal stools. now it’s two floors and in the michelin guide!
when most people think of taiwanese beef noodle soup, they think of a dark and (probably) spicy soup. but this is my favorite style with a medicinal herb-based soup - it’s a lot more mild but so much more complex! i have yet to find someone making it this way stateside.. anyhow, you get this chili fat on the side that you add to taste, and their marinated pig ear is still my favorite on the planet.
chili fat, pig ears.
botto of the bowl.
鼎泰豐 din tai fung (xinsheng branch)
no. 277, section 2, xinyi rd, zhongzheng district
original din tai fung location (xinyi branch) is take-out only now.
we usually always go to the original din tai fung location, but since the pandemic, it’s turned into a take-out only operation. luckily, they’ve opened a new branch just a couple blocks down. i love being able to order appetizers and sides that aren’t available in the US. or even the shrimp and loofah xlb, which they stopped serving in LA over a decade ago. and let’s be honest, all of it just tastes better here.
bean sprouts.
tripe.
stir-fried pea shoots.
classic xiao long bao.
shrimp and loofah XLB.
red bean buns.
sunny hills
no 1, minsheng e rd, section 5, lane 36, alley 4, songshan district
over the years, my family has shifted to always buying sunny hills pineapple cakes. i decided to check out their shop when buying some to bring home, and you get a free pineapple cake and cup of tea regardless of if you purchase anything. it’s a little bit of a trek from the nearest metro station, so it was the perfect pick-me-up.
dinner & drinks
寧夏夜市 ning xia night market
ning xia is one of my favorite night markets in taipei. it’s small but very food-focused and suuuper busy every time i’ve been. if memory serves, it’s actually right next to the elementary school my dad went to. anyhow, the lines are crazy at many of the food stands, but i really come here for one reason only - oyster omelettes..
圓環邊蚵仔煎 yuen huan bien oyster omelette
no. 46, ningxia rd, datong district
non-stop oyster omelette making.
oyster omelettes are one of my favorite taiwanese foods and this place makes it the best. they have a super efficient system so even tho the line is long we’ve never had to wait that long. you order and pay before sitting down, they feed you, and you go on your merry way.
clam soup.
pork rice.
the famous oyster omelette!
the only other thing we had at the market was some grilled skewers. you get to pick which skewers you want and then they grill them up and season them for you.
various other street foods i ate the rest of the trip walking around different areas..
lembu, or wax apples, from a fruit stand.
intestine vermicelli.
hotstar fried chicken cutlet.
stinky tofu.
stir-fried kidney with seasame oil.
duck blood soup.
taihu brewing (daan branch)
no 34, lane 27 section 4, ren’ai rd, da’an district
we stopped in taihu brewing to try some local craft beer and have a snack. just like coffee, the craft beer scene has really grown since the last time we we visited.
fries.
noods.
bar 小谷 otani
no. 5, lane 83, section 1, zhongshan n road, zhongshan district
we only made it to one cocktail bar, and it was this tiny, dark space that only holds maybe 10 people and you are asked to speak in quiet tones and silence your phone. the bartender at otani is a sweet japanese man who makes you drinks based on what you like or are in the mood for. he places the ingredients for your drink in front of you when you are served. what a unique and lovely experience.
and with that, we’ve reached the end of not only the 2023 taipei posts, but everything from our big 2023 trip! getting back into documenting and posting this year has been an interesting process, but it really helped refresh my memory on so many restaurants and parts of this trip i’d already forgotten about. i am particularly excited to start going through the photos from this year’s amazing trip.. even as i’m deep into trip-planning for next year.
