10 Must-Try Taiwanese Foods & Dishes (From Street Food to Classics)

Taiwan is a country known for its incredible night markets and bustling cities. This means that Taiwan is obviously going to have some incredible food, a lot of which has gotten pretty famous recently like bubble tea. There is such a diverse set of dishes in Taiwan that are unique or at the very least have their own unique twist compared to other countries in the region. I recently got the chance to visit Taiwan and I got to experience a variety of night markets, go to some fancier restaurants, and also just go to some local mom-and-pop shops. In this post, I want to share what I think are the top 10 must try Taiwanese dishes that you need to try, whether it is in your hometown or when visiting Taiwan!

Beef Noodle Soup (Tai Wan Niu Rou Mian)

First up is beef noodle soup. Beef noodle soup is a famous Taiwanese dish that is pretty much exactly as it sounds. It’s a dish with a rich beef broth, tender chunks of beef, vegetables (bok choy for example), as well as noodles. Something that I found incredibly interesting was that compared to some of the other food on this list, there was actually a huge difference between different beef noodle soup shops. One shop might have the broth be much more vegetable-forward while at another shop the broth may be very beefy. In fact, I had one broth that tasted mostly of radishes, but in the best way possible. There’s also going to be different toppings that you can add in different shops, and I feel like these toppings are what makes this dish so special. For example, one shop had these really spicy chilies that you could add, whereas another shop had beef fat, or tallow, which was incredibly rich and quite popular amongst the local. I added just a tiny amount, and you could really taste the flavor, it was quite potent.

Overall, this is just such a heartwarming dish. It’s rich in flavor, but it’s not too heavy, and it’s pretty affordable in Taiwan. It makes sense why this dish is so well-known in the city, and why so many beef noodle soup shops are on the Michelin Guide! I’d also just like to add, just because a shop is on the Michelin Guide doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s better than other shops. I went to a lot of shops that aren’t on the Michelin Guide, that are just random local spots, and they were just as good as the places on the Michelin Guide. So, when it comes to beef noodle soup, you really cannot go wrong in Taiwan!

Taiwanese Fried Chicken

Here in Canada, American fried chicken and Korean fried chicken are super popular, they kind of reign supreme in terms of the fried chicken scene. Taiwanese fried chicken is becoming increasingly popular though, and for good reason. When I first arrived in Taiwan, my first meal was at the restaurant in amba Taipei Ximending called Buttermilk, where they’re known for their famous fried chicken. Naturally, I had to try the fried chicken of course, and it was absolutely incredible. It was one of the best fried chicken dishes I’ve ever had, especially in terms of the texture.

I’m not sure how they prepared the fried chicken at the restaurant, but at the night markets, they use a really interesting process for the fried chicken, where the fried chicken is first fried, and then it’s grilled over fire. Sometimes sauce is also added to it when it’s grilled over the fire. This is a really cool technique, because the texture comes out not being that conventional American fried chicken crispy, but having a slightly different texture where it’s nice and soft and tender, but still has a bit of the crunch from being fried. The flavor is also just out of this world. The sauces that they add and the spices are incredible, plus the grilling adds that extra bit of grilled flavor that I love in grilled chicken. Overall, the fried chicken in Taiwan is simply incredible and the sizes for the fried chicken, especially for the street food fried chicken, are usually pretty massive. This is definitely a must-try dish in terms of street food in Taiwan that you cannot miss when you visit, and is also becoming more popular globally so you may be able to find it in your city as well!

Black Pepper Meat Buns (Hu Jiao Bing)

Black pepper meat buns are a dish I hadn’t tried until visiting Taipei, but are super common in the city. It’s pretty much a bun that’s baked inside of a clay oven, you can think of it sort of like a tandoor, and they similarly attach these buns to the side of the “tandoor” like you would do with bread which allows the buns to get a really nice browned exterior with some sesame seeds on top. Then inside, there is this meat that’s flavored with a super intense black pepper flavor. The meat used is usually prepared pork, but since I don’t eat pork, I had to find alternatives, and luckily, if you’re at the major night markets in Taiwan, most of them have a beef version of this dish. Some stalls even have vegetarian versions so there can be quite the variety! I highly recommend trying this dish because the cooking process is really cool to see on the street, it’s a super delicious, savory dish and the meat is super rich and juicy on the inside.

Grilled and Fried Mushrooms

One dish that I was a bit skeptical about but excited to try were the grilled oyster mushrooms that I saw in food vlogs of night markets prior to visiting Taipei. Grilled oyster mushrooms and mushrooms in general are incredibly common at the night markets. How it works is that they grill the mushrooms over charcoal. And then you can add different seasonings or sauces to your mushroom, usually it would be powdered seasonings that you can customize for adding on top. The powdered seasonings included spicy, lemony, garlicy flavours so there are a lot of customization options. When I bit into the mushroom, I was absolutely shocked by both the flavor and the texture. The mushroom was super juicy and had this meatiness to it, and you could taste the flavor from the grill. The seasonings on top were perfect and overall, I just couldn’t believe that mushrooms could be prepared in a way that was this tasty. I just think generally mushrooms are super underrated, and if you’re someone who enjoys vegetarian dishes, or even if you’re someone who doesn’t or doesn’t enjoy mushrooms, you have to try this because it could very well change your mind.

I also got the chance to try deep fried mushrooms. It was a variety of different types of mushrooms and along the same lines, it was incredible. The textures were the perfect balance of soft and crunchy the flavor was savoury and mushrooms, and I got a pretty massive portion for the price in comparison to the grilled mushrooms that are comparatively pretty expensive. When you go to night markets in Taiwan, regardless on how you feel about mushrooms, you are not going to want to miss ordering this dish!

Pineapple Buns (Bo Lo Bao)

Pineapple buns have gotten pretty popular globally and are famous throughout Asia, with Hong Kong being especially well known for pineapple buns. This dish, despite its name, does not contain pineapple and was just given this name due to the patchy appearance of the skin of the bun. I tried it for the first time in Asia when I was in Japan by getting a melon pan (Japanese variation of a pineapple bun) with ice cream inside, and that was absolutely delicious.

In Taiwan I got to try their take on the pineapple bun and it did not disappoint! You see a lot of places that have plain pineapple buns or they have ones that are filled with ice cream, but something that seems to be the most popular, or kind of a fan favorite, is pineapple buns filled with butter. I tried one of these pineapple buns filled with a big slab of butter on the inside and it was honestly pretty incredible. The butter adds this buttery richness and it kind of melts into the pineapple bun because they heat it up, which creates this super rich buttery texture in your mouth. And with that slight sweetness of the pineapple bun, I feel like it is the perfect, slightly sweet dessert. I personally do not like having sweet pastries for breakfast but it could also be eaten as a breakfast if you’re on the go. This dish is also surprisingly easy to eat, you’ll find that you’ll order one and even though they can be a little bit heavy, you’re going to demolish it in a matter of seconds because of how good it tastes.

Pineapple Cakes (Fen Li Su)

Speaking of pineapple, a famous Taiwanese dish that is actually flavoured with pineapple is pineapple cakes! This dish is a small pastry filled with pineapple jam/paste. It is quite rich and buttery so despite its small size it is deceptively filling. I tried this dish at a couple of spots, including the famous Chia Te Bakery in Taipei, and while all of them were slightly favourite they were generally quite similar, but the Chia Te Bakery version was my favourite! I didn’t necessarily love this dish though because for me it was a touch too heavy and sweet, but I still think it is super delicious and I completely understand why troves of people line up at Chia Te Bakery to order these! If you are in Taipei this is a dessert you have to try and I would definitely grab some from Chia Te Bakery, plus they also have other baked goodies that are delicious too!

Tofu Pudding (Douhua)

The dish that was probably one of the most surprising for me when I was in Taiwan was tofu pudding. I tried tofu pudding in Richmond, British Columbia shortly before visiting Taiwan, and I really enjoyed it. The tofu pudding was pretty simple that I had in Richmond, it was just the pudding with some syrups on top, specifically ginger and brown sugar syrup. In Taiwan, it was on a whole other level compared to what I had tried previously. I expected it to be good, but it absolutely knocked my socks off. Pretty much when you get the tofu pudding, you’re able to have a variety of different toppings like sweet potato balls, taro balls, red bean, and different kinds of jellies and syrups. All of these toppings are what really makes it, even though the tofu pudding on its own is also incredible. When you add these delicious toppings, syrups and sauces, everything is mildly sweet, but it all comes together and just makes this perfect, slightly sweet, kind of meal-like dessert that I just couldn’t get enough of.

I wasn’t sure if this was something that I would want to be eating every single day when I was in Taiwan, but I think I ended up ordering one pretty much everyday because it was just that good. If you’re someone who isn’t really convinced on if they like tofu or if they like the Taiwanese approach to sweets where they make them slightly sweet, I highly recommend trying this. It’s pretty unique to have a dessert that’s made with tofu, red bean, and sweet potato, and it is so surprisingly delicious!

Bubble Tea (Zhen Nai)

The next dish that I want to talk about is bubble tea. Now this one’s probably pretty obvious because bubble tea is super famous globally now. They have a bubble tea shop seemingly in every single city that I’ve been to in North America, and for good reason. The pearls are super delicious with their chewy, slightly sweet flavor, and just the range of teas that you can get or the slushes that you can get is really incredible at bubble tea shops. Since bubble tea originated in Taiwan you know I had to get my hands on as much as I could while I was there.

I went to a couple of local bubble tea shops when I was in Taiwan, and I kind of had variable success with how much I liked it, but one place that never failed was a local chain called 50 Lan. This chain has the typical big vats of brewed tea that they use to make their bubble tea, and while the quality control between locations didn’t seem as good, because I had some that were quite a bit better than others, I would say on average the bubble tea was pretty phenomenal. I really didn’t expect this from a local chain that’s as popular as 50 Lan, but if you’re in Taiwan, you have to try the bubble tea here.

Of note, they do make the regular sweetness quite sweet, so I would opt for anywhere from 0% to 50% sweetness. My favourite flavours were the regular Taiwanese milk tea and the Ovaltine milk tea. This is another thing that I pretty much got every single day, and I would usually try and get bubble tea from 50 Lan because I enjoyed it that much. I really hope this chain comes to Canada because it is a lot better than most of the bubble tea I’ve had here in Canada.

Room Temperature Beef Soup (Wenti Niurou)

When I was in Taiwan, I had the opportunity to visit both Taipei and Tainan, and I’m so glad that I did because Tainan had its own unique charm, and while it’s not exactly the most exciting city compared to Taipei, it was a really nice experience. A major variation on the typical beef noodle soup that you have in Taiwan, and a dish that I wanted to highlight that is kind of unique in its own respect, is the room temperature beef soup that is served in Tainan. Compared to the typical Taiwanese beef noodle soup, it is a lighter, pho-like broth that apparently typically uses fresh meat of the day that hasn’t been previously frozen! If you find yourself in Tainan, I highly recommend giving this dish a try for breakfast and enjoying the fresh flavours of the beef and broth.

Taiwanese Egg Pancake (Dan Bing)

One other dish that I have to mention is the Taiwanese style egg pancake. During my stay in Taipei, there was a place near my second accommodation that served breakfast, and it was super popular. There would pretty much be a line every single day, and they served a variety of dishes here, like noodles, which were also incredible, but also eggs. These eggs are a sort of Taiwanese style omelette that has different vegetables and/or meats folded into it, and I don’t know everything that they put in there, but the flavour was immaculate. I ended up going to this place more than once during my stay for breakfast because it was just so incredible and so affordable. If you can find a street food stall or breakfast spot that sells eggs in Taipei, I would highly recommend giving it a try because their take on “egg pancakes” is really unique and very, very tasty.

Top 10 Must Try Taiwanese Dishes

Some honourable mentions that I also absolutely think are worth a try when you’re in Taiwan are savoury soy milk soup and vegetarian dishes at buddhist restaurants, I had a vegetarian bun at one of these and it was incredible! There is just so much incredible food to choose from in Taiwan so whatever you try you won’t be disappointed but I definitely found these dishes to be my personal favourites. I hope you all enjoyed this post, if you are planning on visiting Taiwan make sure to checkout my last blog post on where to stay in Taiwan! Also, if you did enjoy this post, make sure to follow me on my social media platforms and checkout my other blog posts !