What to Eat in Taipei Taiwan [Best Places and Cost of Food]
I recently visited Taipei Taiwan for 5 days and had an amazing time. Taipei has a lot of delicious food options that will delight your senses. I’m a pescatarian which means I’m more limited when it comes to adventurous street food. But, I still partook in the foodie scene. On top of that, I traveled with true foodies that have no problem trying anything. I will share their food discoveries so you get the full spectrum of the cuisine you can have while in Taiwan.
Fresh Fruit and Juice
In Taiwan you’ll find small street markets everywhere you walk. It’s fun to start your morning at one of these where you can grab a fresh juice. Near my hotel Chaiin, there was a street market that we grabbed a juice from daily. My favorite was the apple dragon fruit but I also tried the avocado. They make the juice fresh to order. Being in Taiwan allows you to try tropical fruits you don’t have at home. Even if you don't grab a juice partake in the delicious fruit options that include: guava, dragon fruit, and oranges.
Cost: $2.66 USD
7-11 | Circle K | Family Mart
You will find a 7-11 on every corner. You’re at a disadvantage if you’re not indulging in the snacks you can try. I find chips in Asia to be delicious and my favorites are sushi or seaweed flavor. I also loved the ramen, Peanut Butter Crunch Hagan Daz, and seaweed sandwiches. The seaweed sandwich has different fillings you can choose like lobster or crab meat. In Asia, you'll find people enjoying meals in 7-11. You can also enjoy hot pot in some of them.
Soy Milk Magnate
This was the first place I ate in Taiwan. I enjoyed breakfast here with some local friends. The food was delicious and set the course for the rest of the trip. It was affordable and we were able to try a lot of food. If you come here make sure to try the soy milk. It’s made fresh and it tastes different than the variety you find in American grocery stores. They're famous for it so grab it hot or cold. My favorite food item was mantou.
Cost: $.50 - 3.33 USD
Photo: Exterior Soy Milk Magnate
JenJudan Bubble Tea
You will have bubble tea while you're in Taiwan. It’s a delicious milk tea with tapioca balls mixed in. We have bubble tea in Los Angeles but I found the bubble tea in Taiwan to taste delicious and fresh. The tapioca balls have a warmth to them that adds to the taste. My favorite flavor, while I was visiting, was the brown sugar milk tea with boba. You also can’t go wrong with rose, lavender or almond flavor.
Cost: $1.83 USD
Street Markets - Raohe and Jiufen
There are street markets everywhere in Taiwan. One of the famous ones is the Raohe Street market because it’s known to have the most adventurous food. Everything is reasonable.
Cost: $.50 - $3.33 USD
We grabbed some beer at the 7-11 nearby. But there is a bar within the Raohe Night Market making drinks.
While there I tried:
Stinky Tofu - It’s a main dish of Taiwan. They’re famous for it here. It is an acquired taste. If you want the "best" tasting variety order it fried. If you’re walking around the market and wonder “What’s that smell?” nine out of ten times it’s stinky tofu. Again, the fried version, “taste” better. It was an interesting flavor but not something I need to have again.
Otafuku - This is a fried squid with cheese and sauces. It was very tasty and I would recommend.
Spiral Potato - This was good, it tastes like a big potato chip with some seasoning.
Custard, banana and chocolate crepe - This was huge and delicious. It was crispy so not the traditional crepe. It almost tastes like a cookie with all the ingredients wrapped inside. You can share it with someone since it’s so big.
Affordable Sushi: MRT Sushi
On the go, I found that the MRT station had the best sushi I had in Taiwan. It was also affordable. You could build a box of sushi or get a pre-made box. This was good to take with you on a day trip. The cost starts at
Cost: Start at $3.33 USD
Expensive Sushi: Addiction Aquatic Development
If you’re craving sushi and an experience you’ll want to visit Addiction Aquatic Development. This is a fresh fish and gourmet market. It’s a bit overwhelming because it has a few different restaurants and packaged food you can choose from. This was the most expensive food experience we had during our time in Taiwan.
We ate at the sushi bar which is standing room only. I shared a sushi set with my friend.
Photo: Exterior Addiction Aquatic Development
This is not a cheap experience. It is comparable to expensive sushi in any major city. If you don’t want to eat at the bar. The packaged sushi is a bit more affordable one pack was 420NT ($13 USD). We ordered two sushi sets at the sushi bar and they cost 1980NT ($65 USD). It was good sushi but for the price, it won’t fill you up if you’re sharing it. It didn’t beat out any of my favorite spots in Los Angeles. But, if you don’t have good sushi available where you live it’s a good place to have some.
This sounds like more food than it was. Of course, we were still hungry so I grabbed a box of sushi to go.
Photo: Addiction Aquatic Development standing only bar.
Mister Donut
The brother of Dunkin Donuts founder, Mister Donut was a dream to find. I went to one in the MRT station but there are a few locations around. I loved the shape of it and it was buttery and soft. My favorite donut is a traditional glazed and that’s what I got here.
Cost: Glazed donut $1.16 USD.
Photo: Mister Donut
Maokong Village
This is a village you get to by gondola. They have teahouses that do traditional tea ceremonies and street food outside. One of my favorite street food meals the entire trip was the fried egg scallion pancake. You’ll find this in every market. Some places will add cheese to it. It’s good both ways but if they offer it, add the cheese. This cost $1.66 USD. I had an embarrassing amount of these during the trip.
I also got the fried squid in Maokong village and the fish balls twice.
Those are most of the delicious treats I had while in Taipei Taiwan. If you want to see more of what I ate check out my video What to Eat in Taiwan.
PIN IT
