I’m headed to Metro Taipei soon… Believe it or not it’s been quite a while since my last trip there. Aside from some inevitable business meetings, I will hopefully have 3 full days to eat. Transportation is no problem, and I am fluent in Chinese. I’m looking at primarily lower-end / casual fare in Taiwan. Late night eats is a bonus. What are your current leaders in…
Sorry I didn’t see this earlier. I personally have not returned to Taipei since 2009, but I still keep an eye out on random blogs and publications.
For a breakfast place, the one to try is apparently Fu Hang Dou Jiang 阜杭豆漿 despite the fact this is now on practically every Chinese speaking country’s radar (HK, China especially, Singapore, Malaysia).
Be warned though, the wait is ridiculous at times, and now with the advent of very unruly “強國人”, the wait could even be worse as some of them buy upwards of 20 shao bings at once for their friends/families (each oven roaster can only make a small batch at a time). Though if you are jet lagged and up at 5 am, get yourself to Shandao Temple station and brave it for some of the best in the country (or county) and hopefully before the line gets too long. If you love Shao Bing, this place might just be it, unless there’s a new place in town that is just as famous and ridiculous.
For night market, my personal favorite was always Ningxia Road 寧夏夜市 as this place represented the heart of old Taipei with their old school recipes. Saw some recent Instagram pictures by friends who are there now and still looks excellent. Worth entering 寧夏夜市 in google search and see what the local bloggers suggest are the latest and greatest.
Just found an amazing(and air conditioned) market, Shi-Dong, with many different stalls offering fresh organic, meats, seafood, fruits, and vegetables in Taipei. They also have several noodle, dumpling, and bakery stalls as prepared food vendors. Just wonderful and so comfortable and clean. Did I mention it’s air conditioned!!!
Shi-Dong has a very popular stand-up sushi bar that gets quite crowded. Initially, I was weary of eating raw fish in a wet market. Ended up totally enjoying the food and experience.
Thank you very much for the info. I had never seen this fruit before. When I asked the lady at the market about the fruit, she translated it to “pear” for me. Now I know the true name!
My wife loves wax apples. Rarely, if ever, encounter this fruit in the USA. My wife always grabs at least a half dozen whenever we see them overseas. Crisp and juicy.
As beefnoguy says, that sushi stand is a great value. We just told the chef our budget (USD$50/pp), and he started whipping stuff out. We were served at least a dozen items. Great ebi (sweet shrimp), abalone, foie/wagyu nigiri, etc…
Reporting back (finally)… Taipei did not disappoint.
This XLB from 點水樓 (Dian Shui Lou) was absolutely stupendous. Perfect wrap, with lots of rich & complex soup - So, so satisfying… Light-years ahead of Din Tai Fung.
