Taipei Street Food / Casual Eateries: Current Favorites?

Hi gang,

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…

  • Night market stalls?
  • Niu rou mien (beef noodle soup)?
  • Xiaolongbao?
  • Breakfast dou jiang / sao bing / you tiao (soy milk/morning pancake/cruellers)?
  • Zongzi (Chinese tamales, in all its forms)?
  • Seafood (I know, so vague, but anything novel and tasty?)?
  • Rice dishes (pork chop, braised meat, etc.)?

Aside from the above, any “must-try”'s?

As always, thanks in advance!!!

3 day. 4X3=12 meals. Wow Enjoy!

A vegetarian place. Very good and crowded:
http://tw.openrice.com/taipei/review/台北市-中山區-養心茶樓蔬食飲茶/39056?tc=index&con=newRvw

Breakfast place:
http://newsblog.chinatimes.com/leafphoto/archive/37741
Beef Noodle Soup:

Night Market:

Must Try:
http://newsblog.chinatimes.com/esther6lu/archive/38393 Reservation is recommended.
Meat Pie:
【台北美食推薦。大安區】朱記餡餅粥店(仁愛路總店) @ christy愛吃愛旅遊 :: 痞客邦 ::(%E4%BB%81
XLB/生煎包:
GQ.com.tw 男人,時尚,生活,有型有款 引領潮流第一站 | GQ Taiwan

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Who said one could only eat 3 times in a day? :wink:

Thanks for all the great links!

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.

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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!!!

I’ll post some pics soon.

Shi-Dong Market

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Baby Squid

Super Jumbo Prawns

So Many Fish in the Sea

Aquarium!

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Butchers

Wonderful Offal

Side Dishes

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Noodles & Buns

More Noodles

Balls of Goodness

Got Tofu?

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Every man loves a nice Pear

Fruit Juices

Organic Fruit

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Assorted Dried Goods

Beans and Nuts

Organic Produce

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Tons O Tofu

Lots of choices

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Awesome pics!
Do you have a hotel suite with a kitchen to cook in?

Fantastic pictures! That “pear” is actually a wax apple, or “Lien Wu” 蓮霧 by locals.

I’ve seen at least two varieties (and in different shades) in Taiwan.

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.

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Ahh yes, that’s 阿吉師 (Ah Jieh Shih), great value and loved by locals (and Hong Kongers visiting Taipei).

beefnoguy,

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!

Yes I had some sashimi here (no nigiri available). Great stuff though!

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…

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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.

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Is that your picture?? It looks so freaking good.

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