Taiwan Travelogue: 10 Street Foods You Must Try in Taiwan

Tempting foodies with its mixture of 台湾小吃, Taiwan’s night markets have won over fans. We have seen many Taiwanese franchise stores popping up in Singapore but we know very well nothing beats tasting the real deal in the home country. In this blog, we bring you the 10 street food you must check out in Taiwan!

#1 Fatty Taiwanese Pork Sausage

Honestly, Taiwanese street food tastes heavenly and it’s the same in all the night markets. Everyone has heard of Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) but how about Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市)? It’s not as crazily crowded as Shilin and yet offers authentic street food that packs maximum enjoyment. Click here to read our blog on Raohe Street Night Market.

Introducing grilled Taiwanese sausages that tastes sweet and yet salty at times. Yes, these are fatty pork sausages and sounds a tad unhealthy, but who cares?

Raohe Night Market

North end of Kee Lung Road, Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: 02-23491635
Song Shan station Exit 5

#2 Grilled Squid

If you like seafood, you will surely like this. Over at Raohe Street Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市), you need to try an entire squid that is grilled properly and then sliced for you.

Piping hot squid, a classic Taiwanese snack, to tickle your tastebuds.

#3 Flame Grilled Beef Cubes

Hungry patrons just couldn’t resist the smell of grilled beef cubes as they waited patiently before making their orders.

Flame grilled beef cubes can be found readily in all Taiwanese Street Markets which we gave it a miss in Shilin Night Market but finally gave in to the temptation in Raohe Night Market.

The interesting part was watching the stall owner using the fire torch to grill the beef cubes.

Here’s the final product – tender and juicy beef cubes.

#4 Sweet Potato Balls 地瓜球

This is our all-time favourite! Sweet potato balls that are made into cute little balls and then deep fried. This stall was located just right outside Via Hotel Ximen where we stay. We were hesitant whether it would taste nice and decided to order a small portion. Click here to read our blog on Ximending.

The sweet potato are sliced into small pieces.

And subsequently deep fried. It tasted sticky and definitely chewy on the inside. So wonderful that we went back for second and third orders!

#5 Taiwanese Breaded Chicken (Ji-Pai)

The legendary ji-pai is a trademark of Taiwanese street food. One just can’t visit and leave Taiwan without checking off this favourite street snack. This is a popular stall near to Via Hotel Ximen.

Simply juicy and tender 🙂

#6 Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle 阿宗麵線

If you want to try good mee-sua and pig intestines, try visiting Ah Zhong Mee Sua. It is undoubtedly one of the most famous stalls in the heart of Ximending. Don’t expect to find seats if you decide to dine on the spot. Most diners wouldn’t mind to slurp down their mee-sua while standing or sitting along the pavements when seats are unavailable.

A small bowl of mee-sua is NTD $50 while a bigger bowl is NTD $65.

 阿宗麵線 Ah Chung Mee Sua

8-1, Éméi St, Wanhua District (Ximending), Taipei City

#7 Xiao Long Bao (小笼包)

Over in Ximending, get ready to awake and arise to a street galore with food carts right early in the morning. We like Xiao long bao (小笼包) which is usually filled with well-seasoned pork. This filling is mixed inside a translucent skin and steamed until the aspic turns into scalding soup.

You can get to taste these heavenly dumplings without going to a restaurant. The price? Only NTD $70 per each serving.

#8 Lu Ruo Fan (滷肉飯)

Who says you must spend a lot to enjoy good food? To me, a simple dish like Taiwanese Lu Ruo Fan (滷肉飯) that cost not more than NTD $50 is enough to fill up our stomach and warm our hearts. This dish comes with a bowl of rice and prepared with minced fatty pork and lastly, not to miss the important gravy. This is a must try for all.

#9 Ice Cream Spring Roll

Food galore over in the streets of Jiu Fen (九份). Navigate your ways around the maze of lanes and alleyways and explore the various food stalls. Click here to read our blog on Jiu Fen.

Beat the heat with a peanut ice cream. Akin to popiah style, the ice cream is scooped onto a wrap and sprinkled with crushed peanut brittle.

A perfect combination! A must try street snack. Kids will definitely love it so so much.

#10 Dan Shui Old School Sponge Cake

When visiting Danshui, be sure to visit this interesting cake shop that sells sponge cakes. They are baked on the spot and they come in only 2 flavours, 原味 “original” and 起司 “cheese”. Click here to read our blog on Dan Shiu Fisherman Wharf and Dan Shui Old Street.

We get to try them for free too and the free-tasting slice is really huge!

现烤蛋糕

淡水区 中正路 (淡水老街) 228-2

228-2 Zhongzheng Road, Tamshui (Danshui) District, Taipei

Planning a trip to beautiful Taiwan soon? Click here and here to read our blog on 10 tips before visiting Taiwan and our Taiwan Travelogue.

Check out My Taiwan Tour here when planning your itinerary.