Taiwanese Street Food Tour in Taipei, Taiwan: Ultimate Guide 🇹🇼

There are so many reasons why everyone hopes to visit Taipei, Taiwan. Some want to witness the grandeur of Taipei 101. Others want to experience the innovative technology. I'd say most visitors want to delight in the outstanding food scene. Between the bustling night markets, the Michelin-starred restaurants, and infinite street vendors, Taiwan might just have one of the greatest food scenes in the entire world. Today we're taking ourselves on a little food tour right here in Taipei, and this country altogether holds such a special place in my heart because it's my family's country of origin. So both of my parents were born and raised in Taiwan, meaning I was raised with a lot of the foods that we're about to try today. So wish me luck as I practice my kindergarten-level Mandarin to street vendors around Taipei and also showcase the best of Taiwanese street food. One rice ball is $30. $20. A coffee-colored rice ball. $12. $12, okay. There's only one way to start off your day in Taiwan, and that is with a traditional breakfast. And we've come to a local eatery. I tried my very best to write down all the prices to order all the things that I wanted for my list, and I think I've got all of them, which is pretty impressive. So I wanted to first start off with talking about the drink. So this is a warm cup of soy milk or souchang. And this is just so, so popular. Everyone always has one of these in their hands at the break of dawn. And what's interesting is compared to like the soy milk that you can get in the U.S., it's just a lot more rich in flavor. I feel like that's the only way that I can say it. So the way that they package their drinks, there's always this little plastic slip on the top, and then you have a straw with a pointy tip. Pop it in there, and it's ready to drink. I got it with a little bit of sugar too. So we've decided to get two different pancakes. I have the tong you bing, or the scallion pancake. They're a little bit crispy, very flaky, and definitely extremely savory. And basically it's made on a hot griddle, and it's got scallions all up in there. It's so, so good. And then you've got the gan bing, which is basically a crepe with egg on it. And then it has this really sweet sauce that we added to it as well. Yeah, it's a little bit sweet, a little bit savory. And Taiwanese people love that combination. Chopstick for you. Thank you. Yeah, yours is flaky. Mine's like, not flaky. It's a little bit more bouncy, I would say. Cheers. So good. Wow. Next up, we have the mantou, my favorite bun of all time. It is pillowy soft. It's like eating a cotton ball. And it's just so delicious and so chewy. And it's very light at the same time. It's not like a huge dense bread that sits in your stomach. It just, it flows right through. And I decided to get the brown sugar one, but you can get all sorts of different flavors. There's like green tea, there's taro. Also, something you might not know about Taiwan is a lot of the owners of the shops live right upstairs. So I'm pretty sure like that staircase right in the back will lead up to their home. And it's really cool because you'll see like dentist's office, you'll see pet stores, and all the owners just live right upstairs. Yeah, so it's just like they go downstairs during the day. And then when they're ready to go home, it's very short commute. Zero commute, really. The last thing we have for breakfast is the portable breakfast food of Taiwan. As you can see, it is handheld. And it is sticky rice encasing a number of different fillings. So the most common fillings are pickled radishes, pickled mustard greens, also pork floss and youtiao. And that is the youtiao right there. It's that little brown fried donut. They actually look really, really long. And you can get them at the night markets, at breakfast stores. But you should definitely try it. I think it tastes best when it's in something like a fan tuan. But yeah, it's just so, so good. Let's dig on in. It's pretty weighty. I think this is going to make us pretty full for the morning. I love glutinous rice. All right, Chad, the ultimate bite. Wow. I hear the crunch. I hear the crunch of the youtiao. Chad feels the crunch. I feel the crunch. I really like the textures going on. There's like the glutinous rice, which is like bouncy and chewy. And then the crunchy youtiao. It is really good. Yeah, you got to eat all of it together. Yeah, you need a big bite. That was good. All right, ready for your next big bite? Okay. Here, wash it down, my friend. Wash it down. You can sense my hesitancy. All right, now I'm ready. They're so nice. In my hand, I'm holding probably the most famous Taiwanese street food there is. I feel like all around the world, it's loved and it's known. This is the senchu naita or the boba milk tea. And essentially, it is a black tea mixed with milk and caramelized tapioca pearls. That's the best part. And it's kind of shaken all together like martini. Obviously, you can't see the goodness on the inside because we have this opaque paper cup. But I've got my wide mouth straw. It's got the sharp end. I'm going to poke it through and give this a try. There's nothing like the bubble teas in Taiwan because the price is just amazing. I feel like it's so worth it because you can literally get like so many of these during your time here because it's so affordable. And something that's so special about this drink is it prizes the essence of Q, which is a beloved texture that's everything bouncy, gummy, rubbery, and chewy. So a pro tip that we also want to share is that you don't want to get it fully sweetened just because that's actually too sweet. You want it to be like a little bit less because there's this whole scale that you can pick the sweetness level. Yeah, so I always say sao tang, sao bing. So a little bit of sugar, a little bit of ice. And I think that's the perfect ratio. Also with a little bit of ice, you actually get more because they always fill it up all the way to the top. Next up, we have yiao zhou mian or beef noodle soup. And oh my goodness, I'm absolutely in love with this dish. Essentially, it's a combination of a lot of really wonderful things. So there's some tangled noodles in there. There's some beef tendon and also some really slowly braised beef that just melts away in your mouth. And also that broth, it has the signature five spice powder that will blow your mind. And also you're supposed to kind of top it off with these pickled mustard greens that they have here on the table. And honestly, the combination of all these wonderful flavors makes it no question as to why it might be considered the national dish of Taiwan. So let's get these pickled mustard greens on there. Don't want to burn my mouth. The noodles in Taiwan are unmatched, so bouncy. And then get a little bit of sauce. The soup stock just slathers your tongue in flavor. It literally fills it with sweet, savory, all of it. Yeah, a little, like a tiny, tiny bit of spiciness too. And what I also love about this dish is that they have these huge chunks of meat. I feel like a lot of other dishes will dice it really small and it's incorporated into the entire dish, but I like how it's separate. Like it's its own little experience. I can feel us getting fuller and fuller with every step. But there's one last thing we want to try before we go and walk it off, before we go and digest. And I think we're pulling up with our legs pretty soon. So far, one of my favorite parts about the city of Taipei in general is just as you walk through the city, it is so stimulating. And the fact that like every single shop is just so random. Like you'll walk past a pet shop, then a restaurant, then a dentist office, and you really never know what's around the corner. And I think that's what's so cool. And one other thing, in case you didn't know this, Taiwan is known for their mopeds. Like everyone rides mopeds around. And I think it's such a fun aspect to the city. Yeah, you can also tell that it's a very safe country because no one locks their bikes, no one locks their mopeds. They just leave them out. Yeah. And they go on about their day. We walked about five minutes over to this guapao place. But unfortunately, they are resting for three days, which I'm very happy for them. Yeah, good for them. But we won't be able to show the guapao, which is basically this like Taiwanese burger. It's kind of on like a somewhat of a mantou bread. Yeah, it kind of looks like this. And then on the inside, you've got all sorts of delicious pork belly and veggies, cilantro and peanuts. But we'll have to pass on that. Maybe we'll find it at the street market tonight though. Yeah. We just got off the metro and we've decided to sit down and share our second and sixth impressions of Taiwan. So yeah, go ahead. All right. So ever since visiting Taiwan that first time, that was very early on in our travel days. And what I remember in Taiwan was just being completely and utterly overwhelmed from the food that we'd see and the mopeds being everywhere. Also, it was really hot when we visited last time. So I was sweating. Yeah. This time, I feel a lot more comfortable here. I'm just used to like how things are done in restaurants and also having Claire as a guide. Obviously, it's great. This is my sixth time in Taiwan. Crazy to think about that. But the previous five times I've visited, it has always been in the summer. Oh my goodness. It is so, so hot in the summer. And to the point where you sometimes feel like you can't think straight. Yeah. And so coming during the winter, it feels amazing and the crowds aren't even... I don't know where everyone is. They're non-existent. Yeah, where is everyone? I think a lot of the locals think it's really cold right now because I see them with like so many jackets on. I think it's hilarious just because it feels like early spring. Yeah, like early spring, autumn weather. You can see that we're just very comfortable. We feel great here. And the humidity actually isn't as bad as I have always remembered it to be. But after traveling around the world for the last couple of years, it's been really awesome for me to be back in a country where I understand the language. People will speak to me in the local dialect and I can actually respond for once. And I feel just so excited to finally be able to use my Mandarin because I obviously don't use it in my marriage. I don't use it back home really anymore. And so like being here in Taiwan and just kind of being immersed in the culture that I was raised in, once again, has been really, really special. And to be back as an adult, I am loving it. Oh, I also wanted to add that the second impression or just something that I'm able to witness this time is I see Claire in a lot of the things here. Like the way that they do things, they'll be thrifty. And I don't know. I just, I see Claire in a lot of the cultural aspects. He realizes the Taiwanese side of me. I think this time because it's a little bit cooler, I hear so many birds. They're singing all day long. You can probably hear them in the background right now. And also the trees and the greenery. It's just so lush everywhere that you look. It's insane. It's beautiful. When we first got off the plane and we're on the train coming into the city, we said it literally feels like a utopia here. And it does. It's like it has all of the like natural greenery while still being a modern city. We have made it to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which is one of my favorite places that we visited last time that we came to Taiwan six years ago. And this whole space is this famous plaza, this public space that's completely free to enter. Apparently it was completed in the 1980s and everything is dedicated to a famous leader, Chiang Kai-shek. It's all dedicated to him. So that is what the memorial behind me, which kind of has the statue of him inside. And it has two soldiers that are like standing super still. So that's really cool to see if you do come here. I also love that they use this white stone on the building just because it makes all the colors in the park look so much more vibrant than they normally do. Just one short train ride later, we've made it to the end of the red line, which is the beginning of our hike up to the top of this mountain. And I believe the viewpoint is called, or the mountain is called Elephant Mountain. And we're going to be hiking up there. But I believe before we go up, we're looking for like a little supermarket or something to grab a snack so we can eat it up at the top and kind of take our time. One, two. Oh, it keeps going. I don't know why he's got to show how many pull-ups he can do. But something cool about Taiwan parks is they have, I don't know, machinery for adults to work out and for adults to have play time. Yeah, I see some like pretty elderly people out here just, you know, doing all sorts of things. And I think that's great. Like it's, it should be that way. It shouldn't just be for the children. Yeah, absolutely. I also just think it's very inviting. Like the greenery and I don't know, it just called to me. That's pretty much why I did that. Now begins the very tiring ascent to the top of Elephant Mountain. Oh my gosh, like a million stairs. But they're such small stairs. Yeah, they're like half steps. Definitely taking my breath away though. After climbing more stairs than I expected to be climbing today, I'm going to refresh myself with this Dongguaca or this winter melon tea. And I grew up drinking these. It's going to bring me back down memory lane. And I could really use something to drink right now. Oh, I spilled it. That'd be so sad. Oh my gosh. As good as always. The taste of Taipei 101. So once upon a time, apparently Claire's sister bought me this drink, but in can form. And I'm going to give it a try and see how it is in bottle form. It tastes exactly like the can. But it's really good. I love this drink. The other thing that I got from the convenience store is a baozi. And it's very similar to mantou as in like the bread is this pillowy, soft, cottony, delicious bun. But on the inside, there is a meat filling. I can't even hit the meat. But you can see the meat inside. Good meat. I haven't gotten the meat yet here. Here, I'll get the meat. After making it to the top of Elephant Mountain, we've cooled off. We've caught our breath. We ate our snack. And now we're taking a little detour through the forest. It's very nice. Yeah, it is just so lush up here. And it's actually getting quite cool. I think also because we're higher up in the mountains. Oh, I'm getting a little chilly. Smells so good. Just the fresh air. Yeah, I'm like inhaling tremendously, filling my lungs up with all of this delicious, delicious air. Oh my gosh. But I believe now we're going to head back down. We're going to make our way towards the night market where we're going to indulge in just an array of foods. I know. I feel like we've done a lot of really awesome things today. But I think this is going to be the highlight. The night market. Yeah, for sure. What an assembly line they have. We just made it to the Raohe Night Market. And we went in and the first stop already had something from my list. And this here is a Hu Chao Bing or a pork pepper bun. It's basically a nice, delicious, hot steaming bun that's filled with the juiciest, pepperiest pork you can ever imagine. And it's actually cooked inside of this cylinder. I think it's ceramic and they kind of stick it to the edge and it just like heats up into this goodness right here. So let's give it a little bite. I don't know if you can hear that, but there was some serious crunch when I bit in and the inside is just so, so juicy. Oh, it's like comfort food. More savory than I expected. And the bread is like, it's baked more. I guess I was used to the mantou. So I was expecting something like softer, but it's more crispy like a scallion pancake. Yeah, like it's a little bit flaky. You can see the layers coming off of it actually. All right. So we've got ourselves a drink. This is Hua Niu Nai or papaya milk. And basically it's milk with papaya and it tastes so good. I think there's also some condensed milk in there as well. Claire told me all about this drink when she was growing up. She would have it and I'm excited to try it. For me, papaya has always been an interesting fruit because the first bite and the last taste of it, I'm not like totally into it. But as I drink it more, then I crave it. It's so good. Like I already know I'm going to want another sip. Man, that's nice. Next up, we have probably the most common street food item in Taiwan. This is Zhen Chu Ji or Taiwanese fried chicken. And these little nuggets are actually deep fried twice resulting in a very crispy and thin shell. Yeah, and another thing you can note is that most of the stands will have a spice that you can put on because we did previously and it was just a little bit too spicy for us. Oh, should I wait for you? Refill. I believe we have found the perfect ornament for Taiwan. It is a little bubble tea and it's actually really cool because they have bubbles inside and it moves around. Definitely Chad's favorite thing here in Taiwan. This will be on our Christmas tree this upcoming Christmas. It feels really good to rest our legs after walking around this bustling night market. And we have come to an eatery that specializes in this dish right here. Or oyster vermicelli noodles. And essentially, it is a really thick, very slimy soup with vermicelli noodles as well as hunks of oyster and pig intestine. And then it's topped off with some cilantro. And then you also want to put in a big splash of vinegar. The aromas. What I love about this is it's a little bit sour, a little bit sweet, but also a little bit spicy and a little bit savory. It's got like everything in there and it's got such a distinct flavor that like once you have it, you'll remember it forever. A little bit of spice. It is really good. I think with all the food that Claire's introduced me to, at first, I was a little bit skeptical. But then you just crave it. You never really have sour dishes in America. So good. We just went to this Michelin rated mochi place and the owner was very adamant that we eat this right now. Right now. He said that to me three times in Mandarin. But basically, mochi or mochi is very popular here in Taiwan. It's this very chewy rice cake. And on the inside, there's a filling. And I believe on the outside of this one, there's this beautiful peanut powder that they kind of toss it in. Did you eat it soon enough? I think I ate it soon enough. Wow. One of the best mochis I've eaten. Hands down. Wow, that's amazing. This here is oolong or oyster omelette. And it's basically really crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It's slathered in this sweet sour sauce. It's filled with cabbage. It's a really plump oyster. I'm not a big oyster guy. I think it's not my top food. Unless they're raw. All of a sudden, you start with those things now. So first impressions, I didn't think it was good. Second impressions, after continuing to eat it, it was really good. I just had to get used to that texture because that texture for me has never been food. Like in my realm of what food is. I've never had something that bouncy and chewy. Even more than mochi, honestly. It was like so interesting. But the flavor, amazing. I would recommend you guys try it. Nice summery dessert. Now we're in the winter. We still haven't told. This is huaping or shaved ice. We got the mango one. And basically, it's a big block of ice or a frozen milkshake that is shaved down into the delicious brass jelly. And I actually added on the tapioca. It looks so nice. It's like the dark with the yellow mango. As you can see, it's almost like really big chunks of ice. Light, fluffy ice. I'm not sure how it's very shaved ice. I would typically think of like a snow cone in the U.S. It's a thousand times better than this though. We're just about done with our shaved ice. And the way that I define a good dessert is whether or not I drink water while eating it. And throughout this entire time, we both have not taken a single sip of water because it's just, it's very light. It's not too sweet. And it's perfect. I feel like it's a nice palate cleanser. And honestly, I'm ready to go out and eat again. And that's just what I love about Taiwanese desserts. They always make it perfectly sweet. Never too much. The final thing that we're going to eat tonight is xiaolongbao. It's these little soup dumplings. And although we had so many other things on the list, I think we're going to have to cut it off with these because there are 10 in this serving. So these dumplings are very intricately wrapped. As you can see, there's several folds on the top. And then inside is some really hot soup as well as some delicious pork. So normally I would have a spoon and I would bite a hole, let the soup drip into it. But all I have tonight is a stick. So use a different method, I suppose. That is so much better than the ones you can buy from the grocery store. The only thing that could improve it is just a tiny bit of spice. But man, that is so nice. We got the pleasure of eating so many amazing foods today. And honestly, we still have a lot more to try. Things like stinky tofu and hot pot. But our stomachs cannot have anything else in there. Oh my gosh, I'm so full. But full of really great food. But if you want to continue to see what we eat here in Taiwan and all the other adventures that we have as we travel to 50 countries around the world, hit subscribe. And with all that said, we'll catch you on the next one. Bye!