Street food rules in Taipei. It is said that you can go up to 30 days trying all the street food here without having to repeat eating anything. While I very much would like to put this statement to the test, I only had a few short days here so I tried my best to pack in as much street food as possible. I also had a few restaurant meals which were equally good. Here are some of my favorites.
1. Soymilk, Sticky Rice Roll and Fried/Baked Dough
There is nothing like some greasy fried/baked dough, sticky rice roll and savory soymilk to kickstart your day. The common form of the fried/baked dough are dan bing (egg pancake) and shao bing (charcoal baked pastry). The sticky rice roll (Fan Duan) has a bunch of things in it, like meat floss, egg and a very crispy dough. The soymilk can be eaten sweet or savory. This is probably what heaven is made of (for me at least). There are many places in Taipei that you can get this kind of breakfast, like Si Hai Dou Jiang (literally translated as "Four Seas Soymilk") which has many locations including one in the LA area. My personal favorite is Fu Hang Dou Jiang located on the 2nd floor of a market called Hua Shan Market on Zhong Xiao Dong Lu (East Zhong Xiao Road), a couple of blocks from the Sheraton Taipei. The line can get really long here and they usually sell everything out by 9am or so.
I also recommend a place that specializes in sticky rice rolls (Fan Duan). The rice roll pictured above may not look appetizing at all and may look like your doodle after one too many glasses of grape soda. but it's actually nutritious and tasty. This is a sticky rice roll made of purple-black colored grain, one of the many varieties of Fan Duan sold at Liu Ma Ma Fan Duan ("Mother Liu's Sticky Rice Roll") located on 88 Hang Zhou Nan Lu (88 South Hang Zhou Road), not far from the Gu Ting MTR stop (take exit 6 then walk 3 mins)
2. Noodles and Dumplings
There is this noodle that I particularly liked called Yang Chun Noodles that you can get from many street vendors in Taipei. I enjoyed eating it with the freshly made pork dumplings.
3. Buns, Buns and Buns
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Here in Taipei, you can get all kinds of buns (actually, more of the baked ones than the steamed ones). My personal favorites are Xie Ke Huang (literally translated as "Crab Shell Yolk") and Hu Jiao Bing (peppered pork buns). The former usually comes in three varieties. Spring onion filing makes up the savory variety while black sesame and red bean filing make up the sweet varieties. There is just one kind of Hu Jiao Bing. Its juicy peppered pork filling is so good that it will make you crave for another one even though you have just had the first bite of your first one. That's how good it is.
A place with over 40 years of history sells one of the best Xie Ke Huang in the city. It's called "Su Hang Dian Xin Dian" located on 14 Luo Shi Fu Lu Er Duan (2nd part of Luo Shi Fu Road), close to the Gu Ting MRT stop (take exit 7 then walk 2 mins).
My recommendation on where to buy Hu Jiao Bing is a little corner shop next to the Shuang Lian MRT stop. It doesn't seem to have a shop name but you can see people waiting on line to buy the famous pastry. The address is 64 Min Sheng Xi Lu (Min Sheng West Road). Take exit 1 at the Shuang Lian MRT stop and you will see it.
4. Fried Chicken
Who doesn't like himself some frrriiieeeed chic-ken (with a southern drawl)? In Taipei, you can get Xian Su Ji (literally translated as "Salty Fried Chicken") on almost every street corner. Beside the Xian Su Ji which comes in bits, the vendors also sell chicken chops and other heavenly fried food.
5. Steamed Buns
Known as Ge Bao (which literally means "cut buns"), it's a steamed white buns (think soft tacos but much thicker) with pork slices, preserved cabbage, peanuts bits and cilantro in the middle. There is a place called Lan Se Ge Bao ("Blue House Cut Buns") located close to the Gong Guan MRT stop that is known for this traditional bun.
Famous Japanese ramen places in New York like Momofuku and Ippudo were inspired by it and started offering similar items on their menus at ten times its price.
6. New Age Szechuan Cuisine
Many Taiwanese celebrities open restaurants, but the most popular of the bunch is a restaurant opened by a former Taiwanese female singer called Kiki that serves new style Szechuan cuisine. The restaurant has multiple locations in Taipei so check out its website (www.kiki1991.com). I highly recommend the Cang Ying Tou dish (a chives dish literally translated as "The head of the fly") and a special steamed fish dish.
7. Braised Pork Rice
Lu Rou Fan (braised pork rice) is perhaps one of the most popular street and restaurant food in Taipei. It comes in a bowl of white rice (sorry health nuts, no brown rice is served with this) topped with tasty bits of pork braised in a brown sauce. It usually goes with side dishes like braised eggs and tofu. You can get Lo Rou Fan in many places, but the one that I frequent is this restaurant located within walking distance of the Shuang Lian MRT station (two mins walk from exit 2). The address is 5 Shuang Lian Jie (5 Shuang Lian Street).
8. Bubble Tea
Bubble tea and other tapioca based beverages are still very popular here. Right now the most popular one is called Qing Wa Zhuang Nai which literally means "frog hits the milk". What makes this beverage such a hit (no pun intended) right now is its tapioca, which is made with palm sugar and is more chewy than the regular tapioca. The milk simply enhances the taste of the tapioca. There is this place near the Gong Guan MRT station that usually has a long line of people waiting to order this drink. It's located on Luo Si Fu Lu (Luo Si Fu Road).
9. Longan Walnut Muffins (Gui Yuan Xiao Dan Gao)
Think Banana Walnut Muffins without the banana flavor and bits. They have been replaced by Longan (literally translated as "Dragon Eye"), a topical fruit that belongs in the same family as Lychee. You can get this muffin from any bakery in Taipei since it's very popular right now.
A majority of the food or beverage items that I mentioned above can be found in any of the outdoor night markets in Taipei, including the famous Shilin Night Market. Just make sure you starve yourself for a day before you go there!
