Best Taiwanese Restaurants Around the World

The best-scored taiwanese place in each of 12 cities.

Regional variations

Taipei and the north

The most cosmopolitan food scene. Lu rou fan, beef noodle soup, soup dumplings, the night markets of Shilin, Raohe, and Ningxia. The strongest mainland-influence (Beijing, Sichuan, Shanghai) restaurants concentrate here, alongside the modern Taiwanese fine-dining scene (Mume, Raw, Akame).

Taichung and central Taiwan

The sun cake (tai yang bing) and the strong bakery and dessert culture; Taichung is considered Taiwan's confectionery capital. Fengjia Night Market is the largest in Taiwan. Beef tomato noodles is a regional signature.

Tainan and the south

The oldest Han-Chinese settlement in Taiwan and historically the cultural capital. Sweeter palate than the north (Tainan dishes often contain more sugar). Danzai noodles (a small bowl of shrimp-and-pork noodles), shrimp rolls, beef soup, milkfish congee, and the temple-food tradition.

Kaohsiung

Port city. Stronger seafood emphasis, abalone porridge, fish-ball soup, and the Liuhe Night Market for the southern night-market experience.

Indigenous and Hakka

Indigenous (Austronesian) traditions: millet wine, stone-grilled meats, foraged plants, the use of pork and bamboo. Hakka traditions: lei cha (pounded tea), bantiao flat noodles, stuffed tofu, salt-baked chicken.

Defining taiwanese dishes

Lu Rou Fan

Braised pork over rice. Diced pork belly slow-braised in soy, rice wine, sugar, garlic, and five-spice, served over short-grain rice with pickled mustard greens and a soy egg. The defining Taiwanese comfort food.

Beef Noodle Soup (Niu Rou Mian)

Hand-pulled wheat noodles in a beef broth, with chunks of slow-braised beef shank and shin. Hong shao (red-braise) and qing dun (clear) are the two styles. Taipei hosts an annual Beef Noodle Festival.

Xiaolongbao

Soup dumplings. Thin wheat-flour skin holds a meatball and a pool of gelatinous broth that liquefies during steaming. Din Tai Fung's standardization (18 pleats per dumpling, 21 grams per piece) is the modern benchmark.

Oyster Omelet (O-A-Tsian)

Sweet potato starch and egg pan-fried with fresh oysters, scallion, and chrysanthemum greens, finished with a sweet pink sauce. A night-market staple.

Bubble Tea

Tea (originally black, now also green, oolong, and floral) with milk and tapioca pearls. Invented in Taichung in the 1980s (Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin both claim credit). Now a global category; the Taiwan original is still the benchmark.

Stinky Tofu

Fermented tofu deep-fried until crispy outside and pillowy inside, served with pickled cabbage and chile sauce. The smell of an active brining vat is the night-market navigation aid; the taste is unexpectedly mellow.

Gua Bao

Steamed white bun filled with braised pork belly, pickled mustard greens, crushed peanut, and cilantro. The 'Taiwanese hamburger'. Originated as Hokkien banquet food, now sold ubiquitously at night markets.

Beef Noodle Soup

Hand-pulled or hand-cut wheat noodles in a long-simmered beef broth, with stewed beef shank, scallion, and pickled mustard greens. The red-braised (hong shao) style is the Sichuan-influenced Taiwanese version that has become the national dish.

Pineapple Cake (Feng Li Su)

Buttery shortcrust pastry filled with pineapple jam, sometimes with winter melon. The standard Taiwanese gift box. SunnyHills and Chia Te are the top brands.

Three Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)

Chicken braised in equal parts sesame oil, soy sauce, and rice wine, with garlic, ginger, and Thai basil. Cooked in a clay pot, finished aromatic and glossy. The home-cooking benchmark.

How to order

At a night market, walk first, then commit. Identify three or four stalls, queue or order at each, eat standing or at a nearby table. Cash is still king at older stalls; LINE Pay and EasyCard are accepted at newer ones. Portions are small by design; one stall is one or two dishes per visit. The lu rou fan rice bowl is the universal opener; the next dish is usually noodle (beef noodle, danzai noodle, or sesame oil noodle) or oyster omelet. At a sit-down restaurant, family-style ordering applies as in mainland China, but Taiwanese restaurants are more individual-portion-friendly than mainland ones. Tea is the default drink. The bill is paid at the counter on the way out. Tipping is not customary. The rookie mistakes are skipping stinky tofu because of the smell (the taste is mild), ordering soup dumplings at random places (the technique matters; Din Tai Fung and Hangzhou Xiaolong Tangbao set the standard), and eating only at famous chain night markets (smaller neighborhood markets are often better).

What to drink with it

Tea is the default and the strongest local product: Taiwanese oolong (especially high-mountain oolong from Alishan, Lishan, and Dayuling) is among the best oolong tea in the world. Bubble tea is the daytime casual drink. Beer (Taiwan Beer, 18 Days craft beer) for night markets and casual dinners. Kaoliang (a sorghum spirit, 38 to 58% ABV) is the traditional toasting alcohol, made on Kinmen Island. Plum wine and rice wine for sweeter courses. Taiwanese whisky (Kavalan) has won global awards and is the modern Taiwan luxury drink.

Where to eat it

Taipei holds the deepest Taiwanese food scene: Shilin, Raohe, and Ningxia night markets, plus the Yongkang Street restaurant district (Din Tai Fung's original), the beef noodle institutions (Lin Dong Fang, Yong Kang Beef Noodle), and the modern fine-dining scene (Raw, Mume, Akame, JL Studio). Tainan for the older, sweeter southern food culture. Taichung for night markets and pineapple cake. Outside Taiwan, Los Angeles's San Gabriel Valley has the deepest Taiwanese food cluster outside Asia. New York (Win Son, Mama Lin, 886), Vancouver, Sydney, and Tokyo all hold credible Taiwanese kitchens.

A short history

Taiwanese cuisine took its modern shape across four overlapping waves: Hokkien Fujianese immigration starting in the 17th century, the Japanese colonial period (1895-1945) that left lasting marks (the obsession with bento, the bakery and dessert culture, the convenience-store food traditions), the post-1949 mainland Chinese influx that brought Beijing and Sichuan dishes, and the post-1980 economic boom that codified the night market into its current institutional form. UNESCO has not formally listed Taiwanese cuisine, but the night-market tradition is recognized as one of Asia's most distinctive food cultures.

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