22 x Street Food in Taiwan You'll Want to Try

What immediately struck me during my trip through Taiwan is how important food is there. From breakfast to a late-night snack, there always seems to be something being steamed, fried, grilled, or slow-cooked. The night markets, in particular, give you a good impression of the enormous variety of Taiwanese street food.

Many well-known dishes, such as beef noodle soup, popcorn chicken, and bubble tea, are available throughout the country. However, each region also has its own specialties. For instance, Tainan is known for dishes with milkfish and shrimp, you eat turkey rice in Chiayi, and you will find plenty of mochi in Hualien. Curious about what you want to try during a tour of Taiwan ? These are famous Taiwanese street food dishes to add to your list.

night market restaurant © Your Little Black Book

| TIP: Also check out 11 of the best night markets throughout Taiwan and 6 night markets in Taipei where you can eat these street food dishes here.

These are the 22 street food dishes from Taiwan that you want to try during a tour.

Beef Noodle Soup (Niúròu Miàn)

Beef noodle soup is often considered one of Taiwan's national dishes. The soup consists of noodles, slow-cooked beef, and a rich, spiced broth. Every cook has their own recipe, meaning the taste can vary from restaurant to restaurant or food stall. You can find beef noodle soup throughout Taiwan, from simple noodle shops to specialized restaurants. I ate it several times for breakfast.

Beef Noodle Soup © Your Little Black Book

Xiaolongbao

Xiaolongbao are thin, steamed dumplings filled with meat and a hot, savory broth. With the first bite, the hot soup flows directly out of the dough. Therefore, carefully prick the dumpling open on your spoon first or let it cool for a moment. Din Tai Fung made this dish world-famous, but you will also find xiaolongbao at local restaurants and markets. Order a basket along with them right away if you see an open kitchen where they are folded by hand.

Oyster Omelette (Ô-á-Chián)

The Taiwanese oyster omelet is a combination of small oysters, egg, vegetables, and a slightly sticky starch-based batter. It is usually topped with a sweet and savory red sauce. The Taiwanese name Ô-á-Chián comes from the local Minnan language. The elastic texture takes some getting used to when you eat the dish for the first time, but it is a true night market classic. Every stall uses its own variation of the sauce, making it fun to try the omelet in different places.

Taiwanese oyster omelette © Your Little Black Book

Stinky Tofu

You usually smell stinky tofu before you see the stall. The fermented tofu is deep-fried, steamed, or sometimes grilled and served with crispy pickled vegetables and a savory sauce. The smell is significantly stronger than the taste, so don't let it put you off immediately. The deep-fried version is deliciously crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, making it an accessible first introduction.

Stinky tofu © Your Little Black Book

Popcorn Chicken (Yánsū Jī)

Taiwanese popcorn chicken consists of small pieces of crispy fried chicken, seasoned with five-spice powder, pepper, salt, and crispy fried Thai basil. You usually get the chicken in a paper bag with a wooden skewer. This is a snack that almost everyone likes and that you will find at virtually every night market. You can often specify at the stall itself how spicy you want the seasoning to be.

Taiwanese popcorn chicken © Your Little Black Book

Scallion Pancake (Cōngyóu Bǐng)

A scallion pancake is a savory, pan-fried pancake with a generous amount of spring onion. The outside is golden brown and crispy, while the batter inside remains deliciously soft and layered. Some vendors add extra ingredients such as egg, melting cheese, or basil, but the simple basic version is also very tasty. It is an ideal and inexpensive snack to take along on the go.

scallion pancake © Your Little Black Book

Braised Pork Rice (Lǔròu Fàn)

Braised pork rice is Taiwanese comfort food in its purest form: a bowl of white rice topped with slow-cooked, juicy pork in a rich, aromatic soy sauce. It is often served with pickled vegetables or an egg. Portions are traditionally small and inexpensive, making it easy to pair with other snacks. Yet, thanks to the rich, deep sauce and tender meat, it is surprisingly filling.

Braised pork rice © Your Little Black Book

Gua Bao

Gua bao is a soft, white steamed bun filled with a thick slice of slow-cooked pork belly, ground sugared peanuts, fresh cilantro, and sour, pickled mustard greens. The sweet bun, the fatty meat, and the fresh counterparts create a perfect balance. You will frequently find gua bao at night markets, as well as at specialty shops dedicated entirely to this iconic dish.

gua bao

Taiwanese Fried Chicken Cutlet (Jīpái)

The Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet is impossible to miss at a food stall. This flattened, crispy fried chicken fillet is often larger than the cardboard snack bag, or even larger than your entire face. Immediately after frying, the crust is generously sprinkled with pepper, salt, and chili powder. Order one to share, because it fills you up incredibly quickly.

Tomato Tanghulu

You come across tomato tanghulu a lot at the night markets in Taiwan. Small cherry tomatoes are threaded onto a stick and coated in a thin, hard sugar layer that pops with the first bite. It is the combination of the fresh, juicy tomato and the sweet, crispy coating that makes this snack so surprisingly delicious. I am normally not a big fan of sweet snacks, which is why I hadn't tasted tanghulu before. But as you can see with street food… you REALLY have to try it, even if you haven't seen it before. This was by far my favorite discovery in Taiwan! So definitely give it a try if you walk past a stall where they are made fresh.

Tomato tanghulu © Your Little Black Book

Sweet Potato Balls (Dìguā Qiú)

Line-ups at a sweet potato ball stall are very common. These airy, brightly colored balls are made from sweet potato. During frying, the vendor repeatedly presses them flat with a large sieve, causing them to puff up and become almost hollow and deliciously chewy on the inside. The taste is subtly sweet, and the texture makes them addictively delicious. You get them piping hot and freshly fried in a paper bag.

sweet potato balls © Your Little Black Book

Wheel Cakes (Chedún Bǐng)

Wheel cakes are small, round cakes baked in a heavy metal griddle with round molds, similar to our Dutch poffertjes pan. They are generously filled with traditional flavors such as vanilla custard, sweet red bean paste, taro, or chocolate. The exterior is thin and crispy, while the filling flows warm and creamy. Perfect as a sweet finale after a savory food tour of the market.

Grilled Squid

At almost every night market in Taiwan, you can smell the grilled squid from meters away. The whole squids are opened up over glowing charcoal, roasted, and continuously basted with a thick, sweet barbecue sauce and sesame seeds. You can often choose between a whole squid, cut into convenient rings, or smaller skewers. This is an absolute must-try, especially at markets in coastal port cities.

grilled squid © Your Little Black Book

Fuzhou Black Pepper Bun (Hújiāo Bǐng)

A Fuzhou Black Pepper Bun is a hearty, round bun filled with a juicy ball of pork, a generous amount of black pepper, and heaps of fresh spring onion. The buns are manually pressed against the glowing hot inner wall of a deep clay oven and baked until crispy. At the Raohe Night Market in Taipei, there is invariably a huge line right by the main entrance for the most famous stall. Fortunately, the baking process is quick, and the piping hot, crispy bun is absolutely worth the wait.

Taiwanese Shaobing & Youtiao (Traditional Breakfast)

The traditional Taiwanese breakfast in Taipei is a street food experience in itself. The base often consists of shaobing (a layered, oven-baked flatbread sprinkled with sesame seeds) filled with a youtiao (a fried, airy dough stick). This is eaten with a bowl of hot or cold soy milk (doujiang), which can be ordered sweet or savory. Famous breakfast spots such as Yonghe Soy Milk or the legendary Fu Hang Soy Milk in Taipei draw long lines of hungry locals and travelers as early as 5 a.m.

Peanut Ice Cream Roll

For a peanut ice cream roll, the vendor first shaves wafer-thin layers from a giant block of pressed peanut candy. This topping is combined with two or three scoops of traditional ice cream—often taro, pineapple, or peanut flavor—and a sprig of fresh coriander on a thin pancake, which is then rolled up like a wrap. The combination of the cold, creamy ice cream, the crunchy, sweet peanuts, and the savory spiciness of coriander sounds daring, but tastes fantastic. Feel free to ask for it without coriander (“bù yào xiāngcài”) if you are not a fan.

Bubble Tea (Zhēnzhū Nǎichá)

Bubble tea is undoubtedly Taiwan 's most famous culinary export . The classic version consists of vigorously shaken milk tea with a generous scoop of soft, chewable tapioca pearls at the bottom, drunk through an extra-wide straw. The drink was invented in Taichung, where the original Chun Shui Tang tea salon can still be visited. You can adjust the exact amount of sugar and ice with every order; the standard option is often very sweet by Western standards. I found the bubble tea at Xing Fu Tang to be the absolute best!

Bubble tea © Your Little Black Book

Coffin Bread (Guānchái Bǎn)

Coffin bread is a nostalgic invention from the 40s. It consists of an extra-thick slice of white bread that is deep-fried until golden brown, then strategically hollowed out and filled with a piping hot, creamy ragout of chicken, vegetables, and seafood. The cut-off top of the bread sits on top like a lid, which explains the name "coffin bread." The dish is rich and filling, so it is advisable to share a portion with your travel companions. Where to taste it: Tainan (at the Anping or Hai'an Road markets).

Coffin bread © Your Little Black Book

Danzai Noodles

Danzai noodles are served in a deliberately small bowl. The dish consists of wheat noodles in a light shrimp broth, finished with a scoop of aromatic minced pork sauce, a splash of black vinegar, garlic, and a single cooked shrimp on top. This dish was originally sold by fishermen during typhoon season to get through the slow months. Because the portion is small, it makes a perfect snack during a food tour through Tainan . Although I actually ate these famous noodles myself right here in Taipei at Du Hsiao Yueh ;-).

Danzai Noodles by Du Hsiao Yueh © Your Little Black Book

Shrimp Rolls (Xiājuǎn)

Tainan shrimp rolls are deliciously light, crispy rolls filled with fresh shrimp, celery, and lard or fish paste, wrapped in a thin layer of caul fat and deep-fried in a light batter. They are traditionally served with a frothy sweet sauce and a generous dollop of sharp wasabi or mustard. You can find the best versions in the historic coastal district of Anping, among other places, where various family businesses have been perfecting this recipe for generations.

Turkey Rice (Jiāyì Jīròu Fàn)

Duck fried rice, move over: in Taiwan, you also go for turkey rice . This seemingly simple dish consists of a bowl of steaming white rice topped with juicy, tender strips of turkey meat, instead of the usual chicken. The secret lies in the aromatic gravy made from turkey fat, shallot oil, and soy sauce that is poured over the rice. The result is a flavor explosion. Local restaurants invariably serve it with a crispy fried duck egg with a runny yolk and yellow radish.

turkey rice © Your Little Black Book

Mochi (Máchí)

Taiwanese mochi distinguishes itself from the Japanese version by often being even softer and stickier. These handmade glutinous rice flour balls are filled with traditional fillings such as red bean paste, sesame, or black peanut paste and then generously rolled in peanut powder. In the eastern coastal province of Hualien, you will stumble upon specialized mochi shops everywhere. Freshly made mochi contains no preservatives and should really be eaten immediately the same day.

Which street food in Taiwan should you not miss?

Are you only trying a few dishes during your trip? Then at least put beef noodle soup , xiaolongbao, oyster omelette, braised pork rice, gua bao, and popcorn chicken on your list. At Raohe Night Market, I would also definitely queue up for a Fuzhou Black Pepper Bun , and absolutely do not skip a hearty traditional breakfast with shaobing and youtiao . Also, leave room for regional specialties. I already have a long list of dishes I still want to taste the next time I go back to Taiwan. From milkfish and danzai noodles in Tainan to turkey rice and suncakes in Taichung and mochi in Hualien. I always find the variety of dishes during a tour incredibly fun. Although you can often find everything in any place with a little research (especially in Taipei) if you want to eat something specific.

Tips for eating street food in Taiwan

Head to the night markets hungry, but don't order a full meal at the very first stall. Instead, share several small dishes with your travel companions so you can sample as many different flavors as possible in one evening. Stalls with long lines of locals are always worth the wait; the turnover is high and the food is guaranteed fresh. Always bring plenty of cash, as many traditional street vendors do not accept payment cards. Handy extra tip: nowadays, you can pay at more modern food stalls using Taiwanese public transport cards, such as the EasyCard or iPASS, and certainly at all convenience stores like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart for a refreshing drink in between. Also, check in advance which days a night market is open. Especially in Tainan , the markets rotate, and some night markets can only be visited on specific weekday evenings.

© Your Little Black Book

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