Taiwan Food Tour

Taiwan Food Tour          

If you know me you know I am not a huge foodie.  I had little to no intensions on trying all the Asian food I saw in Taiwan.  I know next to nothing about Asian food and have never eaten any type of Asian food in my life before this trip.   Luckily, once I got to Asia I decided to throw my fear of crazy food out the window and try everything I could.  Luckily I even ended up meeting some cool people along the way and decided to just try everything they suggested and things I found on my own because I might never have this opportunity again…and I am very glad I did.    

Taiwan has some of the most interesting food I have ever had and seen.  They have a lot of what you would expect all the way to food that I can’t fully explain or even really tell you about.  Let me take you on a tour of what I tried in Taiwan.  I will tell you my impressions, my favorites, were I found them, and what I enjoyed or didn’t enjoy about them.  This is my version of a Taiwan food tour.

Top 11 dishes in Taiwan

1)      Tea

Taiwan has the greatest tea I have ever tasted!  They also have the most variety I’ve ever been offered.  There are so many different kinds of tea in Taiwan, and I still think about how amazing every tea I tried was.  The tea in Taiwan is still my favorite tea I have ever had in my life.

Boba (bubble) Tea: Did you know the famous Boba tea we enjoy all over the world originated in Taiwan in the late 1980’s? This is a milk tea with chewy tapioca balls along the bottom.  Tapioca balls are starch balls made from sweet potato powder and jelly soaked in sugar.  They have a plethora of flavors and colors.  They also have a lot of health benefits including iron, fiber and manganese.  It also has very little fat, sodium and cholesterol.  I think they are very interesting and even if you have tried this tea before you must try the original version in Taiwan!

Milk tea: This was the most unique tea I was able to try in Taiwan.  I never heard of it until I saw it.  It looks like milk, but it is very sweet and a little creamy.  It didn’t taste exactly like milk though.  It was more like a very thin creamy milk substance.  I would recommend trying it both hot and cold, but warm was my favorite.  

Watermelon Tea: The watermelon tea in Taiwan was my personal favorite.  This was the sweetest yet purest tea I have ever tasted.  It was absolutely delicious.  I drank it cold, but you can also have it hot!  I would recommend cold.

Green tea: This is a classic.  I always enjoy green tea because everywhere in the world drinks it, and everywhere I go they give the tea their own personal twist.  The Green Tea in Taiwan had different flavors you could add to it, and it also came fresh or you could make your own.  I enjoyed my Green Tea hot.

2)      Noodles

Taiwan and the ever so famous noodles! You can’t go anywhere in Asia without seeing them everywhere! Noodles are a very popular dish all over Asia, but the first time I tried authentic noodles was in Tainan, Taiwan.  Noodles in Taiwan are a meal everyone loves!  When I tried these famous noodles for the first time I went to a restaurant where the customers could pick which kind of ramen they want and what they want added to it (egg, spices, meat, etc).  The chefs make it for me right then and there very quickly.   They made sure it looked and tasted great! I like the ramen shops in Taiwan because they are very personable and I love how they make your food smile at you.  It is also a lot more tasty than I expected. 

Do not confuse noodles/Ramen in Asia to the Ramen in America.  They are not the same.  The ramen I have tasted in America is very plain and something just ate if I had nothing else in the house.  The ramen in Taiwan is very much a meal that I could eat all the time because it has flavors and extra addons that make it even better.   I would definitely recommend !

3)      Stinky Tofu: 

Let me start out by saying that stinky tofu does live up to its name.  This is the worst smelling food I have ever smelt in my life.  I can’t believe it is so popular or why it took Asia by storm like it has…but as they say in Taiwan “the stinkier the better.” It definitely surprised me when I tried it. I expected a lot from Asian food, but I never expected this!  I tried Stinky Tofu at the famous night market in Taiwan that can be read about here.

We were able to find where it was from a mile away not only from the smell but from the smoke it gave off from it being cooked.  It didn’t have a very specific taste in my opinion, but the smell and the smoke coming off of it made it hard to enjoy.   It did not have a bad taste – just smell.   There were so many people eating the tofu around us and the stand had a huge line so I would safely say it is very popular! If you ever have the opportunity…try it on your Taiwan food tour!  Don’t be scared! It is not what you’d expect.   It is famous for a reason!  

How is Stinky Tofu made?  Stinky tofu is created into what we all love by first being fermented in a brine with dried shrimp and/or fish, bamboo, mustard, greens and Chinese spices.  This eventually results in moist, tender stinky tofu.  It is often served fried and that’s what makes it gassy and being able to be smelled from miles away. Do not worry though, because in my experience it may smell very bad and that could turn you off from trying it, but it does not live up to the smell with it’s taste.   Stinky tofu tastes similar to regular tofu.

4)   Beef noodles 

I heard more about beef noodles while in Taiwan probably more than any other dish.  Everyone kept asking if I had tried the beef noodles yet.  How do I like them?  Did you know they are so famous they have their own festival in Taiwan?  I had to see and taste what all the fuss was about and get some!

Beef noodle soup is a ramen type soup made with stewed or red braised beef, beef broth, vegetables and Chinese noodles.   They are all put together in a noodle soup.  This is one of the most famous dishes in Taiwan. Make sure to try it out at least once when you are there.  I added this to my Taiwan food tour at a small shop!

5)   Pineapple cake

Did you know pineapple is extremely popular in Taiwan?  Pineapple cake is a traditional Taiwanese pastry.  It is sweet and contains butter, flour, egg, sugar.  Pineapple cake is served in slices or as a cake.  I am not usually a huge pastry fan, but I really enjoyed pineapple cake! If you are a fan of sweets and pineapple you would love this!

6)   Fried Chicken (KFC)

Don’t fret, if you are like a lot of people I know and refuse to try all this great Asian food you will not starve to death in Taiwan! KFCs are very prevalent in Taiwan.  They are about the same as in America except in my opinion less greasy and a little smaller.  Overall they are the same.  If you ever want to take a break from all the foreign food for a night go get you some KFC!

7)   Dumplings

I went to a tadeonal Taiwanese puppet show that can be read about here and they gave up some bright yellow dumplings during the show! This is definitely the most vibrant food I ate while in Taiwan.  It was very sweet and tasty.   There are so many different kinds of dumplings to try, but the ones I had were bright, sweet, and tasted cakelike.

8)      Meat in the shape of different things:

This one is a little weird, but I saw it at the night market and I had to try it.  This caught my eye because there were options of having hot dogs/meat in the shape of motorcycles, chickens, pigs, cars, and so much more.  How could I not try it?  It tasted like a hot dog, but maybe a little better because of the presentation.   I don’t know how they thought of it, but great marketing strategy! This is one of the most interesting dishes on this Taiwan food tour.

9)      Spicy Hot-Pot

This was also a find at a night market that can be read about here.  I  saw this at one of the corners during my time walking around and there were so many people gathered around waiting for their turn.  I had to try it! It was a basic spicy meat stew! I picture it as something really great to eat when you are sick, but also very good to clear your sinuses at any time!  I would have it again.

10)    Shrimp

The shrimp in Taiwan was a classic! Shrimp is always a classic! This was the only seafood I ever had in my life (once) before coming to Asia…and I didn’t even finish it and it was fried.  First of all the shrimp I had was delectably presented.  Shrimp tastes generally the same everywhere, but I enjoyed this dish the most at dinner.  It was simple and the perfect amount was served for our table.  Make sure you try Taiwan Shrimp if you ever want to go on a proper Taiwan food tour!

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11) Fried Squid

This was also a find at the night markets of Taiwan and it was actually pretty good! You may get thrown off when you see people selling fried squid on a stick, but don’t let that scare you off. It tastes just like what you would think. Even better you don’t have to sit down to eat it! You can just take your squid on a stick and walk around the market. This is a great last piece to your much needed Taiwan food tour!

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I hope you enjoyed my Taiwan food tour.  These are just the top 11 dishes I had when in Taiwan.  There are so many more to try that I didn’t have the chance to.  Have you tried anything on this list?  If so which was your favorite?  Are there any Taiwan dishes that I missed that you know about? What is your favorite Asian food?  Teach me about them.  I would love to learn more about Taiwan food.