The Utmost Food Guide: Where to Eat in Taipei Part I

-
As I was writing this blog post, it has officially been three months of my student exchange program experience in Taipei. And yes, time does fly really fast. It was as if a month ago that I started exploring this other side of the world with all my limitations; be it in terms of language and knowledge. Nevertheless, here I am know, utterly excited to share more about Taipei city.

Having been exploring the city during weekends and day offs, there are many restaurants that I have visited. Some of them are recommended by friends - both Taiwanese and Indonesian - yet some others are the result of pure curiosity as I travel around. From all the restaurants that I have tried, I have chosen several of them that I believe are worth the visit when in Taipei. So, should you have plan in visiting Taipei in the near future, this post is definitely for you.

Without further due, here are the first seven restaurants that I would recommend as you visit Taipei:

1. Yongkang Beef Noodles
One of the most recommended local dishes in Taiwan is beef noodles and speaking of which, Yongkang Beef Noodles is a definitely must-visit in Taipei. Located in the Da'an District, the two-story shop is always full from day to night but worry less due to their quick service. 

Generally, beef noodles are served in a rich brown-colored soup with thick yellow noodles. But if you are not really a fan of rich soup, you can find the one with clear soup in this shop. The noodles is served with either beef or tendon, or you can also have half of each in your bowl. Other than beef noodles, the shop also offers other kinds of dishes such as the bean sauce noodles or the spicy dumplings. 
 Beef Noodles

Bean Sauce Noodles

Location: No. 17, Lane 31, Section 2, Jinshan South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

2. Hizenya
Hizenya is a Japanese restaurant in the Zhongshan District that offers varieties of Japanese dishes. With just a 10-minute walk from the R7 Zhongshan MRT Station, you will reach the alley where the restaurant is located. 

As a friend had ever suggested, Hizenya is best for its mouthwatering Unagi Bento Box and it is true! The unagi is seasoned properly and served with typical Japanese soy sauce on top of it. I also tried their Oyster Katsu, Shrimp Katsu, Tonkatsu and every thing is well-served along with its special sauces. So should you think of visiting a Japanese restaurant in Taipei, Hizenya is certainly a perfect choice. 
 Unagi Bento (Small Set)

Oyster Katsu & Tonkatsu

Location: Taipei City, Zhongshan District

3. King Ping Tea
Other than the famous Din Tai Fung, you can also visit King Ping Tea restaurant if you are craving for decent dim sum treats. King Ping Tea is located in the Zhongshan District and they also offer other Chinese cuisines which is suitable for both breakfast and dinner. 


The restaurant is tourist friendly as many of the waitresses can speak English and Japanese. During my visit there, I ordered several baskets of dumplings and buns and each one of the baskets is just so delicious. If you happen to be a fan of taro like me, I would suggest you to order their Mini Taro Dumplings which is tasty and unique at the same time. You would not regret!
Shaomai

Sesame Bun & Mini Dumplings with Soup

 Location: No. 16, Changchun Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 104
https://goo.gl/maps/BDJYJZbjZYQ2

4. Smoothie House
If you are looking for a sweet treat in between your meal times, Mango Snowflake Ice would be a perfect choice of the day. Though I am pretty sure that you may have heard about this, I think it is still worth-mentioning that the well-known Smoothie House serves the best one in town.

Generally, the store offers different flavors of snowflake ice such as mango, strawberry, chocolate and etc. As for the Mango Snowflake Ice itself, it tastes both sweet and sour at the same time, creating a delightful balance between each of the components. The portion of the ice is quite big, so you can actually have it shared with your friends and family.
Mango Snowflake Ice with Pudding

 Location: No. 15, Yongkang Street, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

Location: No. 106, Jihe Road, Shilin District, Taipei City, 111

Location: Taipei 101 (Food court)

5. Yang Ji Da Hun Dun
As Taiwan is known for its delicious noodles, it is easy for you to find a noodle house in every corner of the city. Yet if you're truly passionate about noodles, you definitely have to pay a visit to Yang Ji Da Hun Dun. The noodle house is located in Zhongxiao Dunhua, specifically behind Zara. 

Basically, they are selling noodles with different kind of wontons that you can choose based of your own preference. As for the thin noodles, you can decide whether you want it dry or with soup. With its authentic taste, I would say that this noodle house is one of best ones in Taipei.
Shrimp Wonton Dry Noodles

Location: Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106

6. Bear 1 Yakiniku
Out of all barbecue houses that I have ever entered, Bear 1 Yakiniku is the most decent one in Taipei. Bear 1 Yakiniku is an all-you-can-eat restaurant which is located on the 2nd Floor of a building in Ximending. During dinner time, it is not a surprise that the restaurant would be fully occupied. 


The restaurant offers three options for price which depends on the type of meat you choose. However, even if you choose the cheapest one, you can still have their free-flow salads, drinks, as well as ice creams - which are Mövenpick and Häagen-Dazs. 




Anyway, during my visit there, the waitress was ensuring me that this restaurant is a BBQ restaurant and not Mala Hotpot which I think is because a lot of people falsely thought that it is a hotpot restaurant which is located nearby. So if they ask you the same thing, don't be surprised!

Location: 108, Taipei City, Wanhua District, Emei Street, No. 44

7. Da'an Park BBQ
Another BBQ restaurant that deserves a spot in the list is the Da'an Park BBQ restaurant. Being located across the Jian Guo Flower Market, the Yakiniku restaurant only takes you a 5-minute walk from the Exit 2 of Da'an Park Station. 


The special thing about this place is the cheap price for the whole BBQ experience. With only $110 NT for first order and additional $40 NT for each of the additional orders of meat; either pork or beef; you will also get white rice, salad, and also tea. Yet if you are a big eater, you can also have the all-you-can-eat service that costs around $500 NT. For me and my friends, this place is the definitely a go-to place whenever we look for an affordable and satisfying BBQ experience!



Location: No. 324, Section 1, Jianguo South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
https://goo.gl/maps/o6bhqTKahQM2
And that is just the first seven! There are still more interesting ones coming in the next blog post. So, you better stay tuned!

Photo courtesy: Gabriela Clara @foodcomatosed
https://www.instagram.com/foodcomatosed/


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Four Days in Taichung

-
Image
Last Monday was Fu Jen’s anniversary day and this means another school-day off for the students, including me and Gaby! This also means that we had a really long weekend, all the more so because our class on the Fridays finishes at noon. Thus, it was another opportunity to explore places around Taiwan. This time, we decided to visit Taichung which is located south to Taipei. But because we thought it would be too long to spend four days in Taichung, we agreed to visit places outside Taichung as well. DAY 1: TAICHUNG CITY On the 7 th of December, the two of us traveled by Ubus from Taipei to Taichung and arrived in the city at around 4 PM. Because it happened to be earlier than what we had expected, we decided to first go to the CMP Block Museum of Arts to see the artworks of some local artists. Then, as some local friends have suggested, we visited the famous Miyahara Ice Cream. Located closely to Taichung Station, Miyahara Ice Cream is known with the fact that it i...
Read more

A Short Getaway to Hualien: Dongdamen Night Market

-
Image
It was an ordinary weekday evening when I decided to plan this short getaway. I and Gaby - the best exchange companion I could ask for - were sitting at our dorm lobby working on our upcoming presentation when the idea came to our heads. As the two of us have been exploring Taipei for almost two months, we thought its time to visit other cities in Taiwan - and for this time, Hualien. Hualien is a city located in the Eastern coast of Taiwan which is famous for its beauty of nature. The area is divided into Hualien city and Hualien county - the latter is well-known for its mesmerizing  Taroko Gorge.  Since this was our first time going outside Taipei, we were quite confused on how to get there at the beginning. But thanks to the advantage of technology, we could book our train tickets online and paid it through  7 Eleven.  On the first day of our trip, we arrived in Hualien at around 18.00 PM - a little bit too late for the sunset-viewing. So, we decided to ...
Read more

My Trip to Tainan City

-
Image
A few days ago, I had another chance to visit one of the cities in the southern part of Taiwan, Tainan city. Being known as the oldest city in the country, Tainan is very famous for its authentic foods and old streets – and this is literally what everyone says about the city. Thus once I set foot in the city, I knew that it would definitely be a food hunting adventure. While strolling around the old streets, I couldn’t help myself from sharing with you the places that I visited during my weekend getaway. These are the places that I think are worthy enough to be visited when you had the opportunity to go to Tainan city. Since each of the places has its own special characteristics, I’m sure you would have a great time enjoying these places. Anping Old Street and Anping Fort The Anping old street is a longest and oldest old street in Tainan city. It is full with varieties of traditional Taiwanese dishes and snacks which are mostly different from the ones in Taipei. When ...
Read more