Taiwan is definitely a destination that will appeal to foodies. Whether you’re in the mood for the tastiest dumplings, freshest seafood, or unique street eats, Taiwanese cuisine has something to offer for everybody. For beer lovers, it’s also a great place for chill drinking sessions with its hip craft beer bars and good selection of beer in convenience stores and groceries.
Since Taiwan extended its visa-free entry for Filipino citizens until July 31, 2024, we decided to book a quick bike vacation to the capital city Taipei combined with food-tripping and drinking in between.
Here’s a look at some of the most classic places to eat and new watering holes around Taipei based on our trip in August 2023.
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Night Markets
One experience that most foodies usually include in their itinerary is a visit to a night market (or two) for unique eats. In fact, there are almost 70 night markets in Taiwan, with around 30 based in Taipei alone, which you can read more about in this ultimate guide to Taipei Night Markets.
The most notable night markets around Taipei include:
- Shilin Night Market
- Ningxia Night Market
- Raohe Night Market
- Tonghua (Linjiang Street) Night Market
- Huaxi Night Market (Snake Alley)
- Shida Night Market
- Liaoning Night Market
- Gongguan Night Market
- Lehua Night Market
- Miaokou Night Market, Keelung
As the largest and most well-known one in the city, Shilin Night Market can get pretty crowded. Aside from the tasty food options you can find along the market’s alleys, you can also find trendy clothes, gadgets, bags and more in the market for all your souvenir shopping needs. You can find also find bars where you can sit down across the street from the main market entrance of Shilin.
Ningxia Night Market, located in the downtown Taipei area is much smaller than Shilin, but still delivers in terms of local flavor and variety. This night market is more food-centric, with small local restaurants where you can sit comfortably in aside from the stalls in the middle of the street.
The specialties vary per night market, but generally you can find similar dishes in each one. The most popular Taiwanese food sold in night markets include grilled beef cubes with salt, fried chicken cutlet, oyster mee sua, pepper pork bun, sesame-coated mochi, oyster omelette, fried taro balls and loads more. Plus, there’s also the infamous stinky tofu, if you’re feeling adventurous.
Din Tai Fung
When visiting Taiwan, a lot of tourists make it a point to eat in Din Tai Fung, since the popular Chinese restaurant chain originated here. The Michelin starred resto is world-renowned for their xia long bao, a type of steamed dumpling filled with soup and meat.
Din Tai Fung’s origins go back to 1958, when founder Yang Bingyi first opened a cooking oil retail business in Taipei, which he eventually transformed into a restaurant in 1972. Today, Din Tai Fung has 170 locations in 13 countries worldwide.
The original branch on Xinyi Road can get pretty crowded. Thankfully there are 7 branches you can visit in Taipei including in Taipei 101 (which I tried during a previous trip). This time, we tried the branch in Din Tai Fung Mitsukoshi Nanxi Restaurant, which is located inside a mall and has a modern queuing system and online ordering form so you can pre-order your food before you sit down.
There’s a lot of items to choose from the menu, so it can get overwhelming, but bestsellers include the luxurious truffle and pork xiaolongbao, green squash and shrimp Xiaolongbao, shrimp and egg fried rice, and chocolate Lava Xiaolongbao for dessert. Pair your meal with Taiwan draft beer or milk tea.
Tamsui District
Tamsui is a coastal district in New Taipei City in north Taiwan that sits right where the Taiwan Strait and the Tamsui River meat. The bustling Tamsui Old Street leading to the Fisherman’s Wharf is lined with a riverside Starbucks, along with cozy cafes, seafood restaurants, and vendors stalls selling local delicacies.
After biking from our downtown Taipei along the amazing riverside bike paths, we had a budget-friendly lunch here of grilled mackerel rice, scallops gratin and fresh oysters at So One You, one of the stalls at the Tamsui Zhongzheng Market.
It was probably because of the effort to get here by bikes, but this ended up being my favorite meal of our whole trip.
Treasure Hill Artist Village
Treasure Hill Artist Village is a historic cluster of old houses in Taipei that has been adaptively reused as a tourist destination for arts and culture.
With winding alleys and stairs snaking up and around an old temple, there are a couple of cafés you can try in between checking out the art installations, and enjoying beautiful vantage points of New Taipei City. The village also has a hostel and housing for artist residencies.
While taking a break for lunch while biking, we chanced upon this cozy cafe called 3 Cats Club x Cheer Home, which served really good braised beef noodles and Taiwanese egg rolls.
It was a lovely spot to take a break from the heat with friendly staff and beautiful interiors. The shop sells some cat-related souvenirs like stickers and comic books and carried Taiwanese craft beer including a refreshing Endless Summer Saison from Ugly Half Brewery. Other beer variants on display were sold out.
Tadpole Point was another homey lounge room and dining spot for artists. The cafe feels like you’re visiting someone’s house. They specialize in good coffee and desserts like Tiramisu and Cinnamon rolls.
The cafe serves light meals with ingredients changing according to the season and some local beer. The cafe also hosts different artist events and exhibitions.
Dihua Street
Dihua Street is the oldest street in Taipei and the main avenue of Dadaocheng. While the whole architecture of the old shophouses have been preserved, many young entrepreneurs are breathing new life into the restored spaces through art galleries, cafés, and specialty shops.
One of the modern bike-friendly cafes we tried was Stable Coffee along the same road as the Taiyuan Asian Puppet Theatre Museum.
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Du Hsiao Yueh Taipei Dihua Branch
You can also find a branch of Du Shiao Yueh, which is apparently one of the most popular restos in Taiwan, in Dihua. Starting as a humble street stall in 1895, Du Hsiao Yueh is known for the Dan Zai noodles: a traditional Taiwanese dish made with a classic recipe that dates back over 100 years.
Du Hsiao Yueh’s da-a mi consists of fresh noodles, prawns, Taiwanese minced pork, bean sprouts, and a soy sauce egg, all swimming in a delicious prawn head broth.
Aside from the noodles, we also tried their deep-fried oysters, fried tofu, and almond jelly for a classic Taiwanese meal.
Drinking Tours in Dadaocheng
Our hotel had this handy brochure/map of “Drinking Tours in Dadaocheng” which lists places specializing in craft beer, sake, gin, cocktails and more in the area, with discounts and freebies. All are easily within walking distance of each other.
Here are the 12 bars included in the list:
- Tipsy Garden – a chill bistro bar with floral art and plants
- Jim and Dad’s Taproom & Bottle Shop – brewery from Yilan established in 2015 that combines Taiwanese elements in beer for local flavor
- Yoi – serves delicious food and good gin tonic, with a cozy atmosphere
- Antique Bar 1900 – Belle Epoque European bar where you can enjoy a classy night out.
- Floating Taipei – craft beer bar with 18 taps and bottled beer including local breweries selection
- Komugi – izakaya with Taiwan-Japanese dishes, draft beer and sake
- Takusyaku Bistro & Bar – a quiet spot to experience Japanese bartending at home
- Niau-a-King – cozy salon in an alley of old Taipei with vinyl records, vintage items, coffee and tea, where ladies can enjoy drinks alone safely
- Ginspirationbar – a bar that serves gin based cocktails
- Cabinet of Migrant – a mysterious bar that features a hundred rare animal specimens and antiques where visitors can drink coffee, wine, and other beverages with secret messages left by the owners
- Que’ pasa wine*sake & gourmet – an established sake and wine bar that serves fresh gourmet dishes
- Umbra Bar – a bar that serves cocktails, whisky, spirits, red and white wine, beer, gin, champagne, special meats. They have a private room with four cats
While I would have loved to try everything in the list, our time was limited, so we only got to try a couple of the spots near the hotel, though we did find other good places to drink elsewhere on our own.
Komugi
One of the few places on the list open for lunch, Komugi is a retro izakaya serves tasty Taiwan-Japanese dishes at affordable prices. They serve draft beer on tap as well as sake. They have good beer chow and comfort food for those nursing hangovers. I enjoyed the Ochazuke (green tea over rice) with salmon flakes, curry udon noodles and veggie tempura.
Jim and Dad’s Bottle Shop & Taproom
During a previous trip to Taiwan, we bought a couple of bottles of Hop Bomb IPA from a grocery store and absolutely loved it. The beer comes from Jim and Dad’s Brewing Company, a brewery originating from Yilan County. I believe they’re the first craft brewery in Taiwan with a proper taproom on-site.
Luckily for those in Taipei, they also have a small bottle shop and taproom you can easily visit in case you can’t make it to Yilan. The bottle shop has a variety of craft beer on tap and you can buy bottles to take home. Hop Bomp IPA for the win!
Mikkeller Taipei
Though Mikkeller is originally from Denmark, I couldn’t help but want to try out Mikkeller Taipei when I saw this bar. The location is in a historic building of the Dadaocheng neighborhood about 8 minutes walk from Taipei Metro.
This hip little pub has many beers on tap including multiple sours, IPA’s and mead. They also have light snacks and food you can order to pair along with your beers.
Dadaocheng Wharf
Located near the No. 5 Water Gate on the banks of the Tamsui River, Dadaocheng Wharf used to be a prime spot for trade and merchandising along the river. Tea, cotton and silk textiles were among the main products bought and sold here.
In recent years, the area has experienced a revival as a tourist destination. It’s become a popular spot for bikers (with bike rentals available nearby) and also serves as a jump-off point for boat tours cruising along the Tamsui River.
There’s an open air food park with container van stalls right along the river that really comes alive with bikers and families during weekends. You can buy all types of alcoholic drinks, cocktails, milk tea, and easy to eat street food in the stalls.
Because of its location along the cycling riverside route and proximity to our hotel, we found ourselves going back here for drinks a couple of times.
One afternoon we had a snack of karaage and draft beer while watching the sunset. Another night we had pizza and Taiwanese fried chicken chop paired with Dadaochang and Guandu Beer. Very relaxing and chill vibe here if you enjoy drinking.
Cheers!