NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Travel

Asia: Taiwan's fabulous street eats

By Anna King Shahab
NZ Herald·
26 Aug, 2019 07:00 PM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab

Food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab

Anna King Shahab finds the best street eats in Taiwan

Forget reservations or waiting for table service; there are so many delicious (and some challenging) casual ways to dine in Taiwan. The island country's cuisine is diverse, drawing on its indigenous cultures, the cuisines of Hokkien and Hakka immigrants from China, and both Japan and the US which have had a big influence at certain times. From brightly lit night markets to bubble tea shops and dine-and-dash city joints, here's an introduction to some of Taiwan's standout street eats,:

Hot Milk
Technically not street food, at least when I tried it, as we climbed to the second level of an inconspicuous building to sample the delights of one of Taipei's favourite breakfast spots, Fu Hang Soy Milk. The fresh, hot soy milk (dou jiang) that is the signature dish here is ubiquitous at breakfast time across the country. At the neon-lit counter, staff busily make up takeaway and dine-in orders from steaming vats – the soy milk is made fresh and served piping hot and sweet.

Bing Fling
Also popular at breakfast, and very good for dunking into your hot soy milk, are a range of breadish things. Deep-fried dough sticks (read: doughnuts for breakfast – thanks!), called youtiao, are perfect for dipping and are also used as components in other dishes. There are various takes on bing (baked or pan-fried bread). Crepe-like dan bing wrap fillings of scrambled egg, spring onion, youtiao, and sometimes beef. Thicker doughs are cooked in a cylindrical oven not unlike a tandoor (in peak summer 38 degrees, I felt for the cooks), like the plump, sesame-encrusted hu jiao bing, with a filling of black pepper and pork mince.

Silky Sweet
I had to try the oxymoronic sounding fried milk, and found a great spot on the edge of Raohe Night Market hawking that one dish. A batter made with sweetened condensed milk is chilled and wrapped on skewers; when you order, the skewers are deep-fried, and the batter transforms from pasty white squares to crisp golden circles - magic indeed. I'm not a sweet-tooth and had already filled my tummy to the point of bursting, but these are sublime skewers: the crisp shell giving way to a smooth, sweet custardy interior.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Golden Egg
It's impossible to walk past the enticing aroma of an oyster omelette sizzling on a butter-slicked hot plate, even when you're not technically hungry, as our group discovered on a stroll through Taipei's Ximending pedestrianised precinct, which pulses like a little Tokyo and is home to excellent casual eateries as well as being the heart of the city's LGBT scene. The oyster omelettes in question are cooked at a stand outside the restaurant. About $5 buys a big plate of ohr luak – silky just-cooked egg studded with plump oysters and spring onion, and drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce.

Use Your Noodle
Arguably the country's national dish, there's a certain artistry to cooking up hong shou niu rou mien, slow-braised beef noodle soup, which came to the island with the retreat of Sichuan Kuomintang from the mainland. You can, if you like, opt for a lighter take which is a bit fashionable these days, but I'd always go for the fuller, dark version, which boasts myriad herbs and spices in the broth, and, as well as tender hunks of beef shank and unctuous morsels of tendon that do their best to evade chopsticks at every step. This favourite can be found at any night market or along any busy street throughout the country.

Rice rolls being cooked at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Rice rolls being cooked at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab

Bubble Bubble
Taiwan is the birthplace of bubble tea, the beverage that is currently taking the world by storm. You'll find infinite iterations of this mash-up (originally, between a tapioca dessert and iced tea, but now with many more possible elements) wherever you go in Taipei, but I recommend making a pilgrimage to the OG, Chun Shui Tang, which has dozens of branches throughout the country. Pick your prefered tapioca pearls, type of tea and sweetness – at many places, half sweet is plenty but Chun Shui Tang I anxiously let the staff convince me to stick with the full, original sweet level which they correctly described as just right.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Roll Up
Fan tuan are rolls or balls made by shaping sticky rice around fillings – a bit like sushi rolls without the seaweed wrapper. A traditional combination is pieces of youtiao, preserved radish, boiled egg, pickled mustard greens, and pork floss. But options are many: purple rice is popular, as well as fillings like nori, kimchi, cheese, bacon, or sweet versions with brown sugar. They're especially popular at breakfast time so you'll find them in the many soy milk cafes, and at street carts.

Black pepper buns being cooked at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Black pepper buns being cooked at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab

Smelly Alley
Not one to feel okay about missing out on something, I knew I had to try stinky tofu (chou tofu). It's sure earned its name: tofu is left to ferment in a concoction that generally features milk and juices from decaying vegetables, and sometimes from meat. The fermented tofu is then prepared in various ways; I tried one of the most popular – cubes of tofu deep-fried to light golden, served with chopped spring onion, pickled radish and carrot and a sweet chilli sauce. This dish, which I snapped up at Dongdamen Night Market in the city of Hualien, looked entirely innocuous, tasty, even – although the smell emanating from the stall haunted a decent radius, an effect common to every market in Taiwan, where this dish is generally served (a practical move, the aroma and four walls not being a happy marriage). It's said that its vicious bark is worse than its bite. With washed rind cheese or with durian, I concur with that description, but the stinky tofu I'd bought for a grand sum of $2 a plate bit me deep, real deep. It took determination to swallow just one piece. Perhaps my chosen specimen was extra potent, but I wasn't rushing to test that theory with another offering, even if this beloved dish is thought to be particularly probiotically gifted.

Discover more

Travel

Asia: Getting a taste for Taiwan's biggest food festival

11 Nov 10:00 PM
Travel

The Hungry Traveller: The best food in Sydney's city fringe

11 Mar 11:00 PM
Incredibly stinky tofu at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Incredibly stinky tofu at a food market in Taiwan. Photo / Anna King Shahab
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Travel

Travel

Inside the world’s swankiest ski hotels

10 Jul 08:00 AM
Travel

Why a weekend in Byron Bay is just what you need

09 Jul 08:00 AM
Travel

An honest review of the Carnival Encounter cruise ship

09 Jul 07:03 AM

One pass, ten snowy adventures

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Travel

Inside the world’s swankiest ski hotels

Inside the world’s swankiest ski hotels

10 Jul 08:00 AM

Ultra-luxury ski hotels around the world, from Aspen to Aros.

Why a weekend in Byron Bay is just what you need

Why a weekend in Byron Bay is just what you need

09 Jul 08:00 AM
An honest review of the Carnival Encounter cruise ship

An honest review of the Carnival Encounter cruise ship

09 Jul 07:03 AM
Why Rotterdam is so much more than the Netherlands’ second-largest city

Why Rotterdam is so much more than the Netherlands’ second-largest city

09 Jul 06:00 AM
Your Fiordland experience, levelled up
sponsored

Your Fiordland experience, levelled up

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP