This winter break I had the fortunate opportunity to go to Taiwan to sightsee, visit family, and eat a lot of GREAT food! Here's, my list of good food to try in Taiwan!
Bubble Tea
There is so many good foods to eat at Taiwan. However, you would be missing out if you did not even drink any boba during your trip there. Bubble Tea originated in Taiwan and for sure, they have the most authentic and delicious bubble tea after so many years of perfecting it. My favorite place was definitely Tiger Sugar as their bubble tea was the most creamy, and you had a choice of the size of boba you want (an option of either small or large pearls).
Stinky Tofu
This local street food is one of Taiwan's well known foods for its pungent smell of trash or fermenting waste. It has a very distinctive taste, and many locals love eating it. It is definitely not for the weak stomach especially if you take the smell of your foods very personally, and it affects the flavor of what you are consuming. Personally, I am not a fan, but my family loves it.
Taiwanese Bakeries
Bakeries are located all over the place around Taipei City. The pastries are made every single morning and are extremely fresh, fluffy, and cheap. Unlike America too, these pastries aren't overwhelmingly sweet and can come in savory forms as well being sometimes filled with egg salad or hot dogs and scallions. My favorite bread of all time has to be the pineapple bun. Disclaimer: It does not have any pineapple in it, but it is shaped like a pineapple.
Anything at 7-Eleven
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In Taipei Taiwan specifically, there are so many stores everywhere in the city. And, there are so many local 7-Eleven's and Family Marts that are both convenient, cheap, and still really tasty. Unlike American convenient stores, you can find almost anything in these Asian 7-Eleven's like wine, face masks, fresh foods, pastries, microwaves to cook food, and fresh food and fruit. They have prepackaged noodles and meals that are just as delicious as any outside restaurant. The employees at the local 7-Eleven are always there for when you purchase your food, to microwave it to perfection.
Pineapple Cakes
Pineapple Pastries are very very popular in Taiwan. They are a famous pastry. They are often served with tea, but they are an extremely well known food. They have a crispy, flakey outside and pineapple filling in the middle when you bite down.
Market Fruits
Fruits at the market are amazing. They are most of the time very fresh and grown and shipped to the city every morning by vendors. They are extremely sweet and fresh. They have very fresh guavas, apples, papayas, grape tomatoes. My favorite fruit of all time from Taiwan is the wax apples- they are like regular apples but 10x better.
Alcohol
If you are 18 and older, you can have yourself a nice glass of alcohol. As a 19 year old, I do not have the luxury of legally drinking in America. However, in Taiwan, I did have myself a couple of amazing drinks made of pomelo and peach that were amazing. Cheers!
Ai li Mountain Tea
Ai Li Mountain is a mountain in Taiwan which grows tea leaves. The tea from this mountain is very clear and clean tasting but still has a strong fragrance and flavor. It is by far one of the best teas that I have ever drank. However, keep in mind that this tea isn't on the cheaper side.
Hot Pot
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Hot Pot in general is always a fun meal to share with a family. However, in Taiwan, it is so much more cheap and you can get so much more authentic asian foods. A very popular chain called Hai Di Lao also puts on performances with traditional Beijing Mask Changing performances as well as noodle pulling.
Local Street Vendors
With the night markets available in Taiwan, you can get a lot of food for cheap. There is food everywhere and you can literally let your nose guide you along the streets. You can tell which are the best places by how long the lines are. The longer the line, expect the more delicious the food. Some of the best were radish pancakes, egg pancakes, noodles, and a various assortment of meat buns.
