Welcome to Part II of our culinary adventure through Taipei. We’re pretty convinced that your next travel destination should be Taiwan. Check our Taiwan Travel Series where we discuss myths about Taiwan; our Christmas experience in Taipei; a fun hot springs experience in Beitou; our Jiu Fen experience; a funny story about the world’s most non-private bathroom; and Part I of our culinary adventure in Taipei. Enjoy!
In Part I of our foodie travels through Taipei, we discussed Taiwan’s many portable foods. From the abundant night markets to the many breakfast places offering food made fast and with love, Taiwan pretty much has it all. In Part II, we’re going to talk about the sit-down dining aspect of eating you’re way through this country.
The number one thing to remember is that most food in Taiwan is inexpensive. Even fine dining will cost about half of what it normally is in the States. This is because food is considered a necessity and therefore should be offered at a price people can easily afford. Also, most food served in restaurants are perfectly-proportioned. So, to the American eye, a plate of food may look smaller or more compact. Finally, here’s a tip if you find yourself a little nervous about venturing into mom ‘n pop restaurants: ease your way into your Taiwan food adventure by starting at the malls. Every mall in Taipei has quick-served food in the basement and fine-dining on the top floor. Also, these restaurants have pictures or models of the food. You can point to the food you want to order if you’re worried about a possible language barrier. I know American malls’ food courts are iffy-at-best with the ol’ Orange Julius and whatnot, but you’ll find a lot of delicious and nutritious choices at the malls in Taiwan.
Mos Burger
Mos Burger is Mos’ definitely delicious.Well, folks, it’s probably a given that we’d start off our sit-down experience at a burger joint. After all, I’m American and I love a good burger. Mos Burger did not disappoint. The burger chain is originally from Japan and made their way to Taiwan. We didn’t set out to try burgers, but who could deny trying a burger served on a rice bun? The burger itself is tasty and is proportioned to just the right burger size. It’s topped with the normal fixins’ of lettuce, tomato and onions and served with fries. It’s refreshing and definitely worth a stop.
The Reward Meal for Being a Good Kid
See, kids? This is what happens when you behave.When Frank was a kid, his parents would rarely reward him (because why reward behavior that you’re supposed to do, am I right?). The times that they did reward him, they took him out for steak on a plate. Bone-in steak (or pork chop) is served sizzling on a hot iron skillet in black pepper sauce. There’s a side of spaghetti and creme soup. Had this been a thing when I was a kid, I would have been on my best behavior all the time, too. Sizzling steak on a plate is about 3.00 USD and comes with a drink.
Coffin Toast
Coffin toast: doesn’t taste dead at all.You know what really wears you down and makes you hungry? Staring at a jadeite cabbage. The National Palace Museum houses Taiwan’s most famous work of art. It’s a stunning piece of art because the jade is literally the same color as a piece of fresh cabbage. If it weren’t for the protective glass, I would have bit right into that cruciferous stone vegetable….yes, it’s that realistic-looking.
Luckily the cafe at the museum offered some delicious food. One of those was coffin toast. Despite the name, there’s nothing corpse-like about this snack (although it does look like a coffin). It’s a Texas Toast-sized piece of bread, buttered and probably sautéed as well as stuffed with creamy soup broth, some chicken and a few veggies. Coffin toast also goes by the name of Tainan Toast.
Some Brothers Had a Hotel
Some brothers had a dim sum breakfast.…And their dim sum was and still remains popular. We’ve dabbled in dim sum outings here in the States. There’s one thing that sets a Hong Kong-style dim sum from Taiwanese: the red bean sesame ball. Usually, in the States, this dessert is made of taro and the red bean is very hard to find.
Frank took me to Brother’s Hotel because he would dine there with his family. It was nice to share this childhood moment with my husband and a little nostalgic, too. When Frank ate here as a child, it was decently-priced. However, Brother’s Hotel has become so popular that the dim sim breakfast is now a little pricey, especially for Taipei. But, it’s still worth a try.
Eleven Courses of Fabulous
Bread and butter. 
Cream Cheese Puff Prawn salad with avocado French onion soup. Foie Gras with snail. Orange ice cream Fish risotto. 
Sea Bass with bubble whip. Raspberry ice cream with cheese cake Apple slice jelly with pudding and peach ice cream and English Tea. My birthday cake! Yum!We celebrated my birthday in Taipei and decided to celebrate like we were at the Ritz. Except it wasn’t the Ritz, it was Papillon, a fancy French restaurant. For us, each dining experience is another amazing memory we can share together. Papillon was no different. What I really liked about this restaurant is that we got our own dining room. It was just us two sharing a cordoned off space In total, there were eleven (ELEVEN!!!) courses for our dinner. And here’s the best part of the night: all those courses cost less than 80.00 USD (including service charges) for the both of us! Happy Birthday, indeed!
Ducks are Cute Enough to Eat
I will never look at ducks in the park the same way again…Ducks are friends, not food, I would say from time-to-time. I love ducks. I love to feed them, watch them play and that’s basically the extent of it. My husband, however, likes ducks enough to eat them. And so Taipei became the first time I ever ate duck. Ever. Period.
What was I thinking?
Duck is delicious! Their tender meat has a light and airy taste. It picks up the flavors of the herbs it was cooked in. Ducks are amazing. For this dish, it is served in noodle soup and as a cold-cut side. The cold-cut is slow-roasted, smoked then chopped. The dipping sauce on the side is finger-lickin’ good.
Chocolate that Doesn’t Taste Prison-y
Mmmm. Free chocolate.I have a classroom management tip tucked up my sleeve that I like to use from time-to-time. It’s a contest and those who do the most work get rewarded. It’s great because students like competition and they’re competing against themselves. So, when we travel, I try to find cool rewards my students might like. In our search, we came across a really neat store called Lovely Taiwan, a place to get handmade Taiwanese gifts.
They also offer visitors tea, this chocolate in the photo and postcards to write and send home for free. The chocolate is made in the ladies prison, which focuses on reform and putting people to work. The heart-shaped chocolate didn’t have a razor blade or a shiv tucked inside, so we gave it an “A+” and a “Great Job!”
Minced Pork on Rice: A Classic
Sides for minced pork on rice include starchy pork nugget soup.Finally, there’s the staple: minced pork on rice. In our house, we lovingly refer to it as “dog food.” NOT because it’s made with dog, but because it is minced very fine and resembles dog food from a can. We’re experts about dog food because of this guy. And we can tell you, this minced meat “dog food” tastes nothing like actual dog food. Believe me, I’ve tried dog food. I don’t know how my dog can eat that stuff day in and day out.
Minced meat has way more flavor than my dog’s bland dinner (poor guy…). It’s also a lunch and dinner staple with variety of side choices.
Once again, we can not make this more clear: minced pork is NOT dog food.
You can also order minced pork with a pork chop and a side of tofu and veggies. Minced pork rice with tea egg, fish ball soup and marinaded cabbages on the side. All you can eat Hot Pot with the family.Now It’s Your Turn!
Hungry for more? Think it’s time to make your way to Taiwan? Check out our itinerary and start planning your culinary adventure today!
Starving for some more of these amazing stories? Get them delivered directly to your inbox. Join us on our adventures! Go Nuts!
You can also follow this blog on Bloglovin and Facebook!
