TASTE OF TAIWAN: Street Food in Taipei (Part 2, Longer Edition)

Taipei, Taiwan is home to some of the most amazing food I have ever tasted. Here is the second edition of my "Taste of Taiwan" blog series.

BREAKFAST:

Traditional Taiwanese breakfast consists of Shaobing Youtiao (油条). Shaobing Youtiao (Chinese Cruller) is fried dough and it is wrapped in Shaobing, a type of unleavened, baked, and layered flatbread that is usually covered in sesame seeds. In fact, the Chinese term "Youtiao" literally translates to "oil stick" because it fried with plentiful oil; that's also what makes it so delicious.

Green onion pancake is another popular Taiwanese breakfast item and is often served with egg wrapped within it. This is one of my favorite dishes because it always brings back bittersweet memories of helping my late grandmother make her unique version of green onion pancakes.

Below: this green onion pancake is from a restaurant in the underground Taipei City Mall and is a super delicious street food and any-time snack!

7 Eleven is a staple convenience store in Taiwan, selling everything from hot dogs to bug spray at pretty affordable prices. One of my favorite breakfast items that also doubles as a daily snack item is O-Nigiri (which is more of Taiwanese street food than a traditional Taiwanese dish since it also has origins in Korea and Japan). O-Nigiri is a rice roll typically filled with fish (salmon is my favorite) wrapped in seaweed; the packaging is a bit difficult to understand, but is rather simple once you get the hang of it. These rice rolls are sold at many different Taiwanese stores, but 7 Eleven is hands-down the best Taiwanese-style O-Nigiri supplier. If you visit a 7 Eleven in Taiwan, you must also try their hot dogs. Their hot dogs come in three flavors: Original, Juicy, and Cheesy. Shown below is the "Juicy" Hot Dog, my favorite flavor at 7 Eleven.

Here's a mostly complete Taiwanese breakfast, including the soybean milk and the snapchat filters. Soybean milk is usually served cold/hot and can be either sweet or savory. Taiwanese drinks, such as soy milk also come with cute plastic coverings, as you can see in the image below.

LUNCH/DINNER:

Potstickers (fried dumplings) are one of the most fulfilling and delicious Taiwanese meals and come in a variety of flavors. Three of my favorite flavors are leek (韭菜), kimchi, and curry.

(ft. cute snapchat geofilters)

Shabu Shabu (small hot pot) is another one of my favorite Taiwanese dishes. Hot pot typically consists of a soup base (spicy/non-spicy) that is boiled. You then have a choice of veggies and/or meats to add to your hot pot. Below: The first image is the beautiful display of veggies and thin crystal noodles at 12 Hot Pot in Taipei. The second image is a traditional winter melon tea (冬瓜茶) with honeydew in slushy form (super delicious and refreshing!)

Below is the hot pot from Cash City in Taipei - Also super delicious!

Next, Taiwanese dry noodles are a must-try in Taipei. The noodles are usually drizzled in meat sauce and served with veggies. You can find this dish at most night markets.

So yummy!

Next up is Lu Wei (滷味): Taiwanese dish consisting of marinated foods of your choice. Marinated food options include egg, seaweed, and tofu.

Stinky tofu is another one of my favorite Taiwanese street foods. This fermented tofu dish is super delicious, albeit stinky. Below: I don't remember where this restaurant was, but their giant stinky tofu made my tastebuds super happy!

Below: I just had to include some more pictures from Jingmei Night Market's stinky tofu stand because their stinky tofu is simply too delicious. I highly recommend!

Beef Noodle Soup: This Taiwanese dish is exactly what it sounds like, noodle soup with marinated beef. This is a great dish, especially for noodle lovers like me.

Fried Oyster Mushrooms are another one of my favorite Taiwanese street foods because I absolutely love mushrooms of all types! Fried Oyster Mushrooms are a staple at most night markets and a must-try when visiting Taiwan.

DESSERT/BOBA:

First, is the popular Taiwanese shaved ice. The image below is shaved ice with red bean and taro side toppings.

My favorite shaved ice flavor is actually mango shaved ice, but unfortunately I wasn't able to eat any on this trip. Below is a glimpse of the magical treat from the LA Times.

Douhua (豆花): This dessert is soft, fresh tofu that tastes like pudding. It is usually served with syrup and an assortment of toppings. My favorite toppings are taro gelatin and mini tapioca balls, as shown below.

Taiwanese-style DONUTS: Mister Donut is by-far my favorite donut brand not only because their donuts are so adorable, but also because they are so palatable! Their donuts are perfectly soft and perfectly sweet (sweet, but not too sweet). I could go on forever describing these donuts, but you must try them yourself to get the real, beautiful donut experience.

Frozen yogurt from llao llao is super delicious. Frozen yogurt isn't a traditional Taiwanese dessert, but this yogurt brand (originated in Spain) is just super delicious and unique in its flavors and yogurt. llao llao features a single original yogurt flavor (sour yogurt is surprisingly popular in Taiwan) served with a variety of sweet toppings (of your choice).

During my trip, I found that Taiwanese people also love jello and different types of gelatins. Purple jello is also super popular, as shown below and super delectable as well.

Time for my favorite, BOBA!!!

Boba/Bubble Tea is a popular Taiwanese drink consisting of tapioca balls and is often served in milk tea (or other teas).

Below: Hua Da, my favorite boba place in Taiwan! Go to this place if you want authentic boba milk tea with genuine milk. It's heavenly.

Below: Presotea, another one of my favorites in Taipei. This boba place offers so much variety and flavors. For instance, I love their panda milk tea (second image below); it consists of regular-size black boba pearls and mini-size clear boba pearls.

fun drinks!

Below: Rabbit Rabbit Tea is pretty good, though I accidentally left it in the fridge overnight and the boba became a bit stale. Never leave boba drinks in a fridge overnight.

Below: Coco's, This place is super cheap ($1-2 typically) for a huge cup of boba. You have to ask them to add genuine milk (which increases the price). Coco's is a quick and cheap stop for some decent boba.

If you couldn't tell already, I love anything boba related and actually drank boba almost every single day during my Taiwan trip (not recommended for your health).

Taipei is a beautiful city that you must visit at least once in your lifetime and its beautiful food simply makes my argument even more convincing.