Taipei travel guide

Taipei probably has one of the highest densities of restaurants in the world. Almost every street and alley offers some kind of eatery. Of course, Chinese food (from all provinces) is well represented. In addition, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Italian cuisines are also popular. Basically, East Taipei, especially around Dunhua and Anhe Roads, and also the expat enclave of Tianmu are where to clash chopsticks with the rich and famous, whereas West Taipei offers more smaller, homey restaurants.

Due to the sheer number of restaurants, it is almost impossible to compile a thorough list, but below are a few recommended restaurants catering to specialist tastes.

(kiki 老媽餐廳), 28, fuxing south road sec. 1. tel:+886 2 2752-2781, (http://www.kiki1991.com). just opposited the breeze center, this restaurant serves authentic szechwanese peppery hot pot.

(Mon.-Sat.)Famous for mix-taiwanese tapas. Great collection of local winehttp://www.chinapa.com.tw/taiwanpa/

(彭家園), guangfu south road, lane 240, no. 49 (close to sun yat-sen memorial hall mrt station, exit #2). tel:+886 2 2772-9839, (http://thepengs.weebly.com/). opened approximately 30 years ago, both the food and the decor of the restaurant have not changed since. known for being more authentically 1980s hong kong than most restaurants in hong kong today.

(北平都一處), 506 renai rd sec. 4. tel:+886 2 2720-6417. this is the place to go if you crave good beijing cuisine. visitors may be surprised to see a large photo of former u.s. president george h. w. bush on the wall, taken when he ate at the restaurant during his trip to taiwan in 1994.

(山西刀削麵), 2, lane 118, heping east road sec. 2. (@ fuxing s road, near technology bldg mrt station, is in an alley of taiwan national university) tel:+886 2 2378-7890. serving knife cut noodles, which are known for their chewy texture. as the name suggests, a block of noodle dough is held and the noodles are cut straight off of the block. cheap and very popular, but no english menus.

2f. 16, lane 316, roosevelt road sec 3 (near gongguan mrt station). tel:+886 2 2362-9538 - friendly and warm atmosphere - good reasonably priced food, but lunch menu was so-so.

No. 8, alley 10, lane 223 chung xiao east rd. sec. 4. +886 2 2771 9285. burgers, quesadilla, sandwiches, salads, etc. details on (http://www.forkers.tw).

(喬爸爸義大利美食餐廳), 22, alley 6, lane 170, zhongxiao east rd., sec 4. best accessible by mrt since it's next to exit 5, zhongxiao dunhua station. wide selection of authentic italian food, featuring appetizer, pizza, risotto, meat, seafood courses, and great dessert. run by italian chef.

Da an rd, sec. 1, alley 169 #3 tel: (02) 2708-3959 fresh sashimi and tempura shrimp. less expensive than most japanese restaurants of this quality. clean, comfortable environment.

(美觀園), 36 emei st, tel:+886 2 2331-0377. located in ximending pedestrian area. this restaurant has served authentic japanese sushi and sashimi since 1946. (note there's another restaurant opposite the road from this with exactly the same name - that's the old location of this restaurant and doesn't serve as good sushi.)

(釜山館), 10, lane 13, pucheng street (second lane on right off shi-da road when traveling from heping east road). tel:+886 2 8369-3919. a small, clean korean restaurant in shida area. popular with students.

All you can eat korean bbq for under nt$500. fu xing s. rd sec. 1 #5 fl.3 tel: (02) 2578 3573, 0933738970

(p&l 韓式烤肉), 47, longquan street. tel:+886 2 2362-1637. located near the taiwan normal university (shida) and in shida night market, this small place serves traditional korean barbecue, kimchi hot pot and spicy rice cakes.

(藥燉排骨; yã odã¹n pã¡igç”)

(滷味; lç”wã¨i)

(生炒花枝; shä“ngchçŽo huäzhä«)

Several night markets (夜市) are located in each district. Some are open during daytime, and all are open until around midnight. Night markets consists of restaurants and stores at the permanent locations and little booths along the center. Every night market has a huge variety of food, so any night market you find is a good bet for good food. Because of the vast selection, the recommendation is to go with a few people and share the food. Vendor food is generally safe to eat, but use common sense though if you have a sensitive stomach!

The most famous one in Taipei is the Shilin Night Market (士林夜市). It is easilly accessible via the MRT at either the Jiantan (劍潭) or Shilin (士林) stations.

Locals in Taipei view Shilin as touristy, with food catering to the tastes of mainland visitors. Another excellent option is Ning Xia Yeshi.

Some of the best known night market snacks are:

Oyster omelet蚵仔煎; ô-á-chian

Tianbula甜不辣; tiánbúlàLiterally "Sweet, not spicy", is a Taiwanese version of Tempura.

Stinky tofu 臭豆腐; chòudòufǔ

Mango ice芒果冰; mángguǒbīng

Pan fried pork buns水煎包; shuǐjiānbāo

Taiwanese sausage香腸; xiāngcháng

Pearl milk tea珍珠奶茶; zhēnzhū nǎicháa classic drink invented by a tea vendor in Taichung.

Braised soy bean and tea eggs滷豆乾&茶葉蛋; lǔdòugān, cháyèdànbraised soy bean and tea eggs

Gongguan station. cheap and amazing selection of vegetarian pizzas.

B1, 6-1 lishui street (near the intersection of xinyi road and jinshan south road). tel:886 2 2321-8949 (http://www.alleycatstaipei.com/). generally considered by ex-pats to be the only edible and best traditional italian pizza in taipei.

Pizza is easy to find in Taiwan with major chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino's. Besides the usual variety, Taiwan also has its localized variants e.g. seafood supreme, pepper steak, corn, peas etc.

7-1, lane 11, zhongshan north road, sec 2. tel:886 2 2567-8769. reasonably priced pizzas. authentic italian decor and staff are quite friendly.

B1, 105 songren road. tel:886 2 2729-8555 (http://www.lawrys.com.tw/)

(王品台塑牛排), 169 nanjing east road, sec 4. tel:886 2 8770-7989, (http://www.wangsteak.com.tw/). an upscale chain steakhouse known for its signature "wang steak".

(青葉餐廳), 10, lane 105, zhongshan north road sec. 1. tel:+886 2 2571-3859. the most famous taiwanese restaurant in taipei, beside the zhongshan north road.

(欣葉蔥花), 2f 201 zhongxiao east road sec.4. tel:+886 2 2778-8712. near the mrt zhongxiao fuxing station, located right inside the tongling department store. it's the newest taiwanese cuisine restaurant in taipei. menu has english.

(世界豆漿大王), 284 yonghe road sec. 2. tel:+886 2 8927-0000. near the mrt dingxi station, located just outside of taipei city, in yonghe city. it's the original "yonghe doujiang" (from which all other places copied), it's open 24-hours and it's cheap!soy milk king of the world (http://www.soymilk.com.tw/)

(鮮定味), address (總店地址): 台北市長安東路一段67號(總店), tel (電話): 02 2567 3331. near to mrt zhongshan station, just take a taxi to go, should cost you around nt$100 max.

(牛爸爸牛肉麵) zhongxiao east road, sec. 4, alley 27, lane 216, no. 16 (台北市忠孝東路四段216巷27弄16號) tel: 886-2-2778-3075 the most expensive beef noodle soup to be had in taiwan. on average this dish costs 120 nt. owner tony wong has bowls ranging from a few hundred all the way to 10,000 nt (~300 usd). the simple decor belies the intricate process wong uses to deliver beef noodles for taipei's foodies.

Fu xing n. rd. alley 231 #2. tel: (02) 2719 6527 shrimp toast, beef stew, chicken, papaya salad are most famous dishes!

(泰國小館), 219 tingzhou rd sec. 3. (near national taiwan university) tel:+886 2 2367-0739. this small thai restaurant is in gongguan.

ϼˆæ³°å‘³å»šæˆ¿ï¼‰ï¼Œ banqiao city, taipei county. 板橋市華興街58號 banqiao city, huaxing street no. 58 this is the main restaurant but they have other branches at the xinpu mrt stop and jiangzicui mrt stop. food is out of this world. curries, bbq'd chicken/pork, salads are good. spicy though, just ask for "xiao la" if you would like it not as hot. its located off two mrt stops on the yongning-nangang mrt station just minutes from downtown taibei. (http://andythai.com)

B1, 153-155 xinyi road, sec. 4 (entrance in alley behind changhwa bank. tel:+886 2 2703-5612). an upscale all-you-can-eat buffet.

2f no. 108 xinsheng north road, sec. 2 (near intersection with jinzhou street - tel:+886 2 2560-1950). this is another upscale all-you-can-eat buffet.

No. 6, alley 18, lane 60, taishun street (off shida road - tel:+886 2 2362-3919. located in traditional wooden building and emphasizes fresh and natural vegetarian dishes. while the red toy poodle inside the restaurant claims all the attention, don't forget to try the casserole and the flaky crust soup which are house specialties.

For a special Taipei street experience, check out the veggie vendor outside No. 30, Lane 216, Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 4 (in the alleys behind the Dunhua South Road Eslite Mall and book store). The rice noodles are especially delicious and cheap and a plate of their dougan (dried tofu) makes a great side dish.

13, lane 170, xinsheng south road, sec. 1 (enter from lane 243, xinyi road, sec 2 - tel:+886 2 2358-2677). organic restaurant with zen style decor. (only tea, no longer lunch & dinner)

No 18 shin-wei rd (tel 02-2701-3225). traditional chinese setting. (http://www.kingjoin.com.tw)

KGB Kiwi Gourmet Burgers (see International food for details) has 9 vegetarian burgers.

Vegetarian food (素食) is also common fare, with the city boasting more than two hundred vegetarian restaurants and vendor stands. Another Taipei specialty is vegetarian buffets. They are common in every neighborhood, and unlike the 'all-you-can-eat' buffets listed below (which charge a set price, usually ranging from NT$250 - NT$350 including dessert and coffee/tea), the cost is estimated by the weight of the food on your plate. Rice (there is usually a choice of brown or white) is charged separately, but soup is free and you can refill as many times as you like. NT$75-120 will buy you a good sized, nutritious meal. Note that many of these veggie restaurants are Buddhist in nature and so meals do not contain garlic or onion (which traditionalists claim inflames passion).

1, lane 6, yongkang street. tel:+886 2 2321-1579. always busy and popular with vietnamese expats and locals. rice noodle soup with spicy beef and curried beef or pork is a specialty.