As a self proclaimed foodie, I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to enjoy good food during my trip so I spent days in doing research of the must-try food in Taiwan. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to cross out everything on my list but still happy with what I discovered. I really had a hard time picking my top 3 favorite because almost all of them made my tummy happy. But to be consistent with the theme of my blog, here’s a list of the food I will definitely try again when I go back to Taiwan.
1. Hangzhou Xiaolong Tang Bao Restaurant
Most tourists would go to Din Tai Fung to satisfy their cravings for xiao long bao but I don’t want to spend so much time waiting in line when I know I can find some local resto that offers legit dumplings. I made a research and found this restaurant that the locals gave their seal of approval too.
You can find this restaurant at the back of Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. You can easily spot their yellow signage even from afar.
We also had to wait in line but in less than 10 minutes, we were able to get a table.
We ordered some noodles, mixed pot stickers (if I remember it right, it’s a mix of pork and seafood), a red bean sesame ball-like dessert and of course, the famous XLB. I actually enjoyed the pot stickers more than the xlb. One thing I like most about this place is that they have unlimited ginger for the dipping sauce! Yeah, I have a thing for ginger. :D
What we ordered is actually more than enough for two people. We had a hard time finishing it all.
TIP: Bring a bottle of water of buy your milk tea before going in. They don't serve drinks except for the complimentary hot tea.
2. Seafood Takoyaki
Taiwan is known for its night markets where you can find lots of street food! Out of hundred night markets in Taiwan, we only visited Ximending and Shilin Night Market. We enjoyed some street food like the cheesy potato with generous amount of toppings, the famous beef cubes, garlic sausage which is very tasty and of course we can't afford to miss the Hot star fried chicken that is bigger that my face and a whole lot more!
It's really hard to choose but I must say that the seafood takoyaki from Shilin made a mark! You have the option of scallops, octopus and shrimp. We chose a mixed plate with all three flavors. For 100 TWD, you get to enjoy the sweet and savory flavor of this takoyaki. I'll have to give my thumbs to the shrimp flavor! So so good!
3. Chachago
Taiwan is also known for milk teas! I tell you, there's a milk tea shop in almost every corner of the city. You'll never get thirsty! Anyway, we love spending some time in the common are of our hostel and we read tourist guide books even if they're in different languages. We chance upon this book that says Chachago is one of the most famous milk tea shop in the country.
On our last day, we killed time in Ximending and was lucky enough to find it.
We noticed a queue that's why we saw Chachago. We did not think twice and grabbed a drink. Since I've had enough milk tea, I decided to try a different drink.
I ordered a cocoa drink with vanilla ice cream. Oh boy!! It's so creamy and chocolateyyyy!! It's like you're drinking a melted chocolate. I also have to give the spotlight to the generous scoop of vanilla ice cream at the bottom. Don't worry, even if it looks really sweet, it isn't! Just the right amount of sweetness will hit your taste buds! I think I fell in love with the drink because I find the taste close to dark chocolate. It's so so so good that I really miss it and I'm hoping there's a Chachago here in the Philippines.
That's it for me! Did I make you crave for some XLB? I'm actually imagining myself drinking a cocoa drink while eating xlb. Not a good combination? Yay!
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