“This tour is perfect if you want to experience authentic local food without guessing where to go. ”
— Bart, 2026
01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Taipei.
Formosa Flavours
Taipei
Eat Taipei at lunchtime — beef noodle soup, three-cup chicken and pineapple cake.
Taipei Tastes
Taipei
Discover Taipei's night-market city — beef noodle soup, stinky tofu and three-cup chicken.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Beef noodle soup simmered for hours, stinky tofu at the night market, three cup chicken in sesame oil, pineapple cake in every bakery. Taipei is a night market city, and it eats accordingly.
04 The pantry
- Beef shank, long-simmered for the city's famous noodle soup
- Stinky tofu, brined and fermented for the night-market fry
- Sesame oil, dark and toasted for three-cup chicken
- Pineapple, chunks folded into buttery cakes and glazes
- Basil, fresh Thai basil stirred into stir-fries at the last moment
05 In the kitchen
- Simmering beef noodle soup broth for hours with star anise and soy
- Fermenting stinky tofu in vegetable brine for the classic funk
- Cooking san bei ji in sesame oil, soy and rice wine in equal parts
- Wrapping gua bao steamed buns around braised pork belly
- Baking pineapple cake shortcrusts around candied fruit filling
06 Eat this first
- Beef noodle soup, dark-broth wheat noodles with tender shank
- San bei ji, three-cup chicken bubbled in soy, rice wine and sesame oil
- Gua bao, fluffy steamed buns filled with braised pork belly and peanut powder
- Chou dofu, stinky tofu deep-fried and topped with pickled cabbage
- Xiao long bao, soup dumplings served at Din Tai Fung and every corner shop
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Delicate pleated dumplings hiding a rich pork broth inside a paper-thin wrapper, steamed in bamboo baskets. Din Tai Fung's Taipei-born global sensation.
Slow-braised beef shin in a spiced red-oil broth over hand-pulled wheat noodles, topped with pickled mustard greens, spring onion and coriander. Taiwan's national dish.
Bite-sized pieces of marinated chicken thigh coated in sweet potato starch and fried crackly, tossed with basil and a heavy dust of white pepper and five-spice. Taipei's night-market king.
Chewy hand-rolled balls of mashed taro and tapioca flour, boiled and served over shaved ice with red beans, mung beans and sweetened milk. Jiufen's iconic mountain dessert.
A large marinated pork chop coated in sweet potato starch and fried crackly, served over jasmine rice with braised cabbage, pickled mustard and a soy egg. Bento shop standard.
Fermented tofu deep-fried until the outside is crackly gold and the inside is silky, served with pickled cabbage, sweet chili sauce and a coriander topping. Taipei's night-market lightning rod.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Taipei.
Weather
Humid subtropical. Hot, sticky summers (32°C-plus) with typhoons June to October, and mild, damp winters (15–18°C). Autumn and early spring are the best months.
Currency
The New Taiwan dollar (TWD). Cards work in chain shops but night markets, taxis, and street stalls are cash-only. ATMs are on every corner.
Language
Mandarin Chinese is universal. Taiwanese Hokkien is the everyday dialect. English coverage is better than in mainland China, especially with younger locals.
Etiquette
Polite and friendly. Remove shoes when entering homes and some restaurants; don't stick chopsticks upright in rice. Queue for the MRT.
Getting around
The MRT (metro) is fast, cheap, and covers the city. Signage is bilingual and IC cards (EasyCard) work on trains, buses, and Youbikes. Ubers and taxis are cheap.
Prayer
Buddhist, Daoist, and folk-religion rhythms mark the year. Colourful temples like Longshan sit in every neighbourhood. Christian and Muslim communities are small but active.