I’ve always wanted to travel to Taiwan because everyone who has been there has talked about how wonderful the food was there… and I was not disappointed. What my friend said may be true‐ that when you’re in Taiwan, you’re bound to gain weight in a week.
Here are some of the favorites that I’ve had there.
Deep Fried Stinky Tofu
This was my first time trying the stinky tofu, and I loved it! Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, covered with a sweet and salty sauce, and topped with coriander. One plate was too much for two people… my friend and I were too full to enjoy the other great things to eat at the night market.
On the second night in Taiwan, I got to try another type of stinky tofu. This one was served with a sweet and sour sauce, and topped with lettuce, cucumber, and carrots. 
On that same night I ate another one of the soy sauce based one.
I prefer this one over the other one. 
“Rice hot dog”
This is officially called the “small sausage in large sausage,” but I like calling this the rice hot dog. What looks like a big white sausage is filled with rice. This sausage is cut in half, filled with vegetables, hot sauce, and the smaller sausage, which is the one with meat. You can ask for how spicy you want it to be.
Thank goodness I had a friend who could order for me in Chinese… 
The level of spice can depend on the type of sausage you choose.
Squeeze and twist the bag from bottom-up to eat it up!
Pineapple cake
My friend told me that the number one Taiwanese souvenir would be the pineapple cake. There were many brands, and we were able to sample different ones after we climbed the Taipei 101, but my friends and I all agreed that the one at Red Sakura was the best one.
They have the traditional pineapple cake, and then a Hello Kitty version one, which is the same taste, but more expensive for its package and shape. Red Sakura has multiple locations, and there are some that only sell Hello Kitty themed treats.
Dintaifung’s Xiaolongbao
Dintaifung is a Taiwanese chain located all over the world, and the original is located in Taipei. There are so many fans that on weekend lunches, there is a two hour wait. It was amazing to see how the staff in charge of the reservation list was fluently speaking in multiple languages.
The original is the Xinyi Store. From subway Dongmen Station exit 5, you just have to go straight and you’ll see a big crowd.
Locals say that there is no big difference between the locations, so if you don’t care about going to the “original” just go to one of the other ones to save time.
There are multiple types of xiaolongbao, but the original one is definitely the best. I also liked the one with truffles, which is triple the price of the other ones.
Tea leaf eggs
When we were about to enter a convenient store, my friend warned me to be not surprised with the smell of it. Taiwanese convenient stores has this distinct smell because they always have tea boiled egg served in a hot pot for customers.
Just grab an egg with the tong and put it in a plastic bag. Try to choose the egg that has been boiled for longer, so you can have one with a thicker taste!
Fried crab
Along with some Taiwanese beer, it was great having some fried tiny crabs. They were perfect snacks to munch on.
Taiwanese hot pot
This was not new to me because I’ve had them in SoCal, but it’s also a great dish to have if you want to have food that is unique to Taiwan.
Are you willing to try the pig’s blood curd and the pig’s blood rice cake? 
Don’t forget to make your own sauce and get your own utensils.
Soft-serve ice cream on top of Maokong
From Taipei Zoo Station, you can take a 40 minute gondola ride up to Maokong. There are tea houses, restaurants, and gift shops located at the top.
At the tea house they served green tea ice cream and oolong tea ice cream. 
I got the oolong tea ice cream and there was just a hint of the oolong taste… but I still enjoyed it because they put a cat-shaped cookie on top!
The characters for Maokong says “cat-sky.”
Hope you enjoyed this list! But this is biased because I’m allergic to some tropical fruits and I can’t enjoy the full extent of Taiwanese desserts. My friends also loved the papaya milk from Xin Bei Healthy Papaya Milkshake.
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