taiwanese: I strongly recommend ZHENG PORK KNUCKLE

ZHENG PORK KNUCKLE 鄭記豬腳飯

No. 22, Yanping S. Rd., Zhongzheng Dist, Zhongzheng District

台北市中正區延平南路22號
(02) 2371-1366

MRT: Taipei Main Station   

hours: 11AM - 8PM

$  

Kid friendliness: sidewalk seat and limited indoor seats. bentos available to go

Visit reviewed: 4/2021

Opened for over 60 years, Zheng Pork Knuckle is a tiny neighborhood shop a few minutes walking distance from North Gate near Taipei Main Station. The must order dish is the braised pork knuckle bowl (NT$110), that comes over rice with a shiny stewed hard boiled egg, pickled mustard greens and veggies. The menu signage lists three main dishes to choose from- braised pork knuckle, dong po pork or milkfish, but I spied a lot of other side dishes you could add on like bamboo or intestines and a serve yourself bone broth. 

The pork knuckle is a sizeable piece and easy to eat since they deboned it. Slowly braised until tender, the thick pork skin is Q and velvety, more collagen than fat. I was surprised the sauce wasn’t sweet at all, but the flavor was still rich and perfect for scarfing down with rice. 

There was a short line since we got there after 1pm, but it moved quickly. There's a few shaded tables on the sidewalk and a few tables inside. Bento boxes are also available for takeaway. This post was so popular on Instagram, I had to throw up a post with the address for the next time I'm in the area. 

Thanks to my friend Lucie for taking me here. It's a stop on her historical walking tour, with tons of information about the Taipei Main Station area, what it was like almost 100 years ago and how it's changed. There seems to be a lot of recent renovations for the historical buildings in the area and I got to check out the recently reopened National Center of Photography and Images . There's a small coffee shop on the first floor if you're in the area. Loved these vintage typewriters spotted there. 

street eats: I strongly recommend SPRING ONION PANCAKE VENDOR

SPRING ONION PANCAKE VENDOR 

corner of Anhe Road, Sec. 1 and Lane 102

near Ben Teppanyaki

$ 

Kid friendliness: you will see a line of kids waiting their turn afterschool 

Visit reviewed: 3/2021

When ordering spring onion pancake from a street vendor in Taipei, you will have to make a series of decisions. First decide if you want a half sheet (NT$30) or whole sheet (NT$60), then decide with egg or without, then lastly with sauce or without and if you want it spicy or not. Don't take too long to put in your order, otherwise you might have to wait an extra 5-10 minutes if others put in their order first. 

This street vendor often has a gaggle of kids and parents patiently waiting while he griddles, flips and rolls out new batches of dough with his magic rolling pin. After he's done rolling the pancake flat, he pulls out thin wooden center to fold half of it over again, so when he has to lift it, he can just lift the whole thing rather than try to scrape it off, and stand the outside of the pin on its side so it doesn't roll away. Kind of genius. 

I love the spring onion pancake here because it's just the right amount of doughy, chewy, crispy and hey all those hungry kids spending their pocket change on their afternoon snack can't be wrong. 

taiwanese/late night: i strongly recommend ZHI XIANG LIANG MIAN

ZHI XIANG LIANG MIAN 

芝香涼麵

No. 143, ZhongXiao E. Rd, Sec. 5

台北市信義區忠孝東路5段143號

(02) 2762-1666

MRT: Taipei City Hall

$ (Cash only) 

kid friendliness: sure

Visit reviewed: 4/11/2017

24 hour cold noodles (涼麵) means the option of eating them as a midnight snack or for breakfast! We had just left the Coldplay concert in Taoyuan, hungry and wet, having escaped the mess that was the post-concert flood of people trying to get home. Luckily, one person insisted on navigating us to a little shop on Zhongxiao East Road (a hop and skip away from W Taipei) that had offered up cold noodles, fish ball soup, shredded chicken rice and lu rou fan, 24 hours a day.

If you've never had cold noodles (aka liang mian) in Taipei before, it seems like a simple bowl of spaghetti-like noodles, topped with sesame sauce and julienned cucumbers. But every place has its own version of the sesame sauce- some with more soy sauce, some with chili oil, some with  peanut sauce.  I've even picked up packaged versions at 7-11 when I needed something on the go. Of course, it's much tastier with a tableful of semi-drunk friends, from a post-concert high, sharing a few bowls for less than a cab ride across town. Here, a bowl of liang mian costs NT$45-60, lu rou fan (braised pork rice) NT$35-45.  Probably some of the cheapest (and satisfying) eats you'll find in the Xinyi District. 

taiwanese/dessert: i strongly recommend SAN HE MIFUN TANG & TAI DA PANG NIU SHAVED ICE

SAN HE MIFUN TANG 三禾米粉湯
No. 3, Lane 61, Linsen S. Rd, Zhongzheng District
台北市中正區林森南路61巷3號
(02) 2392-5489

TAI DA PANG NIU BING 胖妞冰店

Lane 18, XuZhou Rd

台北市徐州路18巷口

MRT: Shandao Temple or NTU Hospital

hours: closed Mondays 6:30AM - 3PM 


visit reviewed: 

If you want to eat like a local in Taipei, a bowl of mifun tang 米粉湯 (rice noodle soup) isn't a bad place to start.  A sign that a place serves mifun tang (besides the characters in Chinese) is the huge vat of boiling tofu and noodles at the front like the one at San He Mifun Tang. Pair it with a plate of mushrooms, tofu, pork belly, seaweed, offal and bamboo, you are good to go for less than NT$200. Even though I've lived here for so long, I usually don't go to local shops like this because I don't know what to order. Luckily, I tagged along with some friends on this day and they did all the ordering and it was one of the better bowls of rice noodle soups that I've had in awhile (better than the bowl at Keelung night market and just as good as the one at Tonghua Night market.) Because the broth is clear, it doesn't look as flavorful as the more well known beef noodle soup or the popular Ah Chung flour rice noodles in Ximending, but don't be deceived. A hot bowl of fat, slippery rice noodles has a broth that rivals any ramen broth you'd slurp in its umami for only NT$25.

A photo menu is always a helpful reference.

I shared a bowl with a friend, and the restaurant kindly gave us a bowl filled with extra broth rather than an empty bowl. Sometimes some places overcook their rice noodles, but I found the texture here just right. 

Mushrooms and "oil" tofu 油豆腐 (NT$20)

Pork belly (NT$40), chicken heart (NT$50) and seaweed. I liked all the side dishes we ordered and would order them all again. These three plates were shared between 6 people.

Fresh Bamboo (NT$30) is always a favorite side dish.

On our way back to my friend's hotel, we came across a corner shaved ice stand- Tai Da Pang Niu Shaved Ice. It looked too good to pass up on a hot day, so we decided to get a bowl. You can pick as many toppings as you'd like and I got it with condensed milk of course (NT$50)- tapioca, green mung beans, grass jelly, peanut...

Generous with the condensed milk and we polished off the shaved ice before it melted. If you're staying at/near the Sheraton Hotel or near NTU, you can come look for this corner at XuZhou Road. So good. Can't beat it. For this price, you could have two bowls.

#exploretaipei: hungryintaipei's guide to YONG KANG STREET

YONG KANG ST  永康街

(between XinYi Road, Sec. 2 and Jinhua St.)

The first time I ever heard of Yong Kang Street was during one of my first trips back to Taipei after being away for over 12 years. I was back for just one month and had no clue where anything was. After lunch at Zhu Ji, my aunt told us that we had to go to the mango shaved ice place on Yong Kang Street.  

"What's the name of the place?" we asked her.  

"Just tell the taxi driver that you want to go to the mango ice place on Yong Kang Street and they will know," she responded. 

And it was true. Even ten years later after my first (blurry) post ever for hungryintaipei about it, and even though that spot is no longer Ice Monster after several changes in owners and shop revisions, it's still crowded with people getting their shaved ice on.

But Yong Kang Street is more than its famous bookends of the original Din Tai Fung at the front and mango shaved ice near the touristy end. Yong Kang Street, or aka Yong Kang Jie, is full of Taiwanese restaurants, dumplings, noodles, street eats, boba milk tea and even cute dessert cafes and amazing sushi bars if you know where to wander off to find them. You could even put your name down at Din Tai Fung and explore and snack for half an hour to come back in time for your number to come up for xiao long bao. 

If you want to eat like a tourist, then you'll just go to Din Tai Fung and mango shaved ice. But if you want to eat like a local, then you'll have to dig a little deeper into this street of good eats.  CNN readers just voted Taipei as their number one food destination as having the best food. I totally believe that's true! If you only had one day to eat in Taipei, Yong Kang Street wouldn't be a bad place to spend it.

7 THINGS TO EAT AT YONG KANG ST

(1) XIAO LONG BAO or DUMPLINGS

Whether you try it at Din Tai Fung, or its competing neighbor Kao Chi, get some dumplings in your belly! If you're willing to explore, further down on Yong Kang St are some hole in the wall dumpling places for a lot less.

DIN TAI FUNG 鼎泰豊- the original DTF always has a line out front. Even though this location takes up four floors now in the building, it's one of the more cramped locations because it's too popular for the small building's size. Grab a number, ask for estimated wait times and take a quick stroll down Yong Kang St for your next stop.

KAO CHI is right around the corner from DTF and some say the xiao long baos are equally good and slightly cheaper. I've had good as well as mediocre visits there and I think DTF's xiao long bao skins are more delicate, but you could consider a visit if you are too impatient to wait in line. What Kao Chi's specialty is though are the sheng jian baos, with a thicker skin and steamed and pan fried at the same time so that they have crisped bottoms.

(2) SPRING ONION PANCAKE 

Oddly housed under a sign for Thanh Ky's Pho, the spring onion pancake vendor is worth waiting in line for. You can opt for plain (which I prefer), with egg, cheese, ham or the works (NT$25-50). English menu available to point at. Order one to share and eat while you keep exploring. Crispy, flaky on the outside, doughy on the inside, the cong you bing is hot and quite filling if you eat the whole thing.

Totally prepared with individually wrapped dough to press and flatten with a machine and throw onto the hot griddle. 

(3) BEEF NOODLE SOUP 

Only have time to hang out near Yong Kang Street, but craving some beef noodle soup? Most people will wander over to the famous Yong Kang Beef Noodle Soup. 

Or you could give this knife cut noodle shop a try, Yi Ping Shanxi Dao Xiao Mian, with a bowl of tomato based beef noodle broth, chunks of beef and slivers of knife cut noodles. CNN liked it enough to include it on their best beef noodle soups list after I took them there when my other fave knife cut noodle shop was closed (and we had already hit up Lin Dong Fang and W Hotel's beef noodle soups). There's also another knife cut noodle shop in the alley around the corner, but I always seem to pass by when it's already closed. Of course, if you have more time in Taipei, my personal favorite beef noodle soups are elsewhere, but this is a decent bowl for your walking tour of Yong Kang St.

(4) MANGO SHAVED ICE 

Sit downstairs for the feeling of having your shaved ice in the original shack, or sit upstairs in an air conditioned room, which was added during a recent expansion when Smoothie House 思慕昔 took over the reins for this spot from Ice Monster/Yong Kang 15 a few years ago. One bowl is big enough to share and the menu has tourist friendly photos and English to browse, though if you choose to sit upstairs there is a minimum fee per person.

(5) FRESH FRUIT, FRUIT JUICE OR BOBA MILK TEA

You can also get some fresh fruit or fruit juice... somehow the fruits are incomparably sweet in Taipei. Give wax apple or custard apple or watermelon juice a try if you've never had it. There's several shops along Yong Kang Street serving fresh squeezed juices to quench your thirst or pre-sliced fruits packed for easy eating on the go.

custard apples

Currently there are three popular boba drink shops along the short stretch of Yong Kang St. My personal fave is 50 Lan- I like to get fresh milk w/ mini bobas, no sugar, less ice, sometimes with extra pudding. There's also lots of ice teas, green tea, fruit teas, milk teas and fruit juices to choose from. You'll be asked how sweet and how icy you want your drink, and you can ask for an English menu if you don't spot one.

 

(6) TAIWANESE EATS 

If you're up for trying something local, there's also a lot of shops specializing in dishes from other Taiwan cities, like Tainan or Yilan. I love the fried gaozha and lu rou fan from Lu Sang and sometimes will stop in to get just that as a snack on my Yong Kang St food crawl, but you could do a whole family style meal at these restaurants too. See what other dishes are family favorites on my past review here.

gao zha- deep fried chicken broth!!

TU HSIAO YUEH/ DU HSIAO YUEH / 度小月 or SLACK SEASON NOODLES is near the front of Yong Kang St, near DTF and Kao Chi. Famous for their Tainan dan tsai noodles. Good if you have a large group and want to try Taiwanese food in a modern setting. Check out this past review for some pictures. 

FU CHEN TAINAN EATS

(7) DESSERT 

8% ICE has a two story shop and a lot of unique flavors like french peach with rosewater or hojicha with honey to try (though no samples given at this location! Boo!). If you can find it, I also love the macarons and desserts from Patisserie La Doceur or red velvet cupcakes from Les Bebes Cupcakes, which both have other outlets elsewhere in Taipei, but you could do just a dessert crawl if you have the stomach space (I'd do red bean paste xiao long bao at Din Tai Fung, mango shaved ice, ice cream from 8% ice, soufflé from C'est La Vie then macarons and cupcakes! haha!)

Of course, there's many more restaurants in the offshoots of Yong Kang St to try, but just the restaurants on Yong Kang Street will keep you busy for an extended lunch and afternoon of snacking.   Did I miss your favorite eats on Yong Kang Street? Share in the comments!

Note for travelers, you can also grab a local SIM card at one of these telecom shops Far EasTone or Chunghwa Telecom since you can't just get them at 7-11 anymore. I recently helped a journalist get one here (have your passport ready) before our walking tour of Yong Kang St. Yong Kang Street also conveniently has both a 7-11 and Watsons, perfect for picking up some bottles of water, makeup or toiletries. 

Right off of Dongmen MRT (Exit Number 5!)

hungryintaipei's guide to Yong Kang Street

DIN TAI FUNG 鼎泰豐

No. 194, Section 2, Xinyi Road
(02) 2321-8928

KAO CHI 高記

5 Yongkang Street 

(02) 2341-9984

SPRING ONION PANCAKE VENDOR

No. 1, Lane 6, Yongkang Street

YI PIN SHANXI KNIFE CUT NOODLES 一品山西刀削 

10-6 Yongkang Street
(02) 2321-1562

YONG KANG BEEF NOODLES 永康牛肉麵 

No. 17, Lane 31, Section 2, Jinshan S. Road
(02)2351-1051 

SMOOTHIE HOUSE

15 Yongkang Street

DU HSIAO YUEH 度小月 

9-1 Yongkang Street

(02) 3393-1325

LU SANG YILAN RESTAURANT  呂桑食堂

12-5 Yongkang Street

(02) 2351-3323

8% ICE

6, Lane 13, Yongkang Street
(02) 2395-6583

PATISSERIE LA DOUCEUR

No. 223, Jinhua Street
(02) 3322-2833