Kaohsiung
This upmarket restaurant where locals and expats bring their guests offers some of the best seafood dishes anywhere in Taiwan. The menu has no prices, but…
Must-see restaurants in Southern Taiwan
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Tainan
This white-tiled roadside shop, operated by a milkfish (虱目魚, shīmùyú) farmer, slaughters the fish in the wee hours to prepare the popular breakfast of…
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Tainan
This gem with glass frontage, blue-and-brown palette and white floor tiles offers great respite from the busy street beyond its door, not to mention that…
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Kaohsiung
A hip restaurant with Eames-inspired, futuristic paraphernalia, plus an oldies playlist, beaming you to the late-Japanese-colonial era. The set meals here…
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Kenting National Park
Charming restaurant with an open kitchen and a decidedly young vibe. Food is loose Italian with French and/or Asian leanings, but the cooking is on point…
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Tainan
This restaurant serves traditional Tainanese dishes inside a rustic 100-year-old house. There's no menu, but the generously portioned seven-course meals…
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Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung's largest and arguably best night market. Stalls cater to locals rather than big tour groups, and they're concentrated in one area, which makes…
Kaohsiung
The flagship store of the Taiwanese baker who won top prize (bread category) in the Bakery World Cup in Paris. And he did it with a wheat loaf that he…
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Tainan
Beef soup (牛肉湯, niúròu tāng), a Tainan speciality, is served as early as 4am for breakfast, right after the cattle are slaughtered. One of the best places…
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Kaohsiung
A casual 1km stroll from Pier-2 Art Center through a charming neighbourhood brings you to this neat little place that serves up tasty and affordable soup…
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Kaohsiung
A laid-back restaurant known for well-executed Taiwanese dishes and above-average pricing. At lunch, it's full of middle-class families and couples. At…
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Tainan
A narrow corner space that whips up a mean donburi (Japanese rice bowl), and other goodies like fried chicken and beer (served in frosty mugs). There are…
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Kaohsiung
An elegant teahouse that makes refined versions of classics such as braised pork and panfried milkfish. Pore over a book or watch the world go by as you…
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Behind-the-Temple Seafood Congee
Kaohsiung
This wonderful street-corner shop with an iron roof whips up delicious soups and congee with fresh local seafood. The signature seafood congee (招牌海產粥,…
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Tainan
This modern milkfish joint sells the usual suspects – fish broth, panfried milkfish and braised pork rice, plus innovations like soy milk- or miso-based…
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Tainan
Possibly the world's most elegant place to suck on a popsicle. This beautiful Japanese house with koi pond and pruned bushes was built in 1925 as an…
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Tainan
Da Dong hasn't yet caught the attention of mass tourism despite the high number of delicious stalls. Vendors here have clearly delineated boundaries: if…
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Kenting National Park
Kenting's night market is renowned as being one of the best in Taiwan, and that's saying something. Every evening as the sun goes down, the vendors stalls…
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Southern Taiwan
Rustic Ibu is a specialist in indigenous cuisine and a worthy one at that. Ingredients are sourced from surrounding hills – fresh mushrooms for soup, tart…
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Kaohsiung
Sanmin St heaves with cheap and cheery stalls brandishing all kinds of deliciousness. One of the most famous is Chou's, for its duck cooked in angelica…
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Tainan
A haven for the health and environmentally conscious, this restaurant uses naturally farmed local produce. The Asian fusion food is light and lightly…
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Southern Taiwan
Locals say this is the best bantiao shop on Meixing St. The noodles, made the traditional way, are indeed delicious. There's also an assortment of other…
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Tainan
Fusheng is famous for wǎnguǒ, a Tainan speciality that translates into 'pudding in a bowl'. Essentially steamed rice gruel embedded with sliced pork,…
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Kaohsiung
Great place for breakfast or a late-night snack – it's open all the time. At a glance it's just a regular street shop that specialises in milk tea, but…
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Tainan
A smoky one-man affair that does one thing only but does it really well – chicken skewers. The cuts are cherry-picked, not too fatty, too lean or too…
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Tainan
Set in a Japanese-era merchant's house, this is a fun place to try traditional dànzǐmiàn (擔仔麵), a simple dish that mixes noodles with a tangy meat sauce…
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Kaohsiung
At this small, 60-year-old stall, place your order and watch the lady assemble the rolls, her hands darting over huge plates of Chinese cabbage, sprouts,…
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Kaohsiung
A clean, crisp-looking bistro that prides itself on using local produce as much as possible. Greens and seafood from Kaohsiung, pork from Pingtung and…
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Tainan
This worthy modern restaurant is a popular venue for weddings. It's a good place to try more elaborate restaurant-type dishes such as the delectable…
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Kaohsiung
Milkfish is associated with Tainan, but Kaohsiung has its own version, too. Instead of serving the meat as is, slivers of meat are wrapped in fish cake…
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Kaohsiung
For fresh seafood, locals recommend Ya Jiao on Cijin Island. It's the kind of place for eating sautéed clams or local fish sashimi, drinking cheap beer,…
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Meinong Traditional Hakka Restaurant
Southern Taiwan
A proper sit-down restaurant favoured by families, this busy place dishes out simple bowls of stirfried bantiao noodles (flat-rice noodles, 炒粄條, chǎo…
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Kaohsiung
A chilled cafe in an old Japanese-Taiwanese house (c 1900s) that's nostalgic and elegant without trying too hard. You can spend a relaxing hour here under…
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Tainan
There are a dozen items on the menu in this celebrated eatery, and its claim to fame is the bean jelly (or bean curd; 豆花, dòuhuā), made with organic…
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An-Ping Gui Ji Local Cuisine Cultural Restaurant
Tainan
If you want to try an assortment of Tainan snacks in one plac, head here rather than hopping all over town in search of the 'best' place for each. This is…
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Kenting National Park
This cafe sits on the main drag in Nanwan, across from the beach. Sandwiches are filling, the beef-cheek stew is hearty, and the cheesecake wows the kids…
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Southern Taiwan
This street in central Meinong is lined up with bantiao (flat-rice noodles, 炒粄條, chǎo bǎntiáo) joints and each has a different recipe. A Hai Bantiao Dian…
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Kaohsiung
If you're into fine dining, Taiwan's own Thomas Chien does good contemporary French using imported meats and local ingredients like mullet roe and flower…
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Kaohsiung
This market is famous islandwide for its 100-plus food stalls offering everything from squid on a stick to fresh chicken wraps. You’ll see a convoy of…
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Kenting National Park
A cute ocean-themed restaurant that whips up tasty Mediterranean fare and curries. The pasta with clams is a favourite. Service can be slow when there are…
