Whenever I go to Tainan and tell my friends they are jealous, In a good way. If Taiwan is a cake, then Tainan is definitely the cherry on top. And sorry, I won’t mention all the beautiful places to visit here. Also - I will skip the fabulous historical part. I will go straight to the point - FOOD!
Recently, I was invited by the Bureau of Economic Development, Tainan City Government and NCKU Research and Development Foundation to a 3-day trip, and visited 20 shops. You can always count on the kindness and hospitality of the Tainan people. But don't worry, If I was invited, my camera was invited too, and that means I did my best to show off those places, and now I will pay back those nice people, and I am going to invite you on the trip too; are you ready?
PART 01 - When in Tainan, eat as the Tainanese do! - A guide to flavorful, popular (and English speaking) places serving Tainan food!
Taiwanese food is just extraordinary. Everybody loves it. No doubt about it. But now, you need to know that Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and because of that - the variety of foods is richer here than anywhere else. So I will introduce a few places around Tainan where you can get local food. So take your chopsticks in the hand and let’s commence our mouth-watering journey around Tainan!
子龍點鴨 (Zi long dian ya)
As a person born and raised in Europe, I am not really used to eating ducks the way they are usually served in Taiwan. I don't really like messing with bones. But here was a great surprise! They prepare meals removing bones. They sell duck with dried noodles or rice, and also have plenty of side dishes, too. The most special one is duck feet with cucumber, which is really good. Another thing is - the restaurant is located in a typical Tainan style neighbourhood near the old street, so after the tasty dishes you can stroll around there for a while.
磨磨茶 (Mo mo cha)
It’s a chic tea house waiting for you in one of the narrow streets downtown in Tainan (walking distance from the train station). The owner showed and let me make my own matcha from dry tea leaves. Usually tea shops are supplied by whole suppliers (importing tea in bulk). However, this is not the case here - the owner’s family has run a tea plantation for 3 generations; you can taste and say - the tea flows through his veins! They serve a whole variety of delicious teas from Taiwan, for instance: high mountain green tea, oolong tea, tea with fruit juice, milk tea, and more.
The place has stunning interiors that are simple, but you can feel a Taiwanese coziness inside. Momocha is a great place to sit and relax, read a book. Just enjoy your gourmet teas and let time stop for a while.
Apart from the teas and drink you can also find here food, such as Gua Bao. If you speak a bit of Chinese you will know that Han Bao (漢堡) is a word for hamburger. Basically, it's a burger but instead of bread they use a steamed bun. If you are in Tainan it's a must try. :)
禾記嫩骨飯 (Hé jì nèn gú fàn)
This is one very special Chinese restaurant. This place is particularly famous in Tainan because it’s already become a chain. Actually, the dishes are very simple - such as rice and meat, but…. the devil is in the details, and in this case it’s the special way they prepare their meats. Of course, that's the chef's secret, but they're delicious. The flag dish is braised pork with soft bones. And indeed the bones are so soft that you can easily eat them! Apart from that you can find other dishes, such as Braised Pork Noodles.
三船熱炒100 (三船の鳗丼 Sānchuán de mán jǐng)
100 stir-fried Taiwanese traditional food. You can see a lot of places with number "100" on the street in Taiwan and especially at night there are crowds feasting there. The number 100 in the name is not an accident here - it’s the price of most of the dishes on the menu - around 100$. Apart from Taiwanese delicacies - such a pig heart, intestines and so on, you can also order typical Japanese meals - such as freshly made sashimi, sushi. It’s worth mentioning that the owner is an eel farmer, so if you love this kind of fish, you will find great quality unagi here!
This is one of the five stories that are coming soon. Feel free to ask any questions you have, feel free to share and tag friends that haven’t been to Tainan… never, or not recently, and need to go there with you and… and…. and make sure you stay tuned because there are more stories coming soon!
More details:
子龍點鴨 Zi Long Dian Ya
Address: No.74, Zhengxing St., West Central Dist, Tainan
Opening hours: Mon - Fri 11:00-20:30 (Wednesday - day off) / Sat, Sun 11:00-21:00
磨磨茶 Momocha beverage
Address: No. 2, Lane 161, Section 1, Beimen Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 11:00-18:00 (Monday, Tuesday - day off)
禾記嫩骨飯 HOCHE Taiwanese Cuisine Flagship Store
Address: No. 60, Nanmen Road, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 10:30-21:00
三船熱炒100 San Chuan Stir-fried Cuisine 100
Address: No. 136, Kangle Street, West Central District, Tainan City
Opening hours: 11:00-14:00/17:00-23:00 (Monday - day off)
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Photography：高雄攝影 Amedee Photography
Youtube: https://youtu.be/94mq7OomzdA
