Taipei Eats Food Tours

After years living abroad, food-obsessed founders Mike Lee and Tina Fong returned to Taiwan and rediscovered the culinary masterpieces of their homeland.  The desire to share their unique outsider-insider perspective coupled with their love for food culminated in early-2015 as Taipei Eats.  The goal has been and continues to be, to offer curated English-language walking food tours that give visitors a “taste” of why Taipei has been called a foodie’s paradise by outlets such as CNN and Conde Nast Traveller.

Iconic Food Tour

Our original food tour takes you on an authentic culinary focusing on today’s iconic Taiwanese dishes, sampling classic dishes from both award winning chefs and in-the-know local’s restaurants.

4 hours  |  10+ tastings  |  $75 USD

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Old School Food Tour

Discover the historical side of Taipei. Sample traditional Taiwanese recipes handed down over generations and walk through a district rich in cultural and architectural history.

 3.5 hours | 12+ tastings | $85 USD

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Taipei Night Market Tour

The local foodie’s night market. A truly off-the-beaten path experience, oblivious to tourists and guide books. Your hotel concierge will be surprised you’re going!

2.5 hours | 6-7 tastings | $60 USD

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370 REVIEWS | Rated “Excellent” by 327 Travelers

“Highly recommended! My Dad and I went and we got to see a part of Taiwan that we would not have been able to see even with all our research. The food was so delicious and made for good food pics!”

Awarded Tripadvisor 2019 Certificate of Excellence

What to Expect

The Journey is the Adventure

Our Taipei food tours take between two to four hours and are held at a leisurely pace. You’ll have plenty of time to soak up the history of popular dishes and  observe traditional and modern Taiwanese culture, while eliminating your concern of where to eat in Taipei.

Culture & History Through food

In the course of our Taipei food tour, you’ll have a chance to visit vendors that have been operating for generations and taste their artisan recipes – some handed down for over a century. Experience the Taiwanese culinary philosophy of “eat well, eat often”!

Adventurers Wanted

Our Taiwan food tour caters to adventurous foodies, like you! We welcome those who want to move beyond the touristy night markets and sterile mall food courts, and onto the true culinary spirit of Taiwan.
Parents, bring your children! Children, bring your parents! We aim to make your food tour in Taipei informative, fun, and most importantly- tasty.

The Path Less Traveled

Tour Taipei with Taipei Eats to go where other Taipei walking tours do not: Our tours will have you walk over 15,000 steps (yes, we’ve counted) through quiet backstreets known only to locals, in pursuit of culinary gems you won’t find listed in any guidebook.

Fresh Perspectives

Our Taipei day tours combine native knowledge with constant research to bring you the most appetizing local eats that Taipei has to offer. (Fact: we spent over six whole months simply eating food to create the itineraries for our Taipei tours. Tough job, we know)..

Expert Guidance

Our guides serve as your local friend, showing you our favorite spots around Taipei for an afternoon. When your Taiwan food tour comes to an end and your full from all the delicious Taiwan eats, we’re happy to give more recommendations, just ask!

Food: It’s Serious, It’s Respected, it’s all Excellent in Taipei

Taiwanese cuisine is comprised of a melting pot (or hot-pot, if you will) of culinary flavors and techniques from multiple cultures and culinary traditions – including those of the mainland southern China provinces Fujian and Guangzhou, as well as that of Japan. Join our food tours and submerge yourself in the local community and learn why Taipei has recently been voted by CNN readers as the best food destination in the world.

“Xiaochi” concept

Taiwanese culture is notoriously food-obsessed: most gatherings revolve around eating, and many residents will think nothing of loitering in line for hours on end to get a taste of a hyped-up culinary trend.

Combine a dizzying array of food options and a fast-pace urban life; you may glean a better understanding of the Taiwanese culinary tradition of 小吃 “xiao chi”. Literally translated as “small eats”, xiaochi are essentially substantial snacks – small bites that can be eaten throughout the day, or combined to form a full meal. Rarely found in home cooking or in restaurants, the kingdom of xiao chi is the streets, where vendors boil, fry and sauce a variety of foods that are often served on-the-go.

Common Ingredients & Favorites

Pork is popular (sorry, vegetarians – but we have love for you as well). As Taiwan is an island, seafood also features heavily in Taiwanese cuisine. Common flavorings in Taiwanese cooking include garlic, soy, sesame, sugar and green onion.

History

Taiwanese cuisine is comprised of a melting pot (or hot-pot, if you will) of culinary flavors and techniques from multiple cultures and culinary traditions – including those of the mainland southern China provinces Fujian and Guangzhou, as well as that of Japan.

You know a dish is an obsession when it gets its own festival.

The most common ingredients found in Taiwanese food are pork, seafood, chicken, rice, and soy. However, during the early 1900s, beef noodle soup was introduced into Taiwan from outside provinces of China. This dish has now become one of the more renowned dishes associated with Taiwan. Taipei has a number of well-known places that serve this dish that we do recommend. Just ask us and we’d be happy to show you the way on your food tour in Taiwan.

2002: Emergence of Taiwan Craft Beer

Taiwan Tobacco and Wine Monopoly Bureau had a monoploy on beer and tobacco until Taiwan entered the WTO in 2002, giving birth to the Taiwan craft beer scene and the end of the monopoly Taiwan beer held since 1946. Since then we’ve seen over 10 breweries open, mostly over the last 4 years. The flavors range from typical IPA to a variety of flavors created for the local flavor palette. With these flavors we are lucky to soon offer our Taipei beer tour and our Taipei drinking tour.

Evolution of the Taipei Night Markets

Night markets have been around since A.D. 836. What started as small gatherings in street corners began to really grow starting in the 1950s. Over time vendors created simplified versions of banquet dishes, which solidified Taiwan’s xiaochi culture and became a staple of our everyday lives. Originally an epicenter for food, decades of transformation grew to centers of pop culture. Come on our Taipei night market tour and visit night markets as they were in the 1950s.