Taiwan Street Food - BEST BEEF NOODLES + 5 Must Eat Foods in Taipei!!

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Hey everyone, hope you're having an amazing day.
It's Mark Wiens.
I'm in the food-obsessed island of Taiwan.
If you love to eat, this is a paradise.
And so today, I'm gonna take you on an ultimate Taiwanese food tour.
Where we are going to eat five of the absolute best of the dishes you don't want to, you actually can't miss eating when you come to Taipei.
So it's gonna be an ultimate day of Taiwanese, some of the most delicious, some of the greatest, some of the most iconic and tasty Taiwanese foods that you can possibly eat.
You're not gonna want to miss any of this video and it's all coming up for you right now.
We are just actually a couple blocks down from Taipei Main Station, which is one of the busiest areas of all of Taipei.
And you get into this back alley.
And the name of this place is Liu San Dong Beef Noodles.
I can already smell the aroma of the first dish that we're gonna eat.
It's probably one of the most famous of all Taiwanese foods.
And this is gonna be number one on the list to eat it.
I'm talking about number one, Taiwanese beef noodles.
This is an amazing place down an alley.
It's packed right now at the lunch rush.
This place is well known.
It's a heritage restaurant.
It's a legendary place to eat beef noodles.
This is what everyone is here for, the beef.
Uncle is just explaining to us about their special beef noodles.
And they're the only restaurant that serves this homemade noodle that's the thickness of a chopstick.
And then he was also explaining about the broth, where it's all about the bones that boil in that broth for 24 hours to release all the flavor.
So it's a bone broth.
And he said that floating on top, that yellow oil, the more yellow oil, the better, because that's pure beef flavor.
Uncle is truly the king of beef noodles.
And he's so knowledgeable.
He's just explained to us some of the secrets of beef noodle.
And he says he only uses Taiwanese beef because of the texture, because of the flavor.
He knows his cuts.
He said he found us the perfect piece of beef, which looks like a brisket type of cut.
He says it has the perfect ratio of fattiness to meat.
And when they assemble them, they boil their noodles, they add in some broth, then the slices of cut beef go on.
They add in a little bit of a stock, like braising sauce, it looks like.
More of that bone marrow beef broth goes in.
It's really one of the national dishes of Taiwan.
Something that people just absolutely love.
And this is an education on it.
And what an absolute hero of beef noodles.
Oh, wow, that looks volcanic.
This metal canister, which is filled with the bones.
Uncle is about to change out the broth.
Also, that's just straight bones.
That's what's been boiling for 24 hours to create that rich broth.
There's strategic slices in the bone so that all of the flavor is unleashed.
Oh, that's impressive.
The bone just breaks like cardboard.
It's been boiling for so long.
That amount of flavor, that's what makes the broth.
The new bones going into the broth, and then a bone marrow shower.
What a technique.
Pokes the beef chunks with a chopstick, and if it sticks all the way in, then he knows it's perfectly tender.
But just by touch, by feel, that is experience.
Wow, that was incredible.
The time has finally come, and what an education on Taiwanese beef noodles before eating it.
But two different versions.
One is the braised beef, and then one is just that expertise of beef that's just boiled within the bone broth.
Both of them are extremely popular.
And one thing, they serve it with chopped up green onions, but then Uncle said he wanted me to try that broth first with no green onions, just to taste the purity of the broth, that beef flavor.
The first bite to begin this tour.
Oh, wow, that is so beefy, so pure.
Oh, so boiling hot.
You can taste all of the flavor that's just been unleashed from the bones.
The marrow has seeped out to make it rich and oily.
Let's move into that other broth real fast before we jump into all the goodies and the noodles.
That's so good, too.
Oh, man, one of the things I love about food, and I love about this place, is that the food is so good.
Uncle is just how particular he is about everything.
He has a way, he has a method, and I so respect him.
He's really a hero of beef noodles.
Oh, those noodles are superb.
They're chewy and doughy and thick.
Those are interesting, those are really tasty, and I think it's perfect with the beef noodles, because they're thick enough to kind of absorb some of that broth while remaining chewy at the same time.
One of the condiments that's on the table that a lot of people use is this pickled, preserved greens.
People add spoons of this to their noodles, and then they do have a bunch of condiments as well, including garlic, and this you peel yourself so it stays nice and clean in its wrapper.
That pickled greens is really good, too, that preserved flavor, a little bit of saltiness, a little bit of that complexity from the fermentation.
Okay, back over to the other bowl here, and this is the different type of beef, more of that brisket that's been braised, that's been cooked down without the spices.
I'll add some of the greens again to this one.
That's just like a pure taste of beef, whereas the braised one, you taste all those, I mean, the star anise, the cinnamon in there, wow.
You take a bite of noodles, nibble on the garlic, mix it all together in your mouth, get the full potency of that garlic to cleanse your mouth up, boost the aromatics.
Oh, I love raw garlic, oh, it's so good.
So what it says on the directions is you're actually not supposed to add this to your noodles, but you're supposed to take literally one bean, you eat, and chew three times, one, two, three, and then you get the beef, chew another three times, one, two, three, and then follow with broth.
All of that's mixing in your mouth at once, you get that burst of umami from the fermented bean, a little bit of chili in there, mostly for flavoring, which mixes with that beef, mixes with that broth all together in your mouth as a harmony.
You cannot make a bad choice between the two, I mean, maybe you should just try them both.
The braised one and the fresh one, but I'm kind of really loving that fresh one because it focuses more on the purity of the beef.
And then we also got some of the side dishes, this is some of the tofu, oh, that's juicy.
They have a variety of tofu, some of the kelp, different side dishes you can eat along with your beef noodles, kind of in between bites, maybe cleanse the palate.
And another very condiment side is their pickled cabbage.
Mm.
Mm, oh, that's really good.
Not salty, just a bit sour, and very crisp.
That is very refreshing.
Mm.
One of the greatest beef noodle experiences you can have.
I mean, it's like a tiny little shop, but you really feel the energy and the action and the friendliness here.
He is the king of beef noodles.
We've had an amazing, delicious bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles, which is one of the most popular, well-known Taiwanese dishes across the world.
But right here in Taiwan, for Taiwanese people, there's another dish that might even be more popular.
I'd say it's the number one comfort food of Taiwan, and we're gonna eat it next.
And I am talking about a dish called lu rou fan, which is braised pork belly in an incredible sauce over rice with a bunch of different side dishes.
We are at one of the best places in all of Taipei.
This place is called Jinta Lu Rou Fan.
I am so excited.
This is gonna be so good.
This is some serious Taiwanese food action.
All of the bubbling pots, the braised pork belly, that's the star of the show, why everyone is here.
The aroma smells so good.
You smell the star anise, you smell the cinnamon, the clove, the bay leaves in there, all those different herbs and spices that go into the cooking.
It's just hot, soupy, thick.
This dish, lu rou fan, it also has a unique story of how it was developed and why it's so common in Taiwanese food, but let's order first.
Let's see how they make it, and we'll talk more about that as we're eating.
Lu rou fan.
And everything is already cooked.
Everything's ready to go, ready to be eaten.
Everything's been braising in its own juices for hours, maybe even overnight, so it goes really fast.
They just scoop it over your rice.
We got a table right here in the front amidst all of the action, and again, the main thing that you have to come here for is the lu rou fan, but then we also got some beautiful side dishes.
You gotta have some of the hyping hot soups, one with bitter melon, one with mushroom, and then we also got a fish, we got a milkfish head, and then some of the common side vegetables like cabbage, bamboo shoots, but let's just start with that star of the show.
Oh, and even look at that egg.
It's sweating.
Look at the meaty chunks just covering that rice.
You could just tell how tender, how gooey and melt-in-your-mouth they will be.
I've never been so excited to eat lu rou fan in my whole life.
That completely dissolves in your mouth.
It's so soft.
It's actually like melted butter.
Oh, man.
And the flavor, the braising spices, the star anise, the cinnamon in there.
It's not overpowering, but it's just so soothing.
But I think it's that texture.
And like I was mentioning before, one of the great things about lu rou fan is Taiwan and Taiwanese have always been so innovative and so creative in making use of every single part of an animal that they cook and eat.
And lu rou fan is such a great example of a dish that takes just a little bit of meat and they braise it down with spices until literally it melts into this sauce, which can then be scooped over rice and flavor an entire bowl of rice with just one scoop.
Oh, it's so stunningly tasty.
And just the dripping of the lard and the pig juices just go all the way down to the bottom of your bowl.
My favorite part are not even the little lumps of pork, but the dripping, the sauce, the melted pig fat and oil at the bottom of your rice that just coats every single grain of your rice.
That is so tasty.
One of the classic sides is bamboo shoots.
And this looks like there's a little bit of the pickled or preserved greens in there as well.
I love the texture of bamboo shoots.
This one has a little bit of the greens in there, which give it a salty and acidic flavor to it.
Additionally, they have some soups here.
This one is pork ribs.
Oh, there's even some clams in here.
And then bitter melon.
Let me try that broth especially.
Oh, wow.
I love the bitter melon.
Some of the flavor has absorbed, has just been released into that broth.
It's clean, it's clear.
And then you've got that bitter finish.
Another side here that's famous is the milkfish head.
Milkfish is a fish that you can find pretty much in this region of the world, in the Philippines, in Taiwan.
Milkfish, it's a delicious fish.
I'm not totally sure how it's been cooked, but there's kind of an oily, looks like it's braised also.
You do have to be careful of the bones with the milkfish.
Yeah, you always gotta be careful of the feathery bones of a milkfish, but I love milkfish.
It has this really lean texture to it and kind of milky when you eat it.
And then that sauce is just kind of very light actually.
You can really just taste the flavor of the milkfish.
It's really good.
Okay, let's break into this egg.
You can see it actually in that pot.
It's braised within that same pork.
You can feel how kind of leathery that egg has become.
It's totally changed textures.
Wow, I think I might just have to bite the whole egg.
Oh yeah, so much flavor.
And the yolk on the inside remains so crumbly and rich.
And with every bite, you just gotta keep on going in for that rice.
It's so addictive.
It really is like taking the simple, humble bowl of rice and just giving it a flavor overdose of melted pig sauce.
The next soup we have, ribs plus shiitake mushrooms.
Wow, that shiitake mushroom just overwhelms your mouth.
That's so good, especially if you love mushrooms.
And we got the cabbage, the braised cabbage.
Just a simple flavor, but again, yeah.
Just so juicy, oily, melts in your mouth.
And then we got another fish here, a little tilapia, which again, looks like it's steamed.
Simple preparation, not a lot of seasoning or spice, but that's really the attraction of it.
Very simple, just like straight steamed, but just a little bit of a oily sauce.
The last thing that we have is the braised tofu and another classic of Taiwanese cuisine.
Look at that texture.
It's jiggly.
Jiggly.
Wow, that's almost like hardened soy milk.
It's just so milky and spongy and soft.
This whole combo, one of the great lunches of Taiwan.
And I mean, just the amount of people here every single day throughout the afternoon is just the reason why it's one of the greatest places and one of the top dishes of Taiwanese food.
So we've eaten two foods.
We've got three more to go.
Next dish is one of my favorite and also I think one of the most popular and beloved salty, savory snacks that you can eat.
And number three, the Taiwanese scallion pancake.
In Mandarin, it's Song Sua Bing.
And this is one of the greatest stalls to eat it from.
We are here.
We're gonna see the process.
It smells so good.
And they've just taken the scallion pancake to the next level.
So the process of the scallion pancake begins with a dough loaded, studded with scallions.
They make all the dough by hand at home before they come here.
They wrap it into individual sized portions.
When they get here to the stall, then they have a press.
They press it out into a little round flatbread shape, like a roti almost shape.
Then that goes onto the hot griddle and they just slow cook it until it turns gooey on the inside but it gets really crispy and brown golden on the outside.
It's just flying on that hot griddle, the clinking and the clanking.
One of the things that makes it so good is, I mean the whole process, but when he really like slaps it together with those trowels, the double trowel system to flake it up, to get the textures going.
From there, you have a couple of choices.
You could just get the standard version or you could get it with an egg or you could get the fully loaded deluxe version.
We're gonna get one of each.
Let's try that signature, the normal one first.
Oh, that texture.
Oh, it's so hot and fresh.
Actually, we should just pull it all out.
The texture is just almost like a roti.
Oh, and they put a little bit of chili sauce in here and a little bit of that soy sauce paste mixture all wrapped within a perfect handheld, slightly oily, crispy, doughy pancake.
Oh, that's hot.
That is so tasty.
Oh man, that is the perfect dough of gooeyness, flakiness, and crispiness all at the same time with the richness of the egg on the center, the saltiness of the soy sauce paste, and a little bit of chili in there.
Oh, it's so good.
This is something you have to try in Taiwan.
It's pretty thick, too.
It's hearty.
I mean, this is a snack.
I mean, especially if you get the fully loaded one.
That's a light meal right there.
Next, the fully loaded one.
It might be a dangerous move to take it fully out of the paper bag because it's so fully loaded.
We don't wanna lose anything.
But I think they actually engineered it quite well in that everything is kind of stuck together.
Oh, there's corn in it, too.
Everything's kind of stuck together.
Wait for this opening, the reveal.
Oh, look at that.
Oh, it's just steaming and piping hot.
It's a literal omelet.
There's ham, there's bacon, there's cheese singles.
Cheese is just melted in, plus honey mustard, plus the soy sauce paste, all wrapped within that same scallion pancake.
Not quite sure whether to eat it.
I think the best way is to go in taco style.
That is a masterpiece of a scallion pancake, warming me all the way to my stomach with happiness and flavor.
This particular stall is called Xiongji for their scallion pancakes.
It was featured in the Michelin Guide, one of the top quality, and it really lives up to its name.
It really is outstanding, and they're so nice.
We're gonna continue with this top five Taiwanese foods tour.
We have two more to go.
And it's arrived, and I love the name of this shop.
It's called Dai's House of Unique Stink, and we are here to eat none other than the legendary Taiwanese stinky tofu.
It's a huge part of Taiwanese culture, so you'll find it all over.
I mean, it's one of the national pastimes of food when it comes to Taiwan, but this place right here, they really specialize in high quality stinky tofu, and they have a lot of unique dishes, and you'll see all these posters around the walls dedicated to stinky tofu, the health benefits, the greatness.
You cannot leave Taiwan without trying it.
Wow.
So the first one we got is raw stinky tofu.
That's gonna be the full flavor option.
I think there's a number of different ways that you can ferment tofu.
This one is vegetarian based, so it's a brine of fermenting vegetables that makes the fermented tofu.
Oh, you can see it's turned into a cheesy kind of stickiness almost.
Oh, wow.
Yeah, that definitely has an aroma to it.
Oh, wow.
That's straight up blue cheese, creamy.
Whoa, with this aftertaste.
Oh, that is a pro-level stinky tofu right there.
Oh, man.
That is so complex.
Wow.
So next version, these are like full fried little bricks of stinky tofu.
Maybe a little dip.
As opposed to other versions of stinky tofu that I've had so far, this is like the most dense, so creamy, so thick and hearty.
Mm.
Okay, that's much less intense, and it is more spongy.
That one just kind of melts in your mouth.
Crispy on the outside.
The raw one is definitely a pro-level stinky tofu eater.
This one is much milder.
Really good.
Fried one is spectacular, and it does kind of have that kind of cottage cheesy texture to it.
By far, this is the most creamy version of stinky tofu that I've had as well.
And then finally, we have one more dish to try.
But first, try with a little piece of the pickled cabbage.
Oh, it's kind of sweet.
That kind of cleanses the palate.
Wow.
This is a stinky tofu paste that's been fermented for two years, and typically, it's almost like a sauce.
You can eat it with rice.
You can eat it as a side dish.
But for two years fermented.
Oh, wow.
That's unlike anything I've put in my mouth.
You can definitely taste some decay in that flavor.
You can feel like fumes coming out of your mouth and going up your nose with that a little bit.
And then on top of that, it has this bitterness that's so incredibly complex.
That is unique.
Oh, man.
Wow.
That is absolutely a flavor I'll never forget.
Three different versions of stinky tofu.
All of them are totally different in flavor and just like complexity.
But definitely give stinky tofu a try.
It's something with living bacteria.
It's a huge part of Taiwanese culture.
So that completes Taiwanese food.
Stinky tofu is number four.
We have one more place to go to for dinner tonight.
We're on our way there next.
This brings us to our final destination on this ultimate Taiwanese street food tour.
It's been an incredible journey.
This place is extremely popular.
Again, there's a line going out the door waiting to order.
And we came here to eat another Taiwanese food that you can't leave Taiwan without eating.
Let me see if I can pronounce the name of this restaurant.
Longmen.
Longmen.
Kezai.
Kezai.
Jiaozi Guan.
This is a hugely popular place.
And actually this is a bonus because we're doing top five dishes.
We're doing two main dishes and two things that are extremely popular.
And I think everybody that comes here gets both of them.
Both the dumplings and a mess of different braised things all the way from pork to beef to organs to eggs to potatoes and kelp and bean curd.
It's all in this pile.
And the Taiwanese name for it is lu wei.
One of the main attractions is all the Taiwanese braised pork parts and eggs and tofu skin.
Auntie has literal motor hands.
She just nonstop chops.
Oh, that is some insane chopping skills.
She just slices through it, puts it onto a plate and squeezes on some sauces and some oils.
Oh man, that looks so good.
And she's so incredibly fast.
Smells like some oils and some sauces.
We'll start with this as the dumplings are still on their way.
Everything on this plate Auntie had recommended too.
They're all like the specialties.
Green onions on top.
There's tripe in here.
We'll just kind of dig in for whatever you get and you're pretty happy.
There's beef and pork in here as well.
This is one of the coolest looking plates ever.
Just so much going on.
It's just messy and yet organized all at the same time.
Oh, that is just so good.
Oh, the dumplings.
Oh, xie xie.
Oh, oh, the hot fresh dumplings.
Oh, that is so good though.
Oh, that's some of the best Taiwanese braised flavors I've had.
You taste the sesame oil, I think, on top and the soy sauce, the star anise, the hint of like cinnamon in the back of your throat but it's not overpowering.
Mm, that's so good.
Oh, they're getting ready to put in a fresh batch of dumplings.
She drops in a whole tray of fresh dumplings.
They go into the boiling water.
They're gonna boil for about five minutes.
They'll come out piping hot and directly to orders, to your table, to your mouth.
For the dumplings, let's prepare some chili oil.
Oh, yes.
Maybe a bit of vinegar in there.
A little bit of soy sauce.
Hot, fresh, Taiwanese dumplings.
Dip in that chili oil.
Mm.
Oh, wow.
There are few things in life that are as satisfying as a dumpling.
That just explodes with meat juices in your mouth.
And at first you think that the wrapper is kind of thick but it's so smooth and so delicate and so silky and it just goes down so easily.
Oh, the dumpling is delicious.
Then we got the pickled cucumbers with chili too.
Excellent.
Smashed cucumber.
Mm.
Really crisp, really refreshing, the chili oil.
So good.
What a combination.
I gotta have one more dumpling while they're really hot and fresh before moving back into the magical pork parts.
One more thing, we should take a half bite just kind of see what's on the inside.
But they're so soupy and so juicy.
Minced pork on the inside.
A little bit of green onions or scallions in there.
And then that's just a good ratio of meat to fat, keeping them so juicy.
One of their signature braised items is that tofu bean curd as well.
That's something I really like as well.
Oh, there's bamboo shoots down here too.
This is the bean curd skin.
I love the texture.
The layers of it is really soft.
Everything is just infused with all those braising spices and sauce and soy sauce.
Way over here, Auntie recommended the bamboo shoots as well so we should dice them up.
Mmm.
And what's amazing is I think all of it is served cold.
It's almost like a salad, the way they serve this braised plate.
You've got the steamy, hot, piping hot dumplings and then you've got all the braised dishes.
Truly magical.
We still have more.
I think over here, not only is there pork, there's beef on the plate.
This looks like it's perfect for dipping in the chili oil.
So tender.
Mmm.
And the texture of it, it's like a muscle has broken down and the fat has just completely rendered into the meat itself, making it kind of oozy with a really nice texture.
I think we've tried most of the selection.
They're all really good.
They all have that same braised flavor and everything is just tender.
What a satisfying way to wrap up this ultimate Taiwanese street food tour.
I want to say a huge thank you also to my friend Tina from Taipei Eats for helping me arrange this whole tour and put this together.
I want to say a big thank you to you also for watching this video.
Please remember to give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it.
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There's gonna be more food videos that you're not gonna want to miss.
So thanks again for watching and I will see you on the next video.
Good night from Taipei.
I'll see you on the next video.