Tainan Food Guide: Taste of Tainan

One of Tainan’s most popular breakfast foods is beef soup. Unlike the normal beef noodle soup in Taiwan, Tainan eats it with just meat and broth. We wanted to enjoy it with the locals, and visited Six Thousand Beef Soup. This restaurant is located at a street stall, and only has outdoor seating. We saw that is was very popular as every seat was occupied, but luckily we didn’t have to wait long. It’s important to come early as some of the soups can sell out quickly. The staff sent one of their children to speak English to us, and asked what we would like to eat. She was rather cute and her mom was very friendly.

We decided to order their first and second popular dish: beef soup and beef burdock soup. Usually you eat it with rice, but we needed to save our appetite for more eats later. We started with the beef soup that had lean pieces of meat and dipped it into a sweet ginger sauce. The beef was nice and tender which made it easy to chew. I personally enjoyed the beef burdock (sirloin) soup which had fattier cuts of meat. The broth is very simple with a clean flavor. It was one of my favorite breakfast dishes we had around the world, as it is light, simple, and packs a ton of flavor.

Luckily near Anping Fort, there is a famous stall came highly recommended. We arrived as soon as it opened. Our bread was freshly fried and piping hot. I imagined it would taste like clam chowder inside of toast, but as soon as I bit, the toast had a oily fried flavor and the filing was a seafood cream soup taste. I liked it a lot more than I thought as the filling wasn’t chunky like my past experiences of clam chowder. I preferred in mini size as it is easier to have even portions in one bite.

Another popular dish in Tainan is migao. We decided to visit a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant: Bao An Road Rice Cake. Migao is steamed sticky rice topped with braised pork, peanuts, pork floss, and cucumber. Before trying the food, I knew this would be my favorite dish in Tainan, and I was right. The braised pork had fattier small cuts of meat which gave it texture points, and the peanuts added crunchiness. Incorporating it together with the pork floss was chef’s kiss. The shop is rather small and can only seat about 10 people, but luckily we were able to be seated right away. I really loved this dish and wished I could have eaten more, but there was still more eating to do in Tainan. 

Lily Fruit is a fruit and dessert shop that has been in Tainan since 1947. We have never had shaved ice in Taiwan before, so here is a great place to start. We ordered and grabbed a seat outside. We chose mixed fruit shaved ice, since the owner recommend that to us and a plate of sliced tomatoes which are really popular. As the mixed fruit shaved ice came out it looked amazing and so colorful. I don’t eat a lot of fresh fruit because it’s really expensive in South Korea, so I was ready to continue my halted fruit journey. The shaved ice had a sweet syrup, milk, and a variety of fruit! We were burning up that day, it wasn’t just delicious but it also cooled us down.

I have heard that the tomatoes here are a must try, but I didn’t understand why. Michael and I aren’t the biggest tomato fans, but we wanted to see why they are so popular. When we got our plate of tomatoes it came with a ginger sauce. I love ginger, and I smiled ear to ear when I had the sauce, it changed my feelings entirely. This is a must try when visiting Lily Fruit! We loved the nice balance of sweet, acidic, and salty flavor. Michael was skeptical about ginger being paired with tomatoes, but it worked out quite well.

After we received our food, we mixed in the runny egg yolk into the rice and took a bite. It had a slight garlic taste from the fried garlic on top, and simply seasoned rice. It wasn’t the most flavorful dish we had in Tainan, but it was refreshing after eating so many dishes packed with flavor. The pork skewers and fish ball soup were fine as they had familiar flavors. What also adds to the atmosphere of this place is that all the furniture is classroom desks and chairs. I can say I did learn something here, a taste of Tainan offers not just powerful flavors but a simplicity as well.

As we were walking down Shennong Street, we saw a huge glass window and a neon sign that said “To Beer Or Not To Beer.” I was so intrigued by the building that after we finished walking the street we decided to go inside. The building is made out of concrete with one big glass window. I couldn’t find the door handle, so I kept circling the building looking for a way inside. Michael had to read their Google reviews for us to figure out that we need to push the giant window, as it’s a massive rotating door. We aren’t the only ones that were confused, as I noticed others having trouble getting inside. WE Drink Beer Company is a local brewery in Tainan, and this is their main storefront.

After finally entering the store, we sat on the concrete bench, as there are no chairs or tables, just elevated concrete ledges. There were so many types and flavors of beer available. They even have some of their beer on draft. I had the peach cider since I love sour flavors, and Michael tried the Weizen on draft. He loved it so much, he decided to get another glass of the Belgian witebier. After finishing his beers, he finally understood from this experience why people really enjoy craft beer. So from now on, we will stay away from craft breweries so he doesn’t get any ideas and ruin beer for himself like he has for coffee.