Dishes
What to eat in Tainan
The dishes behind the shops: what they are, where they came from and how locals eat them. Each one lists the places in this guide that serve it.
滷肉飯Braised pork rice
Steamed rice under a spoonful of pork simmered in soy sauce, Taiwan's everyday bowl.
7 places
虱目魚Milkfish
Tainan's signature fish, eaten from breakfast onwards as belly, head soup, skin, congee and fish balls.
7 places
鹹粥Tainan savoury congee
A soupy rice breakfast with milkfish, oysters and fried garlic in a clear fish broth.
6 places
米糕Migao (sticky rice with pork sauce)
A small bowl of steamed glutinous rice topped with braised pork sauce, fish floss and peanuts.
4 places
虱目魚皮湯Milkfish skin soup
Strips of milkfish skin with a little flesh attached, served in a clear broth at breakfast.
4 places
四神湯Sishen soup
A mild herbal pork soup, the classic partner for a bowl of migao in Tainan.
4 places
擔仔麵Danzai noodles
Noodles in shrimp broth topped with braised minced pork and a shrimp, Tainan's signature snack.
3 places
鴨肉飯Duck rice
Sliced duck over rice, usually with a duck soup on the side. Tainan also serves duck with preserved cabbage.
3 places
羊肉湯Goat and lamb soup
Thin slices of fresh goat or lamb cooked by hot bone broth in the bowl, a Tainan breakfast and tonic.
3 places
芒果冰Mango shaved ice
A mound of shaved ice buried under fresh mango, a summer fixture in Tainan.
3 places
Shrimp roll
Shrimp and cabbage rolled up and deep-fried in a thin, crisp coat, a Tainan snack.
3 places
牛肉湯Tainan beef soup
Raw slices of same-day beef cooked in the bowl by a ladle of boiling broth, eaten in Tainan from before dawn.
3 places
剉冰Taiwanese shaved ice
A mound of finely shaved ice under sweet toppings such as beans, tangyuan and syrup.
3 places
肉圓Ba-wan (meat dumpling)
A soft, translucent starch dumpling stuffed with pork and served in a sweet-savoury sauce.
2 places
虱目魚丸湯Milkfish ball soup
Springy fish balls made from milkfish in a clear bone broth, a Tainan staple.
2 places
虱目魚羹Milkfish thick soup
A Tainan market snack of soft milkfish paste pieces in a starch-thickened broth.
2 places
米粿Pan-fried rice cake
Slices of steamed rice cake fried golden and served with pork sauce, a runny egg and chilli sauce.
2 places
stir-fried beef with Chinese kale
Fresh beef and Chinese kale tossed in a very hot wok, the side dish most tables add to a bowl of beef soup.
2 places
蝦仁飯Tainan shrimp rice
Rice stir-fried in bonito stock with small shrimp, a Tainan dish with Japanese-era roots.
2 places
碗粿Wa-gui (bowl rice cake)
A savoury rice pudding steamed in its own bowl, with pork, egg and dried shrimp inside.
2 places
意麵Yi mein (yi-mian noodles)
Springy egg noodles, served dry with meat sauce in Yanshui and Kaohsiung, or pot-cooked in broth in Tainan.
2 places
當歸鴨Angelica duck noodle soup
Duck simmered in a dark herbal broth flavoured with dang gui (Chinese angelica root), usually eaten with noodles.
1 place
小卷米粉Baby squid rice-noodle soup
Tender baby squid and thick rice noodles in a clear, peppery broth.
1 place
banquet braised whole chicken
A whole chicken fried, braised and steamed over many hours, then turned out of a bowl under a sweet-savoury sauce: a centrepiece of the Taiwanese banquet.
1 place
滷魚皮braised fish skin
Fish skin braised in soy sauce until soft and silky, a side dish to go with migao.
1 place
黑糖粉粿brown sugar sweet potato jelly
A soft, springy jelly made from sweet potato starch and brown sugar, eaten over shaved ice.
1 place
Cantaloupe ice in a melon
Half a cantaloupe filled with melon ice and topped with melon balls, a winter dessert at a Tainan fruit-ice shop.
1 place
蛤蜊麵Clam noodles
Noodles in a clam broth. The best-known version in Tainan uses a creamy soy-milk soup.
1 place
棺材板Coffin bread
A hollowed, fried block of thick toast filled with a creamy stew and closed with a bread lid.
1 place
crab balls
House-made crab balls, part of the cold-cut platter at Tainan's old Taiwanese restaurants.
1 place
東坡肉Dongpo braised pork belly
Thick squares of pork belly braised slowly in rice wine, soy and rock sugar until they melt.
1 place
豆花Douhua (tofu pudding)
Silky, just-set soybean curd served sweet with syrup and toppings.
1 place
乾意麵dry yi mian with meat sauce
Yanshui's thin egg noodles served dry with minced pork sauce, a few slices of pork and bean sprouts.
1 place
duck casserole
A whole duck simmered for hours with napa cabbage, dried flatfish and garlic, an old Tainan banquet dish served in its pot.
1 place
鴨肉焿Duck thick soup
Slices of duck and bamboo shoots wok-fried, then served in a thickened, lightly sweet broth.
1 place
fish paste rolls
Fresh fish fillets rolled around fish paste, then steamed with egg or added to soup: an old Tainan banquet dish.
1 place
鮮魚湯Fish soup
Fresh fish in a clear, light soup, a staple of Tainan breakfast shops and home-style canteens.
1 place
five-willow sweet and sour fish
Crisp fried fish under a sweet and sour sauce with shreds of five colourful vegetables.
1 place
蒜頭飯garlic rice
The breakfast side at Tainan milkfish shops: rice dressed with garlic fried in lard.
1 place
金銀蛋時蔬Greens with three kinds of egg
Seasonal leafy greens cooked with fresh egg, salted duck egg and century egg.
1 place
Herbal braised duck feet and wings
Duck feet and wings stewed in a garlicky Chinese herbal broth, a side order at Tainan offal-soup stalls.
1 place
藥膳湯Herbal tonic soup
Soups simmered with Chinese medicinal herbs, or with sesame oil, ginger and rice wine, eaten to build strength.
1 place
Lamb skin roll
Springy, gelatin-rich rolled lamb skin with a dipping sauce, made only on holidays at a Xinhua lamb soup shop.
1 place
Milkfish belly soup
The rich, fatty belly of Taiwan's favourite fish, cooked in a clear broth.
1 place
Milkfish sausage
A sausage made from milkfish instead of pork, a fish-farm way to use the whole fish.
1 place
綜合丸湯Mixed meatball soup
Tainan rice canteens serve this clear broth of assorted pork and fish balls as their standard soup.
1 place
烏魚子炒飯Mullet roe fried rice
Fried rice tossed with crumbs of salted, dried mullet roe.
1 place
扁魚白菜napa cabbage with dried flatfish
Napa cabbage cooked with dried flatfish and dried shrimp, an old-style Taiwanese vegetable dish.
1 place
古早味紅茶Old-style black tea
Black tea shaken with caramelised sugar, sold from small stands in Tainan.
1 place
蚵嗲Oyster fritter
A ladle-shaped fritter of oysters, cabbage and chives, deep-fried until crisp outside.
1 place
蚵仔煎Oyster omelette
Small oysters fried with egg and a chewy sweet potato starch batter.
1 place
Pig-head rice
Small bowls of rice cooked in pork-head stock, a Yanshui speciality eaten with braised side dishes.
1 place
Pork heart glass-noodle soup
Slices of gently cooked pork heart in clear soup with glass noodles, often with other offal alongside.
1 place
紅豆月見牛奶冰Red bean milk ice with egg yolk
Soft milk ice with sweet red beans and a raw egg yolk in the middle. An old Yanshui favourite.
1 place
Rou mi xia (shrimp-topped vegetable broth)
Fried small shrimp from Anping set on a thick broth of diced vegetables, from the old Tainan banquet repertoire.
1 place
Salt-steamed grouper
Grouper steamed with salt, ordered at Anping's Xie Shopkeeper for its gelatinous texture.
1 place
Salted egg yolk squid
Squid cooked with salted duck egg yolk, a rich, savoury seafood dish that goes well with rice.
1 place
麻油麵線Sesame oil noodles
Very thin wheat noodles tossed in sesame oil, eaten as part of a herbal tonic soup set.
1 place
麻油腰子Sesame oil pork kidney
Pork kidney cooked with sesame oil, one of the three signature dishes at Jin Fu, a Tainan eel specialist.
1 place
鴨肉切盤Sliced duck
A plate of boiled or smoked duck, chopped and served on its own, often next to duck rice.
1 place
土魠魚羹Spanish mackerel thick soup
Chunks of deep-fried Spanish mackerel in a thick, savoury-sweet broth, often with noodles or rice.
1 place
Squid and whelk soup
A Taiwanese banquet soup of squid, whelk and garlic that is now hard to find in Tainan.
1 place
炒牛肉Stir-fried beef
Fresh local beef or beef tongue, flash-fried over high heat at a Tainan beef soup house.
1 place
Stir-fried milkfish stomach
A milkfish offal cut, plainly stir-fried, found at restaurants that cook the whole fish.
1 place
草莓牛奶冰Strawberry milk ice
Shaved milk ice piled with fresh strawberries, a seasonal special from about November to April.
1 place
Sweet glutinous rice porridge
A sweet porridge of glutinous rice, served hot or cold at one of Tainan's oldest dessert stalls.
1 place
Tainan-style fried pork liver
Pork liver seasoned with five-spice and flashed over a fierce flame for about a minute so it stays tender.
1 place
黑輪Taiwanese oden
Fish cakes, tofu and other pieces simmered in a light broth, Taiwan's version of Japanese oden.
1 place
圓仔湯Tangyuan (sweet rice-ball soup)
Chewy glutinous-rice balls in a sweet soup, served hot or cold, often with red beans or peanuts.
1 place
Tomato plate with ginger soy dip
Fresh tomato eaten as fruit, dipped in a sweet and salty sauce of soy paste, ginger, sugar and licorice.
1 place
鱔魚意麵Wok-fried eel noodles
Rice-paddy eel flash-fried in a sweet-and-sour sauce and served over fried egg noodles.
1 place
油條湯Youtiao soup
Fried dough stick in a light, clear broth with garlic chives. Tainan eats it on the side with migao.
1 place
Other things on the menu
- cabbage with dried shrimp 蝦乾高麗菜Cabbage stir-fried with salty dried shrimp, a light vegetable dish for the table.
- Coffee 咖啡Tainan has a long coffee history and a deep café culture, from old second-floor cafés to modern espresso bars.
- custard pudding 布丁A set egg custard with caramel, the Japanese-style 'purin' that Taiwan adopted as its everyday pudding.
- Fresh fruit, juice and fruit ice 水果店Southern Taiwan's fruit shops sell cut fruit, fresh juice and fruit piled on ice, changing with the seasons.
- Hard clams 文蛤Smooth-shelled clams farmed on the sandy coast of south-west Taiwan, cooked fresh at seafood restaurants.
- Modern noodle bars 創意麵食Alongside its old noodle stalls, Tainan has a few small counters that rework Taiwanese noodles with ideas from other cuisines.
- Pan-fried fish 煎魚A mainstay of Tainan home-style canteens: fish fried in a pan until the skin is golden and crisp.
- stir-fried instant noodles 炒泡麵Instant noodles cooked in broth and then stir-fried with extras, finished with a runny egg.
- Watermelon juice 西瓜汁Fresh watermelon juice, which Yin Feng in Yanshui blends with lemon, peel and all.