Tan Zuo Ma Li
Tan Zuo Ma Li Grill and Japanese Restaurant (tàn zuǒ má lǐ shāo ròu hé shí 碳佐麻里燒肉和食) Long may you wait. Even with reservations, you may find yourself lingering around the entrance of this extremely popular Japanese grill for quite some time. It seems the architects had this in mind while designing the building, as … Continue reading
Rolling Egg
Rolling Egg (Fāngǔnba Dànjuǎn 翻滾吧，蛋捲!) Eggs are rolling into Western-style breakfasts all day long on Tainan’s East Side. Bacon and eggs, omelets, scrambles, Eggs Benedict, pancakes, waffles, and steak breakfasts can be ordered off the menu from open to close. If breakfast food isn’t on your mind, their whole menu is available at any time … Continue reading
Hot! Pizza
Hot! Pizza People who love pizza generally fall into two camps: those who like their pizza thick and bread-like, and those who prefer a thin crust with chewy edges. In Taiwan, the former are well-served. But those of us who like thin crust pizza now have an oasis at Hot!, a new shop on a … Continue reading
Yongle Shao Rou Fan
Yongle Shao Rou Fan (Yǒnglè Shāo Ròu Fàn 永樂燒肉飯) If you judge a shop’s food by how busy it is, then the food at jam-packed Yongle Shao Rou Fan should be divine. And quite frankly, it is. This is a shop that’s been around for over 60 years and so they know their business. Specializing … Continue reading
Julius Mannich Merchant House
Julius Mannich Merchant House (Dōngxīng Yángháng 東興洋行) Foreigners were barred from trading in Taiwan for most of the Qing dynasty, but the 1858 Treaty of Tianjin forced open four harbors in Taiwan to foreign traders. Anping was one of them. The five big foreign trading companies of the time were Bains & Co., Boyd & … Continue reading
Ah Cun Beef Soup
Ah Cun Beef Soup (Ā Cún Niúròu Tāng 阿村牛肉湯) Believe it or not, you can go out to eat beef soup at 4 a.m. in Tainan. You might wonder why this particular dish is served at this particular hour. Is it to service early-rising construction workers? Maybe it’s because this is when the bars let … Continue reading
Masa Loft (Cafe)
Masa Loft (Mǎshā Luófú 瑪莎羅芙) Across the street from NCKU at the entrance of the university’s food street is a chic cafe called Masa Loft. The cafe is on the third floor of a building overlooking Daxue Road, and is appropriately named as ‘a loft.’ It has lots of light, a wide-open layout, and hardwood … Continue reading
Greenhouse Delicatessen
Greenhouse Delicatessen (Lùwū 綠屋) This longstanding restaurant serving western food is very popular with locals and foreigners. For years, it was tucked into an alley off of Fuzhong Street, across from Chen Yonghua Temple and near the Confucian Temple. A few months ago, it moved to its current location on Fulian Road to the southeast … Continue reading
Chikan Peddler’s Noodles
Chikan Peddler’s Noodles (Chìkǎn Dànzǐmiàn 赤崁擔仔麵) Tainan is famous for its xiaochi. Xiaochi literally means small eat and is usually translated as “snack food,” but it’s not really snack food in the way westerners think of snack food. It’s more like tapas. Traditionally this food has been served from night market stalls, vendor carts, and … Continue reading
Tainan Night Markets
Tainan Night Markets (Táinán Yèshì 台南夜市) Anyone will tell you that the essential Taiwanese cultural experience is a visit to any of the island’s numerous night markets. Pubs and night clubs are mere subcultures compared to the mass-assembly of nightlife in Taiwan’s night markets, and many Taiwanese never tire of braving the crowds. Tainan is … Continue reading
Tainan City Guide 