Shaped like a triangular pyramid, these zongzi are made with high-quality glutinous rice from eastern Taiwan. The rice is first stir-fried until fragrant, then paired with tender front-leg pork, large chestnuts, and chewy potatoes. No dipping sauce is needed to enjoy the unique flavor of these meat zongzi. Each one is priced at around NT$80. …
Oriental Beauty Oolong, also known as "Dongfang Meiren," "Fushou Tea," or "Pengfeng Tea," is mainly produced in northern Taiwan, including areas such as Wenshan, Nangang, Emei Township, Beibu Township, and Hengshan Township in Hsinchu, as well as Touwu in Miaoli. The finest quality comes from Pinglin in Wenshan District. The pengfeng tea produced in Miaoli County is branded under the name “Fushou Tea”; in Hsinchu, it is called…
Snack Origins: The long Guohua Street is home to many hidden traditional delights, truly a place where gems lie in plain sight. Ah Juan’s Zongzi is one of them. The owner hangs tied zongzi in strings from a pole in front of the shop. When the wind blows, these unassuming zongzi-shaped wind chimes tinkle, making for a uniquely charming signboard. As for Ah Juan’s Zongzi, it has a history of 30 years...
In Section 3 of Yanping North Road, Taipei City, right next to the “Sinsors” dance hall, you can find “Bridge Meat Zongzi” run by three siblings as soon as the lights come on in the evening. The small stall sees a constant stream of diners, and the large basket holding thousands of meat zongzi is always sold out by nightfall. With over thirty years of history, Bridge Meat Zongzi features fragrant filling and tender rice — neither too hard and raw, nor overly soft and mushy. The steaming is perfectly timed. One meat zongzi is priced at 80 New Taiwan Dollars and is made with one piece of pork belly, one chestnut, and half an egg yolk. The flavor primarily comes from the pork belly, which is marinated with selected meat ingredients, then goes through frying and braising processes to achieve a rich, crispy, and aromatic texture. The glutinous rice is stir-fried with soy sauce and various flavorful seasonings until semi-cooked, then wrapped in zongzi leaves and tied up before being steamed. The zongzi leaves consist of two layers: an inner layer of bamboo leaves and an outer layer made from cypress bamboo used for making hats, which can typically be reused several times and impart a unique aroma and heat-retention effect. The sweet and spicy dipping sauce used for the zongzi is a proprietary blend — perfectly balanced in sweetness and saltiness, numbing but not spicy. When poured over the steaming zongzi, it releases an enticing fragrance. Eating just two of these, followed by a bowl of meatball soup, makes for a satisfying midnight meal.
With a history of over 50 years, Simon's Thai-style Tempura has steadily held the top spot among local Taiwanese snacks in this category—not just because of its longevity, but more importantly because this uniquely flavored snack is full of variety and imagination. The signature dish at Simon's Thai-style Tempura originates from the foreign TV series "The Adventurer" that was hugely popular in Taiwan during the 1970s...
Kaohsiung honey is produced in the mountainous areas of Greater and Lesser Mount Gang in Tianliao Township. Since Greater Mount Gang is abundant in longan trees, the bees collect nectar from the longan blossoms to produce "longan honey," which is of exceptionally high quality. Pure honey offers a flavor that is sweet, fragrant, and slightly tangy, with varying color, consistency, and taste depending on the season. The less foam it has, the better. Currently, the most well-known honey shop in Kaohsiung is the Golden Medal Honey Shop located on Anzhao Road...
Guniang douban sauce enjoys a stellar reputation, with multiple brands available on the market. Among them, the Earth Brand produced by Mingde Company is the most renowned, selling homemade Sichuan-style douban. Although Guniang does not produce ingredients such as chili peppers, soybeans, or fava beans, it has carved out a niche for itself through the use of premium materials and adherence to traditional brewing methods. Thanks to this dedication to the brewing process...
Kaohsiung County’s Qieding Township is renowned for its mullet, and Qieding mullet roe has long been famous overseas. To this day, during the mullet fishing season, tourists flock in droves to snap up the delicacy, and the sight of vendors hawking mullet brings a lively atmosphere to the usually quiet fishing village. Mullet are warm-water migratory fish. Around the time of the winter solstice, schools of mullet pass through the seabed off the Jianan Plain to feed. At this time, the mullet are plump and mature, with richly filled roe sacs. Fishermen haul them ashore and immediately gut them to extract the roe, which is then cured into the precious mullet roe. When visiting Qieding during this period, you’ll often see fishermen sun-drying the roe—rows upon rows of golden-yellow mullet roe laid out in the open, creating quite a spectacular sight. The mullet roe sold in Qieding is authentic and high-quality, though it tends to be slightly moist and soft. It’s best to sun-dry it further at home before eating. (Kaohsiung County)
Thanks to the local lamb's springy texture and sweet taste, combined with the craftsmanship of the vendors, Kangshan lamb has earned its renowned reputation. The area offers a variety of lamb snacks, with popular choices including angelica lamb, lamb rice noodles, sesame oil lamb, and lamb offal soup. Among Kangshan’s lamb offerings, Dechang Lamb boasts the longest history and finest flavor. Its signature dishes are the big bone soup, angelica lamb, and lamb rice noodles — all made using the region’s plump castrated ram meat, simmered slowly with 11 types of Chinese herbs and various seasonings to create a delicious and nutritious meal. (Kaohsiung County)
Origin: Kaohsiung, Taiwan, China. Craftsmanship: After fishermen catch mullet, male mullets are sold to fish markets, while female mullets are dissected to extract the roe, which is sold separately from the flesh. Specialized factories that process mullet roe purchase it and first meticulously rinse the eggs to remove any impurities. The eggs are then pressed under wooden boards to remove moisture to a certain extent, flattening them...
Jiaxian Township is located at the junction of the southern part of the Yushan Mountain Range and the plains, serving as an important town at the western end of the South Cross-Island Highway. The bustling town is dotted with large signs advertising "Jiaxian Taro" and "Taro Ice City," making taro the area’s most famous specialty. Travelers passing through always stop to sample this delicacy before continuing on their way, making Jiaxian an important stop along the South Cross-Island Highway. The rich and delicious Jiaxian taro ice is known far and wide across southern Taiwan. The fertile humus soil in the region produces red-heart taro with large individual size, low water content, and high starch concentration, resulting in a crispy, refreshing texture and exceptional quality. Locals slice the taro, fry it with malt to make taro crisps, which have received high praise. Later, other tasty taro-based treats were developed, including taro ice, taro cakes, taro rice cakes, and taro mochi… Among them, taro ice stands out with its soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture that has earned widespread acclaim. (Kaohsiung County)
For locals in Kaohsiung, braised delicacies mean Deng Shifu. With a Western dining concept, Deng Shifu offers a clean and refreshing dining space along with delicate tableware, elevating the experience of eating braised food to a gourmet enjoyment. Thanks to a royal secret recipe used in the cooking process, every dish here is incredibly flavorful, with the tender and succulent braised pork trotter being a favorite among food connoisseurs. Besides braised delicacies...
Iced Grass Jelly is a famous specialty of Qishan. Located at the intersection of Zhongshan Road and Huazhong Street, “Iced Grass Jelly City” was established in 1926 and is Taiwan’s oldest Iced Grass Jelly shop. The Iced Grass Jelly here is soft and chewy, with a fine, firm, and evenly-textured ice that doesn’t crumble when bitten. It has multiple branches in Tainan, Kaohsiung, and other areas...
Wu Ji Cake Shop is a renowned traditional bakery in the Kaohsiung area, with over 60 years of history. It still follows traditional methods of production and is a well-known local specialty in Fengshan. Though influenced by modern trends, Wu Ji also sells Western-style breads and cakes, regular customers still specifically request traditional Chinese pastries. Its rich and authentic traditional flavors are the secret behind Wu Ji’s enduring reputation.
The Three Treasures of Gangshan refer to doubanjiang (spicy bean paste), honey, and lamb snacks. Along the Provincial Highway passing through the urban area of Gangshan Township, traces of these three treasures can be seen everywhere. Gangshan's doubanjiang enjoys a well-established reputation, with several brands available on the market, among which Mingde Company’s Earth Brand is the most famous for producing and selling Sichuan-style doubanjiang. Although Gangshan does not grow chili peppers, soybeans, or fava beans—the main ingredients—its high-quality selection and adherence to traditional brewing methods have allowed it to carve out a niche of its own. Thanks to this dedication to the brewing process, Earth Brand doubanjiang has become highly popular, evolving from a street vendor operation into a food factory, and even gaining fame overseas.
The oilpaper umbrellas of Meinong are exquisitely crafted, with beautiful Chinese paintings and calligraphy adorning their surfaces. It is said that Meinong oilpaper umbrellas originated from Chaozhou, Guangdong. In traditional Hakka customs, a bride’s dowry must include two oilpaper umbrellas, as the word “paper” (纸) sounds like “child” (子), symbolizing the wish for an early birth of a son. Additionally, the round shape of the umbrella represents “fulfillment in all things.” …
Taiwanese meat zongzi is divided into northern-style and southern-style. Southern-style zongzi involves lightly stir-frying glutinous rice and peanuts without adding soy sauce color. The fillings include pork, shallots, chestnuts, pressed tofu, taro, and more. The wrapped zongzi are then steamed in water until the rice is fully cooked. When eating, they are dipped in seasonings. Because they are directly boiled and take longer to cook, the flavor is rich. For high-quality peanut zongzi, only long-grain glutinous rice is used, the bamboo leaves are premium Ma bamboo leaves specially purchased from Meishan in Chiayi, and the peanuts are top-grade selections from various peanut farms, achieving the perfect level of tenderness. Recommendation: Cai Zong Li Zongzi. This is a long-standing zongzi shop in downtown Kaohsiung. The owner maintains consistent methods from the ingredients to the bamboo leaves. Address: No. 159, Chenggong 1st Road, Lingya District
The steamed shrimp seasoned with pepper salt boasts tender and delicious meat. Though flavored only with salt, it’s addictive the more you eat. The shells are extremely soft—you can even eat them along with the shrimp. Recommended: Stall No. 130 at Liuhuo Night Market in Xinxing District (located at the intersection of Liuhuo 2nd Road and Zili 2nd Road). Operating hours: 17:00–06:00…
Thanks to its geographical conditions and climate, southern Taiwan produces a wide variety of fruits, among which papaya is particularly representative. Papaya milk is an essential summer fruit drink to try when visiting Kaohsiung. Papayas thrive in rainy weather, making them especially delicious in summer, with their sweetness also increasing accordingly. Freshly squeezed from local papayas, this drink leaves a memorable aftertaste…
Guanyin Mountain is a very famous tourist attraction in Dashe, Kaohsiung County. Every holiday, it draws large crowds of visitors coming out for leisurely hikes. Under the clear blue sky and warm sunshine, every excited heart can find peace here. For many, hiking up the mountain and working up a sweat is the most relaxing way to enjoy a trip. In addition, there’s another compelling reason that keeps people coming back—the bucket chicken at the foot of the mountain. Its irresistible aroma is another major draw that makes visitors fall in love with Guanyin Mountain, adding even more color to this forest adventure.