North vs. South Zongzi Taste-Off: Top 5 Popular Dragon Boat Festival Meat Zongzi

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team

The most exciting highlight of the Dragon Boat Festival is eating meat zongzi, and Taiwanese zongzi also vary by region, including northern-style, southern-style, central-style,Hakka-style, and others. While the fillings of southern zongzi don’t differ much from those of northern zongzi, the southern style is characterized by soaking long-grain raw rice and peanuts separately,with the raw rice being boiled in water.The northern method, on the other hand,involves semi-cooked rice that is steamed to infuse flavor.

1. Liu Family Meat Zongzi – Steamed North, Boiled South Taiwanese Style
The Liu Family Meat Zongzi not only offers a wide variety of flavors but also follows a low-margin, high-volume business model, selling tens of thousands during holidays. Buying their zongzi often requires waiting in line. Currently, Liu Family offers salted egg yolk meat zongzi, southern-style zongzi, Manhan zongzi, and more. Whether you prefer northern or southern styles, both deliver excellent taste. The level of satisfaction is not compromised by price.
 
Shimen Fugi Branch: No. 58-18, Zuizi Jiao, Shimen District, New Taipei City
Shimen Branch: No. 30, Zhongyang Road, Shimen District, New Taipei City
Shilin Branch: No. 726, Wenlin Road, Shilin District, Taipei City

2. Sixi Food Store – Huzhou Zongzi
Sixi Food Store serves a taste of home from the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions. Many customers even go out of their way to buy it before traveling abroad or immediately upon returning. Their Huzhou zongzi is slender in shape, with a single piece of pork wrapped inside round glutinous rice that has been pre-soaked in sauce.
 
Address: No. 46, Lane 60, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Da’an District, Taipei City (inside Xinwei Market)
Business Hours: 9:00 - 21:00

3. Chengjia Meat Zongzi
Chengjia Meat Zongzi is a century-old shop in Hsinchu. Aside from classic northern-style zongzi, you can also enjoy Hakka-style zongzi here, especially those made using pork belly, which have an exceptionally rich flavor. The shop has expanded over the years and still serves a wide range of traditional snacks, all with a satisfying taste.
 
Main Store: No. 81, Section 2, Jingguo Road, North District, Hsinchu City
Beimen Branch: No. 49, Beimen Street, North District, Hsinchu City

4. Zaifa Hao
Established in the 11th year of the Tongzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1872), Zaifa Hao Meat Zongzi has been passed down to the fifth generation. The recipe continuously evolved with innovation, yet the current iteration still delivers the century-old, traditional rich flavors. Premium ingredients such as mushrooms, dried scallops, sakura shrimp, salted egg yolks, and chestnuts are used. The modernized storefront retains the taste of history.
 
Address: No. 71, Section 2, Minquan Road, West Central District, Tainan City