Vision / Scenic Bites on the Highway: Eight Must-Try Local Delicacies at Service Areas

Text by Lin Jia-yi

When was the last time you visited a highway service area?

Starting from Taipei and heading south on Highway No. 3, you’ll pass service areas such as Guanxi, Xi Hu, Qingshui, Nantou, Gukeng, Dongshan, and Guanmiao. From the mountain-surrounded views of Guanxi and the enchanting night scenery of Qingshui, all the way down to Dongshan, which resembles a Boeing 747, these seven service areas each have their own unique character—not just rest stops, but like seven amusement parks nestled along the freeway.

Going the other direction, take Highway No. 1 northbound. From the southernmost Ren De, passing through Xinying, Siluo, Tai’an, Hukou, and Zhongli. These six long-standing service areas, which have accompanied Taiwanese people for three or four decades, have recently undergone one renewal after another. The old streets of Hukou in Hsinchu from the 1970s, Anping Tree House and Xinying Sugar Refinery—both iconic sights in Tainan—have all been cleverly integrated into the architecture. Taking a lap around them is like completing a mini-trip across Taiwan.

Even more delightful is that service areas now frequently invite famous local street food vendors to set up shop—such as Hai Rui’s Fried Meatballs at the Xi Hu service area in Miaoli, Zhou’s Shrimp Rolls at Dong Shan in Tainan, and Wang Ta’s Rice Cake in Qingshui, Taichung. A trip to the service areas isn’t just a pit stop—it’s a chance to savor some of Taiwan’s most popular queue-worthy dishes.

For service area operators, local snacks are affordable, consistently reliable in quality, and highlight regional characteristics—all of which help in securing operating rights and attracting customers. For the snack vendors, the constant flow of travelers passing through service areas helps boost their visibility. It’s a win-win partnership.

More Than Just Passing Through, It’s Entering Daily Life

The turning point in the transformation of Taiwan’s service areas came when the National Freeway Bureau introduced a new concession mechanism starting in 2011, actively promoting affordable, everyday dining. Rather than focusing solely on high franchise fees from vendors, the emphasis shifted to whether they could offer delicious yet reasonably priced meals—ushering in the “People’s Food Era” for service area cuisine.

Nowadays, even on weekdays, service areas are bustling with diners during mealtimes. Staples such as bento boxes at Guanxi and Hukou, grilled fish cake skewers and dried tofu at Gukeng, remain must-try dishes that many specifically come to enjoy—even if it means waiting in line.

Especially at central and southern service areas, where nearby residents have few restaurant options, it has become common to visit rest stops for meals and gatherings. At the Xi Hu service area in Miaoli, locals often bring their own teaware for morning tea sessions, while the coffee shop at Qingshui service area regularly hosts regulars meeting clients for business discussions in the afternoon. All of this makes service areas more than just transit points—they’ve become part of everyday life.

To further promote service area cuisine, the National Freeway Bureau held its first-ever “Scenic Bites on the Highway” online voting campaign this year, featuring representative dishes from 14 highway service areas competing against each other.

In the end, the winner was the Preserved Plum Pork Belly Bento from Guanxi, the Pork Rib Bento from Hukou, the Happy Lemon Burger from Xinying, the Fried Saba Fish Belly Set from Dongshan, the Makau Leg Quarter Rice from Zhongli, and the Stir-Fried Rice Vermicelli Set from Xi Hu—each receiving over 25,000 votes to be crowned the people’s favorite highway delicacies.

Wu Mufu, Acting Director of the National Freeway Bureau, emphasized that while significant progress has been made in managing service areas over recent years, the goal of the online voting campaign is to inspire more people to step out and explore the culinary offerings at these rest stops.

This issue of takes you on a preview tour of six major service areas—Guanxi, Zhongli, Hukou, Xi Hu, Xinying, and Dongshan—to sample the newly crowned highway food stars. We’ve also handpicked two cozy cafes, so you can find a tranquil corner amidst the hustle of traffic to enjoy a great cup of coffee.

Hit the road for a highway food adventure!

[This article is excerpted from the November issue of CommonWealth Magazine; for more articles, please visit the CommonWealth Magazine official website:]http://goo.gl/tFhyw]