Although Taipei didn’t become my favourite city, there’s something I really loved here: the food.

Before visiting a new place, it’s worth following some local foodies (start with hashtags like #taiwanfood #taipeifoodie #taipeieats) because they know the authentic taste and the secret places well.

On the streets, I always follow the smell and decide by intuition (I have a sixth sense for food), and so far so good. Taipei has a full scale from street food to Michelin restaurants, but who wants to try over-sophisticated (primarily European) cuisine when there’s the best dirty pork on the street?

On my first night, I had to learn a few things. First, after 9 pm, it’s challenging to find anything open (but you can trust the good ol’ 7-Eleven). Second, they are totally up for dumplings. And third, the best places don’t have a menu – if you don’t speak Chinese (sorry, Taiwanese Hokkien) and have no idea what they offer, just smile and eat what they set before you – I promise it will be delicious. This is exactly how I got a huge hot beef noodle soup.. with mushrooms and clams. To understand: those two things are on my ban list, but I was cool (or tired to freak out?), put them aside, and had a delicious welcome dinner. (Note: usually, the soups are basic, but they have a bunch of chilies and other stuff to upgrade according to your taste – use them!)

The Taoyuan is a cute food street where you can find everything from soups and noodles to sweets and coffee. The first morning I got a matcha latte and a dan bing (savoury egg pancake). Most vendors don’t have a place to sit down; they specialize in takeaways, so I had my breakfast on a bench in the Friday sunshine. The dan bing was delicious: fried with spring onion and lots of cheese, with soy sauce on the side. I clearly remember the feeling of opening the little box, seeing the tempting slices, then smiling while eating them. The matcha latte just put the crone of perfection to it.

After this strong start, it was no stop – seriously, I always had some food in my hand. Taipei’s top 3 significant dishes are dumplings, braised beef noodle soup, and minced pork rice. Of course, there’s always a difference in quality and price, but to find the best places, just follow the one simple rule: where a queue is, that must be good!

Dumplings are the most common street food in Taipei, and even when all food vendors are closed, you can still be sure to find an open dumpling place. I tried to taste them all, and my absolute favourite is the simple pork dumpling.

It was funny to stop and stand in a line the first time without knowing what I was actually waiting for. The menu was in Chinese only, and it was so crowded around the lady who served the food that I couldn’t see anything. I waited patiently for my turn, a lady before me helped with the order, and finally, I got the juicy-spicy dumplings. I was only sad to buy only two pieces (the average orders are ca. 12-30 dumplings). Xiangbaoz (at SOGO) is great, and a real after-work-stop for locals.

The niu rou mian (braised beef noodle soup) is a real hit. I had the best one at Fuhong Beef Noodles, where the lady asked only one thing: Small, medium, or large? This place is always crowded, and they make the soup very well. I took a medium one, and it was full of meat and noodles, perfectly flavoured, smelled and tasted heavenly.

The lu rou fan (minced pork rice) is one of the simplest dishes, but the savour of the meat and the sauce is excellent and perfect with the sticky rice. The Jin Feng is pretty famous and was my favourite. You can ask for small or large, and they have a sort of other dishes too (all look and taste delicious). They don’t speak English, but according to my experience, there’s always someone to help you.

Taipei is also full of sweet things. My natural addictions are mochi & pineapple cake.

If you ask me, mochi is the best food invention ever. Taiwanese mochi is well-known, easy to find, and, OMG so tasty. The best of the best is at Taipei Station, with a wide range of flavours.

The SunnyHills pineapple cake is mentioned everywhere to try, so it was a mandatory round for me, too. You can have a taster (one set of cake and tea) for free. This cake is very common and usually brought as a gift, totally mainstream-hipster-fancy, but damn.. it tastes so good. As it’s fresh-made and has a best-before date, there was no option to take it home as a souvenir.. I had to eat it all. And I think it started here.

I haven’t been a huge fan of pineapple, mostly because it’s not a local fruit in my country. The first time I really enjoyed it was on a boat trip in Thailand, and ever since I have appreciated it more and more. After having this delish, soft, and juicy cake every morning, I became an addict. I never thought that once a fruit would mean that much to me, but if I drew my trip with only one thing, it would be a pineapple (or maybe a pineapple mochi?).

Taipei is a food mecca that offers many more: stinky tofu, bubble tea, seafood, etc. If I ever consider coming back for a second sight, it will definitely be because of the food and this: Chun Cui He.