10 Best Restaurants in Taitung

Seven Quinoa is located in Taitung city centre and has been an iconic restaurant here for decades. The restaurant promotes healthy eating, so 90% of its dishes feature red quinoa. Studies suggest that the nutritional value of red quinoa is higher than that of other grains, and its dietary fiber is seven times that of sweet potatos. Seven Quinoa offers a wide selection of creative dishes, including red quinoa stew with chicken. The free-range Luye chicken is stewed with mushrooms and red quinoa stalks, giving it a distinctive flavor.

Don't miss their daily special – thirteen-flavour stewed beef tendon noodle soup. Boiled for 12 hours with beef bones, vegetables and 13 unique spices and paired with beef tendon cooked for 48 hours at a low temperature, this dish is popular with foodies. In addition to local and seasonal ingredients, the restaurant uses the sous vide method to not only retain the original flavor of the ingredients, but also fulfill their aim of providing healthy, low-carb dishes for diners.

Colorful Fruit Bubble Tea is in Taitung city centre. While the decor may be simple, this nostalgic restaurant is a favorite with locals. The restaurant serves a variety of fruit beverages and dishes. Check out the menu written by the shop owner and choose from dishes like toast, salad, donburi, fried rice, noodles and many more. Everything is made to order with quality ingredients, and you can sample a variety of dishes without breaking the bank.

While you're here, don't miss out on the chance to try their most popular dish, pork loin donburi. You'll get a huge bowl filled with a thick piece of tonkatsu, some cabbage, tomato salad, white radish kimchi and rice drenched in gravy. The golden and crispy pork chop is about one centimeter thick, and you'll be surprised at how tender and juicy it is. It's terrific value for money.

Don't miss out on the opportunity to savor some seafood when you visit Taitung. Song Ma Ma Xin Fa Seafood in Chenggong Township is about an hour’s drive from Taitung city centre. At mealtimes, you'll find crowds of diners lining up at the door. Take a closer look, and you'll see the walls and ceiling covered with signatures – proof that this restaurant is popular with travelers from afar and food-show TV crews.

This restaurant serves freshly caught seafood, and since the catches vary by season, there's no menu for reference. However, there are still a few dishes on the fixed menu, such as seasonal sashimi, pickled cabbage with grouper belly, black pepper salt pork, seaweed and anchovy thick soup, blanched white shrimp and fish soup. The specials here include jellyfish omelet. The crystal-clear jellyfish and eggs are a perfect combination. Another featured dish is crispy, tender and juicy fried mahi-mahi.

Gee Izakaya - Bar & Broils, a subsidiary of Da Che Lun Japanese Restaurant, is in Taitung city centre, near Taitung Story Museum. This Japanese-themed restaurant offers a wide range of dishes including stir-fries, skewers, hot pots, donburi and bento.

While you're here, don't miss out on the chance to try their signature dish, yakiniku bento. Basted with rich sauce, the crispy and flavoursome broiled meat has the perfect fat-to-lean ratio and is sliced into the ideal shape and thickness. Coated with the special sauce, Gee's eel bento is also worth trying. The eel is quite dark in color, soft and boneless, and the Japanese omelet on the side is sweet but not sugary. Gee Izakaya also offers a number of side dishes like preserved mizuna, pickled cabbage and radish. They're crunchy, salty and go perfectly with rice.

Nan Bei Dumplings Shop is a highly recommended restaurant located in Taitung city centre. The restaurant serves set menus at reasonable prices. You'll often find this two-storey restaurant packed with diners at mealtimes. Nan Bei Dumplings Shop has a wide range of signature dishes, such as giant steamed dumplings, braised beef tendon platter, kung pao chicken and hot and sour soup.

Don't miss the delicious Sansi Lapi (shredded chicken and bean thread sheets). After absorbing vinegar and sesame sauce, the chicken becomes tender and flavorful. You can spice things up by adding some homemade chili peppers. Fried pig intestines are another foodie favorite. Topped with salt and pepper, the crispy skin and refreshing green onion stuffed inside are mouthwatering. Add a piece of pickled radish to cleanse your palate, and you're ready for the next bite. The classic dish of beef aspic is also worth a try. Be sure to stop by and taste a bit of everything.

Since its establishment, Da Che Lun has expanded from a small food stall in the Central Market to the big restaurant that it is today. To satisfy every diner, they insist on fresh, seasonal seafood and local ingredients, such as Chishang rice, fish from Fugang and Chenggong Fishing Port and freshly slaughtered pigs from Luye. Ingredients such as sea urchin and Hokkaido sanma are even imported directly from Japan.

Here, you'll discover a decent range of signature dishes. Roast Luye pork with sauce that's been cooked for 12 hours is a must-try. Don't forget to order some seared bullet tuna nigiri sushi. Try one with a piece of perilla on top, and let the lingering taste of the fish, the inviting aroma of the leaf and the smell of the smoky skin tickle your taste buds. This restaurant also serves dishes made with mahi-mahi, which is rare in the West, including mahi-mahi, nigiri sushi and soup.,

Luye, Taitung is a tea-lovers' paradise. Surrounded by tea farms, the popular Aijiao Yi Dim Sum Restaurant is filled with the fragrance of tea. The owner is a skillful tea-maker, and his wife conjures up creative dishes using their own tea. At mealtimes, you'll see tourists from afar flocking to the restaurant, so booking in advance is recommended. Aijiao Yi Dim Sum Restaurant has developed dozens of tea-based recipes, such as green tea fried tofu, jade tea shrimp, green tea fried noodles and boiled chicken.

Of the restaurant's many classic dishes, the refreshing black tea braised pork made with pork belly and simmered in a black tea marinade is a must-try. Don't forget to order some red oolong tea rice to elevate your dining experience. Treat yourself a bowl of chicken soup with tea oil and peeled chili peppers, and savor every morsel of the delectable stewed chicken. If you're looking to taste something truly unique, the award-winning oolong tea stuffed bitter melon is well worth a try.