The beauty of Taiwan – Taipei City – Dongmen Market & Yongkang Street

If you ask me why “Xiao long bao” is the most famous delicacy in Taiwan, the answer is “Thanks to Japanese.” Xiao long bao is a coin size dumpling steamed in a bamboo steamer, it comes 6 to 8 pieces per steamer. Japanese love Xiao long bao so much, they even mark every famous Xiao long bao restaurant in their travel books. No taste of Xiao long bao means never come to Taiwan. So, the question is where you can find the best Xiao long bao in Taipei. You can just go to Dogmen Market to check it out. How long the line is for waiting to have the best Xiao long bao in Din Tai Fung? The bellow photo can give you a thought.

The original shop of Din Tai Fung is on Yongkang Street, so the publicity is no one can compete with. Importantly, Din Tai Fung doesn’t take any reservation, so you have to wait on line. Pick up a ticket first, and then wait for the waitress to call your number. Because of Din Tai Fung, Dongmen Market is getting popular years over years. It becomes a distributing center of gourmet food restaurants, tea houses, creative shops and gift shops.

The restaurants here you can find include Taiwanese food, Tainan local food, Shanghai food, Sushi, and many more, even a Greek restaurant, I saw it a few days ago. Of course, except Xiao long bao, you can never miss “shaved ice with mango” which is a traditional Taiwanese dessert. It is so different from ice cream and sorbet. You can have very fresh mango while you are having a shaved ice, so it sounds it is in the heaven, isn't it?

Besides foods, you have to take a look at tea houses. It is a very good opportunity to know Taiwanese tea culture and how to drink Taiwanese tea properly. You also can discover local artists’ artworks and personalize shops nearby on the streets. You will have a lot of fun to look around. Most clerks of shops can speak English, Japanese and even Korean, so open your mind to explore freely.

 

My suggestion is to go there in the evening so you can avoid the heat from sunlight. Wait in the line of Din Tai Fung or find yourself a restaurant, enjoy the fun part of using chopsticks. Then, go for shaved ice with mango; it will bring you a fantastic mood and cool you down. Therefore, you can have more energy to discover every corner of Dongmen Market & Yongkang Street!!

Take MRT and get off at Dongmen station on Red/Orange Line. The exit is Number 5!!