Taiwan's Top 500 Cheap Eats
As ranked by one of the country's largest newspapers
Perhaps it’s a consequence of being constantly overlooked on the international stage, but in Taiwan, we’re suckers for international awards, official listicles, and nods from foreign media outlets. I remember the heyday of CNN Travel, which was about a decade ago. Restaurants would swell with pride whenever they were mentioned in one of the listicles; some would even blow up the CNN logo to cringey proportions and use it as advertisement.
For as long as I’ve been alive, Taiwan has leaned into its food as one of its biggest assets. When the Michelin Star system and Bib Gourmand arrived in Taiwan in 2018 (fun fact: some locals call Bib Gourmand, “the Michelin Baby 米其林寶寶”), the initial excitement was quickly followed by a bit of confusion—why was a tire company suddenly so invested in our culinary landscape?
The Michelin recommendations have always been solid, but I was happy to see that last year, one of Taiwan’s largest newspapers launched its own version of the Bib Gourmand. I’m a big believer of Taiwanese people championing our own assets instead of relying solely on foreigners for validation (oh boy, I could write an entire book about this).
The award system is called “500 Bowls” — a massive street food listicle that encompasses the entire island. Instead of a star system, restaurants are ranked by “bowls.” The highest accolodades go to the three-bowl restaurants 🥣🥣🥣.
The results for 2024 came in last month, and here are the highlights:
THREE BOWLS: 🥣🥣🥣
Taipei: Fortuna Tainan Danzai Noodles 財神擔仔麵
A specialist of danzai noodles, a wheat noodle dish that hails from Tainan. But here, the top dishes are actually the braised minced pork belly and rice noodles in clear broth. Tucked inside an alleyway; small portions.