If you are going to find yourself in Taipei, Taiwan… 

Might I suggest a few local places to try?

We met some friends in Taipei and they already had a bunch of places to take us. Taiwan is really famous for their braised beef noodle soup. One of the first places we stopped by was a local place, where the typhoon took the sign with their name… and they didn’t bother to replace it. So keep an eye out for a place that looks like the picture!

老王記牛肉麵大王 is the name of the restaurant and is very famous for their bowl of beef noodle soup. It was by far the best Taiwanese beef noodle soup I have ever had. The beef is very tender, soup is flavorful and robust and the noodles were the right consistency. The portions were quite large and I wanted to eat another bowl. But my belly was too full!

We also got the pork ribs in a potato type mash. I am not exactly sure what the veggie portion was but this was amazing! I wanted to take pictures of the cart where they steam it but nobody is allowed to take pictures! The pork ribs were so delicious and the potato was a nice pairing. You can’t go there and not order these two dishes! 

Afterwards, we walked to the famous Snow King Ice Cream shop. This is for you foodies out there, not only is their ice cream delicious and has been open since 1942…. it has some unique flavors!

We tried the following (clockwise) starting from the top left picture: watermelon, mango, pork floss, jasmine, basil and their house specialty… kidney bean!

I should have done a better job at the order, they actually bring the flavors out to you in the order you should try them. My absolute favorite was the jasmine. It was clean, it had a great tea flavor and it was especially refreshing on a hot day. The mango and watermelon were also refreshing and tasted exactly how they sound: sweet.

The basil was oddly tasty. Our friends didn’t like it so much, they said it tasted like they were eating pasta ice cream but I enjoyed it. It was a strong basil flavor with a hint of sweetness. I do have to agree that eating a whole one is probably not easy by yourself. I think the basil with the watermelon would be a fantastic combination.

The house kidney bean ice cream was good! It reminds me of the ever popular red bean flavored desserts in Asia. Beans + ice cream may sound weird to some westerners but honestly, it’s fabulous! Kidney bean is similar to those that have tried azuki beans (red beans) and although it wasn’t my favorite, you must try it when visiting. After all, it’s their house flavor!

We wanted to be adventurous and try their savor flavors. We asked for the sesame chicken flavor… and the hammock one. Uh, the waitress told us we probably won’t like it at all and she recommended the pork floss one, as that’s the most “gentle” of the savory. 

Look, I’m willing to TRY anything once. I’m a trooper like that, no matter how scary it sounds and/or looks… I will taste anything once. I put on my brave face and tried a decently sized spoonful of the pork floss.

G-R-O-S-S.

DISGUSTING. Hahaha. Pork floss does not belong in ice cream. The taste of it was so confusing, sweet ice cream with salty dried pork floss….. It was so gross that I had to immediately chew some strong menthol gum. I am so thankful she suggested to try this instead of the sesame chicken. I can’t even begin to imagine how I would have felt with that!

I do have to say that it was fun trying weird food out. The next time we’re in Taipei, I’m pretty sure I’ll end up trying another savory flavor and I’ll probably not like it. I like to push myself with food.

I wish I took a better shot of their menu but I was too busy eating the ice cream before it melted. They have so many flavors ranging from the sweet to the savory. They also have alcoholic flavors and…. flavors that most of the world is used to. 

If you find yourself trying these places, please let me know what you thought of it! And if you have any places I should try in Taiwan, leave them in the comments so I can give them a go the next time we are there.

Can I get some gold stars or something for trying the pork floss ice cream flavor? 

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老王記牛肉麵大王 (Taiwanese Beef Noodle Place)
 台北市中正區桃源街15號 - No. 15, Táoyuán St, Zhongzheng District

Snow King Ice Cream (雪王冰淇淋)
台北市武昌街一段65號 - No. 65, Wuchang St, Sec 1