Hualien
Vinyl, enamel advertising signs and ethnographic ornaments add even further to the character of this authentic yet unpretentious, century-old cottage…
Must-see restaurants in Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Hualien
With a hearty 'Nga'ayho' ('hello' in Amis), Mu-Ming presents diners with a 90-minute, multicourse dining experience full of flavour-packed indigenous…
Hualien
Delicious vegetarian meal sets contain such a multiplicity of ingredients and subtle flavours that the menu can't keep up, but whatever you pick is likely…
Taitung
The pizza is excellent, with a thin, crispy, melt-in-the-mouth crust (half is ideal for one person). But the idiosyncratic decor is a big part of the…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
In an 1898 wooden building that was originally a police station, this utterly charming cafe is classically Japanese in both its wood-framed interior and…
Chenggong
Sit overlooking the fishing port, a bossanova beat enlivening this designer-sparse concrete-floored cafe which serves sashimi (from NT$250) and a small,…
Hualien
Open till late, Wang's serves delicious yet inexpensive meals in an enticing environment full of water features and glimpsed timbers. Design is a…
Hualien
This extensive array of children's entertainments, live music and food stalls fills the pedestrianised lower ends of Bo'ai and Fuding roads south of…
Taitung
Popular with tour groups, MiBaNai is Taitung's classic address for local indigenous cuisine, including stir-fried venison, roast salt fish, betel-flower…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Decorated like a heavily stylised tree, this roadside coffee shop gets wildly busy on holiday lunchtimes for meal sets served on lotus leaves. These…
Taroko National Park
This unpretentious but contemporary place in Fushi/Taroko village serves set meals with plenty of fresh local ingredients, giving an accessible…
Central East Coast
Fronted by eccentric concrete art swirls and fish-smoking racks, this cafe draws crowds for its flying fish dishes. But if you don't like a mouthful of…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
If you're driving or cycling Hwy 9, consider stopping to eat one of the imaginative multidish meals at this outwardly inauspicious roadside diner 7km…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Choose from four beautifully presented sticky-rice meal sets that come artistically arranged on wooden plank-plates with well-chosen garnish dishes. The…
Taitung
This youthfully relaxed but moodlily atmospheric mod-Japanese izakaya does particularly satisfying don (rice-bowl) meals. The small tables are good for…
Taitung
A whole row of ultrasimple eateries at Fugang Port offer superb fish at very reasonable prices, cooking up a catch that's just been landed from boats that…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Driftwood branches, netting and shell-mosaic lamps give a gentle charm to this cosy wooden restaurant, hidden just off the main road in Hongtou (Imaorod)…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Excellent set meals – one of them featuring utterly delicious chilli chicken with mountain pepper – come with miso soup, fruit salad and as much rice as…
Central East Coast
In a spacious Japanese-style wood-and-glass building at the entrance to the Dulan Sugar Factory complex, this is a fine place to try regional delicacies…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This refreshingly air-conditioned coffee shop and afternoon eatery doubles as a showroom for the owner's handmade leatherwork. Home-cooked meals are full…
Hualien
This modest shop has been whipping up delicious dumplings of all sorts, as well as noodles and soups, since 1975.
Taitung
While by no means meat-free, this semi-fast-food, counter-order place has plenty of vegetarian options, some vegan, and most incorporating at least some…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Whether for coffee and cake (NT$120), pasta or risotto with a cheesy gratin-style topping, this cafe is appealing, with its array of foliage, pet cats and…
Hualien
Seemingly unchanged for decades, timber-walled Dou Sang is an unrestored time warp of a place full of old pop pin-ups, fading collages of business cards…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This is a reliable choice for fresh seafood, though there's minimal atmosphere, with round family tables plonked blandly on a concrete floor.
Hualien
This popular little Japanese restaurant with floor seating options, has an izakaya menu that includes steamed clams in sake, salmon-fried rice and grilled…
Hualien
Popular for years, this comfortable family restaurant is run by a jovial Burmese gentleman, but cuisine covers wider Southeast Asian bases with good Thai…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
One of the most reliable main-strip eateries, the specialities here revolve predominantly around fresh seafood, including catch of the day, garlic scallop…
Taroko National Park
At the Silks Place Hotel, only guests can enjoy the dinner buffets but at lunchtime, when business is slow, the low-voltage Mei Yuan accepts all comers…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
Far more appealing than most of the other boxy shop-cafes in central Ruisui, this recently modernised ramen specialist also serves a typical range of…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This bright yellow cafe has an attractive open-sided perch for tasting local Tao food or sipping coffee with views across stone-walled lotus ponds towards…
Chenggong
This misleadingly named seafood restaurant specialises in top-quality swordfish served in a multitude of ways, including raw as excellent sashimi. There's…
Central East Coast
It's the roughest-looking old shack, with open sides painted green and red, but this utterly simple place run by an older couple in central Changbin is…
Central East Coast
Widely reckoned to be the Fengbin area's best restaurant, this seafood specialist is famed for its lobster. Less extravagant diners will find plenty of…
Central East Coast
For authentic curry set meals, search out this tiny Indian restaurant, run by Taiwanese hosts who learned to cook in Bangalore. The handmade ice cream…
Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park
This bland-looking diner with its stainless-steel tables has been serving filling bowls of classic Yuli noodles since 1971 and still has the locals…
Ming Long Vegetarian Restaurant
Taitung
The interior is blandly neutral but Ming Long's wholewheat vegan wraps are the draw here, not the decor.
