Taiwanese breakfast should be made into a national treasure. Which breakfast dish in particular? All of them. But, more so than most, Danbing. Between 06:00-12:00 you can barely walk 10 steps down a Taipei street without stumbling across some form of Taiwanese breakfast shop selling breakfast varying forms of Danbing, scallion pancake, sandwiches, breakfast burgers, congee, a variety of different pastries, and all sorts of soy milk based delicacies. Truth be told, Taiwanese breakfast is something to behold.
What is a traditional Taiwanese breakfast?
A traditional Taiwanese breakfast typically includes a combination of savoury and sweet dishes, with a focus on simple, yet flavorful ingredients, often including egg and a starch such as steamed buns or baked bread.
What is the most popular breakfast in Taiwan?
One of the most popular breakfast items in Taiwan is a dish called “dan bing” (蛋餅), which is essentially a thin crepe-like pancake made with a flour-based batter and filled with scrambled eggs, chopped scallions, and sometimes other ingredients like cheese, ham, or vegetables. The dan bing is often served hot and crispy, and is often eaten with a variety of sauces such as soy sauce, chili sauce, or sweet bean paste.
Table of Contents
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A Traveller’s Guide to Taipei Hotels: 18 Luxury to Affordable Hotels in the City Centre
蛋餅 Danbing
One of the most popular Taiwanese breakfast dishes is the “Danbing,” which is essentially a savoury pancake that is filled with eggs, scallions, and sometimes ham or cheese. The pancake is then rolled up and served with soy sauce or chili sauce for dipping. Danbing is a popular breakfast item in Taiwan and is often enjoyed on-the-go.
DanBing comes in many forms. But one of my favourite combinations is a dry and crispy skin on the outside, with loads of cheese and chilli sauce in the middle. I want enough chilli so that my lips tingle!
This one above is from 鮮味餡餅 in Yonghe, and is one of the best kept breakfast secrets in Yonghe!
Loco Food is an absolute winner if you’re in Taipei and wanting some incredibly crispy Danbing to scratch that weekend breakfast/brunch itch. Loco Food does an awesome hash brown Dan bing that you must get your lips around. Make sure to pair it with their awesome spicy chilli sauce and your breakfast will be complete. Wash it down with some soy milk for extra breakfast indulgence.
There’s a reason why this place has been featured on Taiwanese TV as much as it has been – it’s THAT good. Ultra crispy skin meets inventive fillings such as crispy basil and duck, or salt cured wild boar with chilli. It’s right near Zhongshan Elementary school MRT station in the north of the city, and completely worth getting to!
葱油餅 Scallion pancake
Taiwanese scallion pancake is a popular dish in Taiwan and in other parts of the world where Taiwanese cuisine is available. It is made with dough that is mixed with chopped scallions and oil, rolled into a flat pancake, and then pan-fried until crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. It is often served with soy sauce or other dipping sauces.
There’s a general train of thought that you ‘graduate’ from Dan bing to 葱油餅, and then further graduate from 葱油餅 to 葱抓餅. I am going on record to say that there is a time and a place for all of these, and no graduation is necessary.
Above you will see the classic style of 葱油餅 that is fried up in front of you, then lashed with soy and/or chilli sauce, wrapped or folded, put into a paper bag, and thrust into your hand. However, you can also get some ham, egg, tuna, salad, or even some hash brown in there for good measure, too! How good does that sound?
As well as the smaller more individual 葱油餅, you can also find many old-school breakfast stalls selling this huge one. This is usually cut into quarters or thirds, and you’ll pay per portion (每一份). Nothing is stopping you buying the whole huge sheet of it and eating it all, though! This style of 葱油餅 is usually on the thicker side and tends to be more bready rather than crispy.
If you are deeply in love with Danbing or Scallion pancake, you should read the following post:
Discovering the Top 12 Danbing for Irresistible Taiwanese Breakfast in Taipei
三明治/漢堡類 Sandwiches/burgers
A comprehensive list of some of the best Taiwanese breakfast would not be complete without a nod to the Taiwanese breakfast sandwich that has made itself so popular across the island. Basically, Taiwanese breakfast shop owners have taken the classic sandwich ingredients of ham and egg, and supercharged it to be this incredible thing like you can see above and below.
Above you can see this ridiculously fat breakfast sandwich bursting at the seams with egg, chicken, lettuce, and tomato. You can find that at Happiness Day Cafe in the Xinyi District.
So in the typical Taiwanese way of food, they have taken classics and done some incredible upgrades that you would not think could work, until you try them. Above is just one of them. You'll see the classic from the ultra popular Zhen Fang breakfast shop in the Zhongshan District of Taipei, where you can eat their signature pork, egg, sweet potato, and salad sandwich. You might roll out of there, but it will be totally worth it! This supersized breakfast is going to sort you out for the remainder of the day (and possibly even the next day, too).
You can buy the combo meal through KKday in advance.
The thing that sets Only Toast's breakfast apart is their attention to detail on the bread. I mean, it's all well and good having these incredible fillings that taste delicious, but what about the bread, folks? Only Toast go hard on the bread, and the fillings, making them a stand-out breakfast spot in the city. Here you can some great combos such as their deep fried pork chop with onsen egg, and you should not overlook their beef patty sandwich with cheese!
This is pretty much your most standard breakfast sandwich around Taiwan. From Q Burger, it is their pork floss and egg sandwich. It's hearty, it's filling, and it's about as classically Taiwanese as you can get with pork floss and egg. Is it going to make you want to go back for more? No. But, the greatest thing about something like Q Burger is that you know what you're getting, at a really reasonable price.
粥 Congee
Congee gets a bad rep throughout the world, which is largely down to the fact that hotel buffets offer up this disgusting slop that has this strikingly familiarity (I am told) to prison gruel. However, not all congee is like the one you see simmering for hours at the hotel buffet. Some places, like the one above, have been serving up congee for years because it's delicious. So, don't discredit Taiwanese breakfast shops just because they sell congee.
At a congee shop like the one above, you can get a steaming bowl of congee with toppings such as pork floss, peanut, century egg, lean pork, chicken, and even fish.
酥餅類 Pastry
Taiwanese pastries are typically sold in local bakeries or street vendors, and are often freshly baked and served warm. One of the most popular Taiwanese breakfast pastries is the 'shao bing' (see the pic below), which is a flaky and layered pastry filled with various savory fillings such as pork floss, egg, or scallions. Other popular Taiwanese breakfast pastries include the youtiao, which is a deep-fried dough stick that is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and Chinese donuts or sweet red bean pastries, which are often served with soy milk. Overall, Taiwanese breakfast pastries are a delicious and convenient way to start the day, and are an important part of Taiwan's vibrant culinary culture.
The Shaobing is something you need in your life. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and oh-so-delicious. One of the best flavour combinations of Shaobing that I have had has been the one above from Miss Qin's breakfast stall on Yanji Street. They do a crispy Shaobing that has these incredible Taiwanese/Chinese meatballs inside AND egg, too! The salted soy milk is also really good there, too!
Now these right here are special. As a long serving Yonghe resident, I have eaten my fair share of these (and other peoples fair share, too, to be honest), and I can firmly say that I will continue to do so. These sweetened red bean pastries are perfect with a steaming bowl of soy milk in the morning. The layer upon layer of flakey pastry gives way to this sweetend, smoky, red bean filling that melts in your mouth. It's seriously good, and seriously cheap, too!
And below that you will find the sweet pastry that is puffy, sweet, and flakey all at the same time. This is the life!
New Taipei City breakfast – The Great #1 YongHe World Soy Milk King 世界豆漿大王
As well as the sweetened red bean ones, though, you'll also find some savoury ones like these above that are stuffed with scallions and pork. They're perfect for a snack or breakfast on-the-go.
豆漿類 Soy milk
Soy milk has become increasingly popular over the years, not least of all because of the fact that it's vegetarian (and more often than not, vegan, too!), but also because it is often chosen as a healthy alternative to cow's milk due to its lower fat content and higher protein content.
Now that westerners have become more accepting of soy milk, it's a fair assessment to say that a soy milk based savoury dish could also be acceptable. Above you'll find one from Miss Qin's breakfast shop on Yanji Street. There, they crumble up a fried dough stick, lash the bowl with some chilli oil, then sprinkle over some scallions. It's a winner!
Taipei breakfast – Ms Cin Soy Milk 秦小姐豆漿店
The one here is similar, too, but you can also dunk this bready Shaobing in there for good measure, too! Pure decadence.
By far and away one of the most popular breakfast shops in the city, FuHang Soy Milk next to Shandao Temple in Taipei is regularly buzzing with people at breakfast time. They do an awesome salted soy milk with some mini fish lurking beneath the surface, some crunchy fried dough sticks, and some coriander, too!
Taipei Breakfast – Famous Fuhang Soy Milk 阜杭豆漿 and 2 of the Top Dishes to Get There!
Don't want to line up for FuHang? Pre-order online and the yummy breakfast will deliver to your door.
Heavier meals & A nod to Taiwanese brunch
Brunch is a popular mealtime for many people because it offers a unique combination of breakfast and lunch, allowing people to enjoy the best of both worlds. Taiwanese brunch marries western ideas with Taiwanese ones in absolute harmony. Here are some reasons why brunch is so great in Taipei:
Coppii Lummii does a delicious brunch that can be washed down with an even more delicious coffee. But, make sure to hang around for their cinnamon roll, which comes out of the oven around 10am.
It would be rude to talk about brunch without talking about some noodles in a thick soup. Match that with some deep fried fish balls, and you've got it going on! These noodles are great, and paired with that delicate batter on the fish, spicy sauce, and the beansprouts, it's all you've ever looked for in a Taiwanese brunch.
Fried rice is also a very popular brunch item in Taiwan, and the one above is one of the most popular in the city right outside CiSheng Temple. Pair it with that deep-fried chicken roll behind, and you're laughing.
Taipei City – CiSheng Temple 慈聖宮 and everything delicious for a Taiwanese breakfast!
You've just rolled out of bed and all you want is a delicious meal. You think, where is the closest Taiwanese breakfast near me? Then, you think, sod it, I am going for a classic Taiwanese brunch, instead. Right off Roosevelt Road in the heart of Taipei is LongQuan fish soup, where you'll find great soup, delicious vegetables, juicy chicken, and even better braised pork over rice.
For those times where you want a toasty and a Portuguese egg tart - Liang Liang Hao has got you covered. With a few branches scattered over the city, it will give you your cheese toasty fix, but make sure to get a Thai milk tea and a Portuguese egg tart to go with it, too!
You should never need an excuse to eat a hearty breakfast. And Taiwan is no exception to that. The Taiwanese breakfast is varied, cheap, and hearty! Whether it's a sandwich, danbing, soy milk, pastry, or congee, you'll be satisfied without paying a silly amount, too.