buffet food flat lay

Where to Eat in Taipei

Visiting Taipei with family and friends? Street food is the best in Taiwan but sometimes you just want to dine in, relax a little longer without rushing to finish your food. Wondering where to eat in Taipei? Here are 3 restaurants we recommend for you to try in the city.

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1. 開飯川食堂  KAIFUN TOGETHER (Sichuan Cuisine)


As a fan of spicy food, this restaurant definitely gave us the Sichuan flavour that we were expecting. If you’re quite familiar with our life story, you’d know that we lived in Kunming, China for 2 years which got us accustomed to spicy food. Not into hot flavours? Request from the staff to lessen the spiciness.

Taipei has a number of Sichuan restaurants. We have only tried Kaifun Together so far but we were surely not disappointed. Here are some more photos we took.

What We Ordered


sichuan food
KAIFUN TOGETHER (Sichuan Cuisine)

Clockwise from left:

1. 花椒炸彈 Fried Eggs with Minced Pork, Pickled Pepper, Spice and Chili Oil

2. 翻滾吧!肥腸 Deep Fried Pork’s Intestine and King Oyster Mushroom with Chili Pepper Spice

3. 好色金絲瓜 Luffa Sauteed with Salted Eggs

4. 蔥椒好麻雞 Sliced Chicken with Chopped Green Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Chili Oil

5. 梅汁二弄雞 Stir Fried Chicken Sauteed with Plum and Plum Sauce

6. 蔓越莓開胃果醋 Cranberry Vinegar Drink

WHAT’S OUR TOP 3 FAVOURITE


steamed chicken
3rd place – 蔥椒好麻雞 Sliced Chicken with Chopped Green Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Chili Oil

There isn’t something special with the chicken but we loved the green onion paste on top! Definitely added the extra flavour boost that we were looking for. And the chili oil? Don’t worry, it isn’t too spicy and complements the whole dish well.

minced pork with egg
2nd place – 花椒炸彈 Fried Eggs with Minced Pork, Pickled Pepper, Spice and Chili Oil

This is our #2 favourite because it has the flavour of what we used to eat in China. When you cut into the egg, the yolk is still semi soft and spills over to the sauce. The spicy minced pork combined with the soft yolk wins for us!

plum chicken
1st place – 梅汁二弄雞 Stir Fried Chicken Sauteed with Plum and Plum Sauce

An easy pick for our number 1 spot! It was our first time to try chicken and plum combined and we thought the flavour didn’t disappoint at all! Kong Pao Chicken or 宫保鸡丁 used to be our favourite Chinese chicken dish but now it has a tight competitor. Truly deserves our top spot in this list.

More Information


WHAT’S DIFFERENT : Set menus for X numbers of people are provided to guide you in what to order.

chinese restaurant menu
Set menus for 2-8 people are readily available for easier ordering.

BRANCHES : There are 12 branches all over Taiwan, with most being in Taipei. You can check them out here or search Kaifun Together via Google to locate branches near you.

chinese restaurant entrance
Kaifun Together (Sichuan Cuisine) – Qsquare branch

PRICE RANGE : a budget of TWD 500-700 per head to fully enjoy the dishes

chinese restaurant menu
Kaifun Together menu

RESERVATION : No reservations needed for small groups. If you’re coming with a large group however, you can have private rooms reserved.

Facebook : www.facebook.com/KAIFUNTOGETHER  •  Website : www.kaifun.com.tw
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.

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2. 饗食天堂  EATOGETHER (Buffet)

The Taiwanese love buffets for sure! Generally, buffets in Taiwan aren’t as expensive as other neighbouring Asian countries — which is the only reason we need to come visit. We came over at Eatogether‘s Xinyi District Branch. 


Oh, did we mention they have a lot of stations? Stations for sushi, salad, dimsum, hot Japanese food, pies and pizzas, roast duck, Taiwanese local food, Asian food, cold seafood, cheese, different types of tea, coffee and beer, different types of drinks, ice cream, desserts, and cakes… whew! You truly get your money’s worth.

IAN and MAR’s TOP 3 FAVOURITE


desserts from buffet
3rd place – Oolong cheesecake and choco lava cake from the Desserts Station

There were a lot of different cakes and sweets made available but what caught my attention is the chocolatiest lava cake and the one I’ve never tried before — Oolong tea cheesecake.

beef pie
2nd place – beef pie from the Pie and Pizza Station

To be honest, I didn’t want to try this because I was already kind of full but hey, I almost forgot we were in a buffet — which means we have to eat as long as we are there! I was quite surprised with how the beef pie turned out. It was savory and sweet at the same time, which definitely hit me right on the spot.

drinks tower dispenser
Mar’s 1st place – my new found love for 铁观音奶茶 Tie Guan Yin Milk Tea (3rd dispenser from left)

Who would have thought that my love for milk tea will grow even more after discovering Tie Guan Yin Milk Tea? And with an endless cup refill at that? Goodness me! Needless to say, I didn’t leave the drinks station. LOL

...Ian doesn't agree with my TOP 1 because I don't eat roast duck. 

And because of that, we have another entry for our 1st place..
roast duck slice
Ian’s 1st place – Roast Duck

Roast ducks are either a hit of a miss, and this one’s a bull’s eye. Just the right amount of juiciness, freshly sliced and still served hot. You wouldn’t want to miss a sliver when you come for a visit.

More Information


WHAT’S DIFFERENT : A whole selection of Taiwan beers for your taking

beer with flavor
honey, grape, pineapple, and mango Taiwan Beers to choose from

BRANCHES : 10 branches all over Taiwan

restaurant interior in Taiwan
This is how close we are to Taipei 101 seen in the window view.

PRICE RANGE : TWD 568 – 898 depends on the time and day of your visit

eatogether buffet rates
LUNCH, TEA TIME, DINNER have different rates; middle column means weekdays, right column means weekends

RESERVATION : Highly recommended because there is always a long queue before doors open. Call 0800-536666 or submit a reservation form here.

people waiting in line
expect long queues before opening
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/eatogether  • Website : http://www.eatogether.com.tw
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.

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3. 饗饗  INPARADISE (Buffet)


Easily one of the best buffets we have ever tried, not that we have tried every single buffet restaurant in the world. But seriously, with just 1 branch in all of Taipei, you would expect for this restaurant to always be full! Try your luck calling to book because the reservations hotline is always busy — just goes to show how crazy people are about this place!

seats in a buffet
sit comfortably to eat comfortably ?

What really had me is — you might have guessed it — their bottomless HK Milk Tea! Adding milk tea to a buffet just brings the whole experience to new heights! Why is milk tea only available in Taiwanese buffets, and not in the Philippines or the rest of the world? Oh, did I mention draft beer, wine and other drinks (both alcoholic and not, LOL) are available from the drinks bar. Where have I been all this time?!

bar in a buffet
See this bar? This is where you get unli draft beer and unli Hong Kong milk tea!

IAN and MAR’s TOP 3 FAVOURITE


desserts
3rd place – Soufflé, Hong Kong Milk Tea, Citrus Tart

My oh my, that soufflé is so fly! It’s a secret order and not readily available in the desserts station so you are lucky to have read this insider tip. Request it from the staff. *wink* Bottomless Hong Kong Milk Tea and the lemon zest / citrus tart got us for sure!

lamb and eggs
2nd place – Steak with Caviar

See that steak cube with caviar? Juicy, tender and just the right amount of flavour – this is what makes INPARADISE’S steak our top 2 favourite. I mean, as meat lovers, there isn’t anything we could say other than YUM.

sushi
1st place – Torched Sushi

These 3 sushis combined make up for a glorious sushi experience. A definite easy pick for us for our top 1 favourite from everything else in all the stations!

More Information


WHAT’S DIFFERENT : The view of Taipei 101. Imagine what it looks like at night.

view of taipei 101
Only some seats have the view of Taipei 101. Request for it when you book.

BRANCHES : ONLY 1 in Taiwan

restaurant with view of taipei city
This buffet has the best view of Taipei.

PRICE RANGE : TWD 890-1790 depends on the time and day of your visit

inparadise price
LUNCH, TEA TIME, DINNER have different rates; middle column means weekdays, right column means weekends

RESERVATION : NO WALK-INS because it is ALWAYS fully booked. Call (02) 8780-9988 a few days before your booking date.

buffet lobby
1 phone number, 5 phones, always busy. yikes!

LOCATION : Breeze Xin Yi 46F, No. 68, Sec. 5, Zhongxiao E. Rd., Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan
Reception is on the ground floor of the Cathay Landmark. ( Xingya Road entrance )

Website : http://inparadise.com.tw
CLICK HERE FOR MORE PHOTOS.
Have you got hotels for your incoming Taipei trip? Check our top 5 hotel picks here.

Save Money in Taiwan is the official sponsor of our trip to Taiwan from March 1-15, 2018.

Disclaimer : We were invited to just come and eat which means we didn’t pay for the food. However, photos, words and opinions are all our own. 


What do you guys think? Did you like our round up? Which one will you most likely visit?

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20 Replies to “Where to Eat in Taipei

  1. I’m so glad I came across this! Very informative!! Also, I have been trying to convince people to go to Taiwan with me. Maybe this post will help !

  2. This is so amazing! The panda and chicken bun were my favorite how cute! You have amazing photos and looks like an amazing place to visit! Love your post !

  3. This looks seriously yummy. Love the look of the salted egg dish (discovered my love for salted eggs in China) and the chicken and plum. And those desserts oh my, serious cravings!

  4. Do you happen to know if there are any major food option differences between lunch time vs. tea time? Thinking about going during afternoon tea time since it’s the cheapest but if there are an options during lunch that I wouldn’t want to miss out on, I’d be willing to pay the lunch price to make it worth it. haha thanks in advance! Pictures look amazing by the way!! 🙂

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