Taipei travel guide

Taipei in 24 Hours: 24 Things From Shilin Night Market to Beef Noodles

We came to Taipei with one job: eat 24 things in 24 hours. The route took us from Shilin Night Market to early breakfast finds, a Hello Kitty 7-Eleven, Dongmen Market and Yongkang Street, a quiet coffee stop at MKCR, and a final run of noodles and traditional desserts. Taipei made the challenge feel almost unfair, because nearly every stop was cheap, fast, and good.

24 things Food in one day

3 for NT$50 Hand-fried buns

~$6 Beef noodle soup

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Where we ate.

 Shilin Night Market Shilin District, Taipei 

Taipei night market

Get: Grilled chicken cartilage, spicy grilled bites, and a lamb skewer

The challenge started with the kind of cheap, fast night-market food Taipei does especially well. The grilled chicken cartilage was salty and smoky, the spicy bite became an early favorite, and the lamb skewer was tender without being too fatty. At around a dollar each, these were exactly the kind of snacks that made eating 24 things possible.

 Dongmen Market and Yongkang Street Dongmen, Da'an District 

Taiwanese breakfast and street food

Get: Hand-fried buns and scallion pancakes with basil and egg

Three hand-fried buns cost NT$50, and the scallion pancakes were even better: one with Taiwanese basil and egg, another with egg and onion. The basil was fragrant, the food came together almost instantly, and the whole breakfast was so cheap and satisfying that we started wondering where to buy the hot sauce back home.

 MKCR / Mountain Kids Coffee Roaster 山小孩咖啡 Near Beimen, Taipei 

Specialty coffee

Get: Coffee and a quiet break with a view

After the early food run, MKCR gave us a chance to slow down for a minute. It was a calmer stop in the middle of a very busy eating day, with a view that made the pause feel worth it before we went back out for more.

 Hello Kitty 7-Eleven 六福門市, 73 Section 2, Hankou St, Wanhua District 

Convenience store and Taipei sightseeing stop

Get: A visit to the Hello Kitty-themed store

This stop was more for sightseeing than shopping. The themed 7-Eleven was too fun to skip, even though we mostly looked around, and it became one of those very Taipei moments that makes a short trip feel more memorable.

 Xiaonanmen Traditional Soya Bean Jelly & Food Zhongzheng District, Taipei 

Traditional Taiwanese dessert

Get: Sweetened and unsweetened soya bean jelly, served hot and cold, with mung beans and tapioca

The soya bean jelly was lightly sweet instead of dessert-heavy, with chewy tapioca and mung beans adding texture. We tried both hot and cold versions, and the cold bowl was exactly what we wanted on a humid Taipei day. It was inexpensive, refreshing, and much less sweet than it looked.

 A handmade fish-ball noodle stall Taipei 

Local noodle stall

Get: Fish-ball noodles in a clear, savory broth

This was one of the best-value stops of the whole challenge. The fish balls had real fish flavor and a satisfying bounce, the broth was simple but deeply savory, and the sidewalk seating with scooters passing by made the meal feel completely local. We could have kept drinking the soup all afternoon, even in the heat.

 Taipei fruit stop Taipei 

Fresh Taiwanese fruit

Get: Pineapple and wax apple

The pineapple was so good we immediately wished we could take some home. The wax apple was more refreshing than intensely flavored, but it was still a perfect hot-weather snack between heavier stops.

 Airport beef noodle soup Taipei 

Taiwanese comfort food

Get: Beef noodle soup

Even the airport version was fast, inexpensive, and genuinely good. The flat noodles soaked up the beefy broth, the meat was generous, and the bowl came out to about six dollars. Saving beef noodles for near the end was a risk, but it landed exactly where we needed it to.

 A Sichuan-style noodle stall Taipei 

Sichuan-style street food

Get: Spicy cold chicken and vegetable cabbage soup

The cold chicken was explained to us as saliva chicken, a name tied to how delicious it is. This stall leaned more Sichuan than Taiwanese, with savory, beefy, peanutty flavors and just enough heat to make it feel like the right final meal for a 24-hour food challenge.

Good to know before you go

Taipei's biggest challenge was not finding food, but finding places open early enough to keep the clock moving.
We have done several 24-hour food trips, but this one might have been the best: no bad meals, and every stop gave us another reason to keep going.
The city is built for grazing. Small portions, low prices, and food stalls everywhere made 24 things in 24 hours feel ambitious but completely possible.

Questions people ask us about Taipei.

Can you really eat 24 things in 24 hours in Taipei?

Yes, especially if you treat it as a series of small bites instead of three large meals. We moved from Shilin Night Market to breakfast stalls, traditional desserts, noodles, fruit, and a final bowl of beef noodles.

What should you eat in Taipei first?

Start with grilled snacks at Shilin Night Market, then look for hand-fried buns or scallion pancakes with basil and egg. Both are cheap, fast, and easy to share.

Is Taipei food expensive?

Many of the stops in our 24-hour challenge were remarkably affordable: hand-fried buns were three for NT$50, grilled snacks were around a dollar, and the beef noodle soup was about six dollars.

Where can you get a traditional Taiwanese dessert in Taipei?

Xiaonanmen Traditional Soya Bean Jelly & Food serves soya bean jelly hot or cold, sweetened or unsweetened, with toppings like mung beans and tapioca.

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