Traditional Delicacies That Have Been Served Over a Century
TEXT | JENNA LYNN CODY
PHOTOS | VISION
Note: This article was published in the 2025 Winter Edition of TAIPEI magazine, a publication by the Taipei City Government.
In a world where trendy restaurants open and close with surprising speed, establishments in Taipei that have managed to keep their doors open for over a century are true treasures. These enduring institutions serve traditional Taiwanese flavors – such as braised delicacies, beef noodles, meatball dumplings, and squid thick soup – preserving recipes and family legacies that have stood the test of time, generation after generation, providing an authentic taste of Taipei’s culinary history.
Chuan Yeh
One of the oldest eateries in Taipei is Chuan Yeh in Wanhua District, founded in 1910, which specializes in Taiwanese crystal meatball dumplings (pronounced bawan in Taiwanese). Chuan Yeh is a “hole in the wall” in the best sense, with fewer than ten tables. The walls are adorned with colorful illustrations of the neighborhood around the historic Bangka Lungshan Temple (just a short walk away) as well as the eatery’s signature offering, with explanations of Chuan Yeh’s history and the meatballs themselves.
You’ll learn that the founder was an immigrant from Quanzhou, China. He first moved to the Hsinchu area in northwest Taiwan, where he prayed at a temple and was told by the god Zunwang that he needed to go to Taipei if he wanted his business to thrive. Now, over a century later, the deity seems to have kept his promise.
The meatballs are both delicious and unique, made with boiled bamboo shoots sourced in Chiayi County, south Taiwan, mushrooms from Nantou County, central Taiwan, and pork shank marinated in a brown-sugar sauce before cooking. The ingredients are held together by a chewy shell made with sweet-potato starch, which can be steamed or fried in oil for a superlative al dente texture. The meatballs are topped with a sweet red sauce made from fermented rice that is both distinctive and complex. The eatery’s wonton soup makes an excellent accompaniment, the wontons floating in a flavorful broth topped with fragrant bonito flakes.
CHUAN YEH
川業肉圓
Add: 165, Guangzhou St., Wanhua Dist.
Tel: (02) 2308-1641
FB: facebook.com/chuanyeh1910
Hours: 10:00am-9:00pm
Liang Xi Hao
For the best thick soup with squid and fried treats in the Guangzhou Street Night Market (a 5-minute walk from Chuan Yeh), look no further than Liang Xi Hao. Founded in 1921 by Chen Liang-xi when he was just 18 years old, what is now a small eatery started as a food stall near Lungshan Temple, which anchors one end of the night market. It wasn’t until the third generation of ownership that the squid soup and fried snack stall was closed down, and a permanent location was established.
Liang Xi Hao looks every bit the old Wanhua eatery, with an iconically Taiwanese stainless-steel food preparation stand out front. In addition to the store’s smaller sign, a large and colorful banner bears the shop’s name with an illustration of two squids, indicating the signature dish. Multilingual menus are available.
The squid thick soup is hearty and filling, especially when paired with yellow noodles. Fish balls and boiled squid, cooked to perfection and never too chewy, taste even better with a hit of black vinegar and a sprinkle of white-pepper powder. The fried snacks are similarly delightful, especially the fried fish with pepper salt and the fried burdock tempura.
LIANG XI HAO
兩喜號
Add: 245, Guangzhou St., Wanhua Dist.
Tel: (02) 2336-6887
FB: facebook.com/liangxihao
Hours: 4:00pm-11:30pm
Jin Chun Fa Beef Restaurant
Opened in 1897 as a food stall on what is now known as Jiancheng Roundabout (intersection of Nanjing West and Chongqing North roads), Jin Chun Fa isn’t just one of the oldest beef noodle restaurants in Taipei; it’s one of the oldest restaurants, period. Now a homey, welcoming spot on nearby Tianshui Road, Jin Chun Fa is in its fourth generation of ownership and today also operates several branches. It has such a reputation for consistent quality that patrons who visited as children now bring their grandchildren for lunch or dinner.
Jin Chun Fa’s most famous dish is the signature beef noodle soup in clear broth. This is a proper long-simmered bone broth with deep flavor, but no hint of greasiness. The half-tendon, half-meat beef noodles are especially popular, although both all-meat and offal varieties are available. The best beef places use more than just meat, after all. If you’re not into offal – or if you are – check the menu carefully: every part of the cow, including beef heart, stomach, liver, tripe, and brain, is available. The stir-fried curry beef, also available with noodles, is another crowd pleaser.
JIN CHUN FA BEEF RESTAURANT
金春發牛肉
Add: 20, Tianshui Rd., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2558-9835
Hours: Tue-Sun 11:20am-8:50pm
Xiao Chun Yuan Braised Foods
The pop art grandma on the sign at Xiao Chun Yuan is truly iconic, even more so than the display of duck tongues and other braised foods in the windows of the shop. The white-haired woman in the illustration, with her well-known glasses with colored lenses, is Yeh Bao-zhu, the daughter of Master Yeh, an immigrant from Fujian who opened Xiao Chun Yuan in 1916 on Nanjing West Road (also close to Jiancheng Roundabout) after operating a street stall nearby for many years. The current location is more spacious than one would expect, with round tables and typical old-style wooden stools.
Before handing off business operations to her granddaughter, Yeh Bao-zhu pioneered six different braising methods to bring out the best flavors for every ingredient. Her secret was to keep it no-frills: simple food with intense flavor. Xiao Chun Yuan’s braising marinades are rich, savory, and slightly sweet, but balanced so they aren’t cloying.
The restaurant’s most famous dish is duck tongues, cut carefully from the ducks’ throats and cold-marinated. Another showstopper is the duck wings, the marinade bringing out the tender gaminess of the duck meat. Other popular choices are the braised bamboo shoots, dried tofu, and mushrooms.
XIAO CHUN YUAN BRAISED FOODS
小春園滷味
Add: 149, Nanjing W. Rd., Datong Dist.
Tel: (02) 2555-5779
Website: scy101.com.tw
Hours: Mon-Sat 10:00am-7:45pm
Sun 11:00am-6:30pm
About the author
Jenna Lynn Cody
Jenna is an American woman living and working in Taipei, Taiwan.
