What to eat in Kaohsiung & where to eat in Kaohsiung? — Top 15 Kaohsiung must eat food & best places to try them

When you travel, you can’t help but notice the culinary discoveries because they help you better understand the land you’re visiting. But deciding what to eat and where to eat is never easy, even for seasoned travelers. Although not as well-known as Taipei, Kaohsiung is still a popular tourist destination in Taiwan and the island nation’s second-largest city. Kaohsiung is a city in southern Taiwan known for its vibrant nightlife and fresh, cool air all year. Not only that, but it is also extremely popular for its busy and bustling night markets, as well as its extremely diverse food at reasonable prices. So, what to eat in Kaohsiung Taiwan (what to eat in Kaohsiung) and where to eat in Kaohsiung? Check out our Kaohsiung food blog for the top 15 foods to eat in Kaohsiung.

 

 

 

 

 

 

What to eat in Kaohsiung? Below are some Kaohsiung must eat food (must eat in Kaohsiung) including Kaohsiung street food

Gang Yuan Beef Noodles

Gang Yuan beef noodle soup in Kaohsiung is better than any beef noodle type I’ve ever had, and it’s my favorite dish; the beef noodles here are nothing like the spicy beef noodles I’ve had in Taipei. The broth has a cinnamon flavor, similar to Pho noodle soup broth, but it rises up the fragrant of soy sauce, aroma and sweet, rather than the pungent smell. The noodles are thick and firm, soaking in the broth for an extended period of time without becoming broken or friable. Beef is cut into thick chunks with tendon, but it is extremely tender. If you have a small stomach, a bowl of noodles like this will fill you up. In general, this is really a must-try food when you coming to Kaohsiung.

 

 

Fresh noodles, fresh and cooked beef that is not tough, and a sweet broth that is not greasy or fatty. If you get lost in the Gang Yuan beef noodle shop, even if you’re not hungry, you’ll have to try a bowl right away because it looks so appealing!

Also because it is delicious, most noodle shops are busy with diners coming in and out, especially on weekends. You can choose beef noodles to make a main meal in your day trip.

 

Gang Yuan Beef Noodle Restaurant
Address: No. 55, Dacheng St., Yancheng Dist, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Hours: 10:30AM–8:20PM
Phone: +886 7 561 3842

Lemongrass Hotpot

Lemongrass hotpot is specialty of Kaohsiung. Heard of lemongrass, you must have imagined that the taste of this dish seems quite pungent right? That’s right, entering the hotpot shop is the scent of lemongrass will rising up immediately, very relaxing, pleasant. Taking a breath also relaxes your mind, Lol.

 

The broth of hot pot is completely prepared from fresh lemongrass so it has a very special taste, served with vermicelli or noodles, vegetables and seafood, most commonly fish and mushrooms.

 

Because this is a specialty dish, it is easy to find it on the menu of all hotpot eateries. Lemongrass hotpot is also a valuable medicine, help warm belly, easy to digest, it will be much better if you sip a cup of hot pot broth on winter days. Price for a hotpot of about 250 TWD ($19.98) and more.

Lemongrass Hot Pot
Address: No. 283, Zhonghua 4th Road, Qianjin District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 801
Hours: 11AM–3PM, 5–11PM
Phone: +886 7 201 0152

Deep-fried stinky tofu

Hear the name was a bit smelly, but even though it was stinky, people still lined up to enjoy that stinky taste! It’s a weird!

 

But this stinky is really attractive, delicate. It bewitches both native Taiwanese and international tourists, do not try, if you try one piece, you will definitely have to call more because it is too delicious.

The main ingredient is pure tofu made from soybeans, soaked in bean juice and soft, sour-flavored vegetables, added with salt and let tofu fermented naturally, then deep-fried. Stinky tofu often served with pickled radish.

 

 

According to the stinky tofu fans, this stinky smell is the standard to evaluate the deliciousness of the dish: the more stinky, the more delicious … !!! But it was delicious. Remember to try, don’t let the youth pass without this obsessive scent, haha.

Papaya Milk Smoothie (Taiwanese Style)

The smoothie is not something strange for everyone, but the papaya smoothie seems less likely to appear in the menu of drinks, perhaps because of its slightly olid taste.

However, papaya fresh milk smoothie is one of the specialty drinks in Taiwan, just behind bubble milk tea (as I know). This dish is most easily found in the night markets that I will mention below.

Ripe papaya already has sweet taste, and adding more greasy, fresh milk, so for someone who does not like sweet like me, I will definitely order a no sugar glass to enjoy a delicious natural smoothie. In fact, I was also afraid of getting fat, Lol.

Rice Cake City (米糕城)

Although the name suggests otherwise, this is a sticky rice dish. When you order sticky rice, you will be served a bowl of fragrant sticky rice with mounds of meat and cucumber, fragrant sticky rice, and pork floss. The good news is that pork floss in Kaohsiung has a salty-sweet taste that is so unusual and stimulating that you need to eat more pieces to be satisfied.

In addition, this shop also has organ soup + steamed fish is quite delicious.

 

Address: No. 107, Daren Road, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City
Hours: 09:00-22:30

Cakes

Walking in the night markets in Kaohsiung, do not forget to try all kinds of cakes. Some cakes that I give 9/10 points are:

QQ Balls (Taiwanese Sweet Potato Balls)

This is a glutinous rice doughnut with bean paste inside, moderately sweet, with a thin crust and slightly tough when eaten. This cake is delicious, so you have to queue to buy it.

Chinese Sesame Doughnuts (Hollow Doughnuts)

The outer shell of the cake is very crispy, golden, inside is the rich chopped meat, add black pepper, so it is spicy. The plus point for Chinese Sesame Doughnuts in Kaohsiung is cakes not fried in oil but baked in clay ovens. Healthy and balance is here!

Oyster dumplings

This dish is rated 5 star by the youngsters of Kaohsiung, it can be called the golden face in street food village. It is basically a dumpling, but instead of the meat inside, it is replaced by oysters – a famous and delicious specialty of Taiwan. Oysters dumplings have fragrant and quite fat when eating.

Bubble milk tea