Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple Breakfast
One of my absolute favorite places to explore is Dadaocheng and Dihua Street (大稻埕, 迪化街) as it’s such an important part of Taiwan’s tea trade and cultural heritage. When I walk into the Dadaocheng area on the west side of Taipei, it really feels like I’ve entered an entirely different world, one that’s worlds away from the bustling metropolitan area of Taipei 101 and its skyscrapers and shiny shopping malls.
Dihua Street gets an entirely separate post a little bit later, but let me share with you a little hidden gem tucked away in front of Dadaocheng’s Cisheng Temple (大稻埕慈聖宮天上聖母).
This small alleyway in front of the temple is actually a morning market, full of small stalls where you can a quick bite to eat. Most of the stalls are open 9 AM - 5 PM, but there are a few like 阿蘭大鼎魩仔魚蛋炒飯 and Yejia Meat Congee that close at 3:30 PM, so you might want to get there a bit earlier to try a few different stalls.
Here are a few different stalls that you can check out:
Usu-Tasi Pork Noodles 許仔豬腳麵線
Pig feet noodles
10-6:30 PM, closed Sundays
Four Gods Soup 四神湯
Meat buns, intestine soup
9:30-5 PM
Mazu Gong Kou Sparerib Soup 媽祖宮口原汁排骨湯
Sparerib soup with radish, braised pork rice, bamboo shoots
(Sorry not sure of the business hours of this stall)
Last but not least - the stall that we ate at this time around!
Yejia Meat Congee 葉家肉粥
Fried fish, braised pork, meat congee
9-3 PM
This small stall offered warm dishes that reminded me of home. The flavors weren’t very strong, but they were definitely enough to keep us full. We ordered fried fish, fried tofu, meat congee and braised pork (kind of reminded me of a Taiwanese char siu). It might not look like much, but I think the beauty of 小吃 (xiao chi, snacks) is that it is filling, cheap, warm and accessible. It’s not overpowering in flavor, so you can try a bunch of different options at once. (Perfect for someone like me that loves to stuff my face with 12 different things in one sitting)
Tips:
bring your own drink! (would recommend grabbing a bottle of tea from 7-11 or Family Mart nearby)
cash only
come early! some things may be sold out if you arrive too late
weekdays are recommended as weekends may be too crowded
order first and bring your food to the seating area right in front of the temple - check the table signage before you sit down as tables are designated for certain stalls
for yejia meat congee: order in the back (not the front of the stall) if you’re eating in - they will bring the food to you and you can pay the server directly
nearest MRT: Daqiaotou Station 大橋頭站 (orange line)
Let me know if you end up going!
Love, Chloe
This little spread came out to around $6-7 USD or 230 NT approximately for two people, so $3 a person. Oh man, I love Taiwan.
Braised pork 60 NT
Fried fish 70 NT (on the same plate as the pork)
Meat congee 25 NT each
Fried tofu (50 NT? I can’t remember)
I think the best part was sitting outside and enjoying the breeze and the shade that the beautiful trees around the temple provided. It’s kind of like we went back in time to the 1980’s and found ourselves in a Taiwanese drama. Check out some more of the photos below from this area.
