Small eats, and a lot of them, are the big thing in Taiwan.
The culinary philosophy here is eat often and eat well.
Sure, there's the internationally accepted three-meals-a-day dining format, but why be so limited when you can make like the Taiwanese and indulge in gourmet snacking at any time of the day?
The Taiwanese capital, Taipei, has around 20 streets dedicated to snacking.
Every time you think you've found the best streetside bao, the most incredible stinky tofu or mind-blowing beef noodle soup, there's always another Taiwanese food shop that surpasses it.
The island's food is a mash-up of the cuisine of the Min Nan, Teochew and Hokkien Chinese communities, along with Japanese cooking.
It's a culinary love-in with diversely delicious offspring.
Arguments about the best food on Taiwan risk ruining relationships and lifelong friendships.
Food: it's serious, it's respected, it's all excellent in Taiwan.
"Where there's a wisp of smoke, there's braised fatty pork with rice."1. Braised pork rice (滷肉飯)
"Where there's a wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney, there will be lurou fan [braised pork with rice]," goes the Taiwanese saying.
The popularity of this humble dish cannot be overstated.
"Lurou fan" is almost synonymous with Taiwanese food.
The Taipei city government launched a "braised pork rice is ours" campaign last year after Michelin’s "Green Guide Taiwan" claimed the dish was from Shandong Province in mainland China.
A good bowl of lurou fan comprises finely chopped, not quite minced, pork belly, slow-cooked in aromatic soy sauce with five spices.
There should be an ample amount of fattiness, in which lies the magic.
The meat is spooned over hot rice.
A little sweet, a little salty, braised pork rice is comfort food perfected.
Jin Feng Lu Rou Fan (金峰滷肉飯), 10 Roosevelt Road, Section 1, Jhongjheng District, Taipei City; +886 2 2396 0808
Nothing like a good Taiwanese food debate centering around beef noodles.2. Beef noodle (牛肉麵)
You know a food is an obsession when it gets its own festival.
Beef noodle soup inspires competitiveness and innovation in chefs. Everyone wants to claim the title of beef noodle king.
From visiting Niu Ba Ba for one of the most expensive bowls of beef noodle soup in the world (TW$10,000, or US$334) to a serendipitous foray into the first makeshift noodle shack you spot, it's almost impossible to have a bad beef noodle experience in Taiwan.
Lin Dong Fang's beef shanks with al dente noodles in herbal soup are a perennial favorite. The streetside eatery’s secret weapon is the dollop of homemade chili-butter added last.
Lin Dong Fang (林東芳), 274 Bade Road, Section 2, Jhongshan District, Taipei City; +886 2 2752 2556; Niu Ba Ba (牛爸爸), No. 16, Alley 27, Lane 216, Section 4 Zhongxiao Donglu, Da'an District, Taipei City; +886 2 2778 3075/ +886 2 8771 5358
The oyster omelet: Taiwan's quintessential snack.3. Oyster omelet (蚵仔煎)
Here's a snack that really showcases the fat of the land in Taiwan. You've got something from the sea and something from the soil.
The eggs are the perfect foil for the little oysters easily found around the island, while sweet potato starch is added to give the whole thing a gooey chewiness -- a signature Taiwan food texture.
No wonder the soup was voted best snack to represent Taiwan in a poll of 1,000 Taiwanese by Global Views Monthly a few years back.
Lai's Egg Oyster Omelet (賴記雞蛋蚵仔煎), Ningxia Road Night Market; +886 2 2558 6177
Chewy and refreshing: bubble tea.4. Bubble tea (珍珠奶茶)
Bubble tea represents the "QQ" food texture that Taiwanese love.
The phrase refers to something that is especially chewy, like the tapioca balls forming the "bubbles" in bubble tea.
It's said this unusual drink was invented out of boredom.
Liu Han-Chieh threw some sweetened tapioca pudding into her iced Assam tea on one fateful day in 1988, and a great Taiwanese culinary export was born.
Variations on the theme include taro-flavored tea, jasmine tea and coffee, served cold or hot.
Chun Shui Tang teahouse (春水堂), 48 Yi-shu St., Longjing, Taichung County; +886 4 2652 8288
More on CNNGo: Who invented bubble tea?
Amateur fish eaters should watch out for the bones.5. Milkfish (虱目魚)
How popular is milkfish in Taiwan?
So popular that it has its own themed museum in Anping and there's a milkfish cultural festival in Kaohsiung.
The bony fish might pose a challenge for amateurs, but it’s loved for its tender meat and economical price tag.
Milkfish is prepared in numerous ways -- in a congee porridge, pan-fried, as fish ball soup or braised.
For home-style preparation, retro Izakaya-style restaurant James Kitchen serves pan-fried milkfish with lime.
A bowl of scallion lard rice is a great complement.
James Kitchen (小隱私廚), 65 Yongkang St., Da’an District, Taipei; +886 2 2342 2275
Thankfully, we no longer have to wait for the slack season to eat this.6. Slack Season danzai noodles (擔仔麵)
You've gotta love a place called Slack Season, and it should be one of the first pit stops on any culinary trip to Taiwan.
The iconic eatery originated in Tainan about a century ago. A fisherman sold noodles during the slack fishing season and the joint became so successful he quit his original trade altogether.
The signature bowl of Slack Season noodles is served in shrimp soup with bean sprouts, coriander, minced pork and fresh shrimps.
The bowl of comforting flavors is so addictive that a man from Tainan supposedly ate 18 bowls in a row at the restaurant.
Slack Season Tainan Main Store (度小月), 16 Jhongjheng Road, Tainan City; +886 6 223 1744;, see website for details of other locations.
Pan-fried buns, bigger and better in Taiwan.7. Pan-fried bun (生煎包)
Like the fluffiness of cake and the crunchiness of potato chips? The pan-fried bun gives you the best of both worlds.
The buns are made with spongy white Chinese bread that is pan-fried on the bottom. Break one open to reveal the moist porky filling.
A Shanghainese staple, the Taiwanese version differs in two ways: it's slightly bigger in size and it hits the pan upside-down.
Hsu Ji (許記), Shida Night Market, Taan District, Taipei City; +886 9 3085 9646
Dear Gua Bao, you're the Big Mac of our eye.8. Gua bao (割包)
It's a hamburger, Taiwan-style.
A steamed bun sandwiches a hearty filling of braised pork belly, pickled Chinese cabbage and powdered peanuts.
The filling is chopped into small pieces and mixed together so there's a bit of everything in every bite. Western hamburgers might benefit from the same treatment.
Take a big mouthful and enjoy the salty, sour and sweet flavors and the greasy pork swimming in your mouth.
Shida Night Market, Shida Road, Neihu District, Taipei
Urban legend says you can play ping-pong with iron eggs.9. Iron egg (鐵蛋)
It's called "iron egg" because it's so tough. These chewy eggs little eggs dyed black from long-braising in soy sauce are a highly addictive Taiwanese food.
Often made from quails' eggs, the protein balls are cooked for hours in soy sauce then air-dried. The process is repeated over several days until the snacks become tough and acquire the desired amount of chewiness.
Seaside A-Po (海邊阿婆), 151-1, Jhongjheng Road, Tamshui; A-Po (阿婆), 135-1, Jhongjheng Road, Tamshui
Pineapple cake: take it home with you.10. Pineapple cake (鳳梨酥)
This iconic Taiwanese pastry -- mini-pies filled with candied pineapple -- is one of Taiwan's best food souvenirs.
For one of the best pineapple cake experiences, try SunnyHills, which uses only local pineapples. The result is a darker filling, rougher texture and a sourer taste.
The pies at other shops are filled with a mix of pineapple and chewable bits of winter melon. They have a fruity sweetness and a golden casing of crumbly, buttery pastry.
Stores that replace pineapple completely with winter melon to cut costs are committing a big no-no.
SunnyHills (微熱山丘), 1/F, No. 1, Alley 4, Lane 36, Section 5, Minsheng East Riad, Songshan District, Taipei City; +886 49 229 2767
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