Best Vegetarian Food in Taitung

Greetings from Taitung! 

It’s amazing how the smallest of towns and cities in Taiwan always have a pretty good selection of vegetarian food, isn’t it? Including right here in Taitung.

I’ve been living & visiting since 2013, and during that time have gotten a pretty good idea of the local vegetarian food around town. These places are my go-to spots for affordable, healthy, tasty local grub. However I’m probably missing out on some hidden gems. If you have any recommendations, please let me know in the comments. Otherwise, let’s dig in…

Table of Contents 

• Best buffet
• Best quick & easy meal
• Best noodle shop (& wraps!)
• Best night stall
• Best “late night” snack
• Best veggie burger
• Best pizza in town
• Best brunch spot
• Best post-surf spot
• Best fish & chips in the world

Best buffet

歐拉蔬食館 • Ola

With the sad departure of Delaisu, we need a new place to top this list, and it might as well be Ola. Not to be be confused with the brunch spot of a similar name nearby. It’s a buffet, and what you get for $200 is miles above every other buffet in the city, and probably worth more. They are open for lunch every day but Monday, and for dinner only on weekends. Save room for 3rds!

Address: 950台東縣台東市漢中街245號 | # 089345869 | Google Maps 

Best quick & easy meal

溫馨小館 • Cozy House

This place feels like a home – and it basically is. Hence the name right? The rice plates are only 100ntd and come with a variety of Chinese vegetables plus a free bowl of soup or tea. There’s also do a variety of risotto dishes that come in around 130ntd, and all the other staples such as noodles and soup noodles, etc. They are open until 8pm, the owner is super nice, and there’s always a funny looking, friendly cat lounging around who isn’t afraid to say hello.

Address: No. 157, Guangming Road, Taitung City, 950 | # 08 932 8860 | Google Maps 

Best noodles & wraps

明隆春捲專賣店 • Ming Long

One of the only places with an English sign in town. They have the best wraps in the city, hands down; made with fresh sprouts, purple rice, or cabbage (<- the most popular), for 45nt each. They also have an extensive and modestly priced menu of noodles, soup, & noodles in soup! Fairly traditional stuff including sesame noodles, wonton soup, angelica noodles, etc. Service is fast and the boss lady speaks perfect English. You can’t really go wrong here and it’s centrally located to boot.

Address: No. 453-1號, Zhengqi Road, Taitung City, 950 | # 08 933 2520 | Google Maps

Best Taiwan-style night stall

台東香雅鹹素雞 • Taitung Fragrant Chicken

Aside from the cool name, this place is a godsend. When you need some proper greasy fried food late at night – this is your spot. Most places like this don’t really have much in the way of vegetarian food, but this place is 100%. A variety of mock meats are on offer and it’s not all deep fried in oil – you can choose to have your food boiled as well. I only wish they had a few tables for eating on the spot. Most importantly (if they are in stock!) they make their own fried cheese sticks for 30ntd a pop. How can you go wrong with homeade cheese-on-a stick in Taiwan?

Address: 950台東縣台東市光明路293號 • # 0937 815 087 • Google Maps

Best “late night” food spot

蘇天助素食麵 • Su Tian Zhu Noodles

If you need a late night spot – this is it. Late being relative here, because Taitung tends to close down early. But this place is open until midnight (or 11pm if there are few customers). There’s only 4 things on the menu: a rice bowl, a noodle bowl, noodles in soup, and soup. All of them feature a thick, rich, salty sauce and some kind of fake meat shreds, and all of them come in at 40ntd (or 50 for a large version). For some reason I feel like I’m going back in time, living an ancient tradition, when eating at this place. The food is tasty and exactly what the doctor ordered when you need a “late night” veg snack.

Address: No. 195, Baosang Road, Taitung City, 950 | # 08 932 3672 | Google Maps 

Best post-surf spot

翔美美食 • Xiangmei Cafe

This place is about an hour up the coast in Chenggong, and it’s a must. It seems to be the default spot for surfers when they are finished at a certain mystical wave in the area that may or may not exist. They have rice bowls, thick noodle soups, curry set meals, incredible shaved ice, and it’s very affordable. I don’t know what I’d do without this place. Don’t pay any attention to the Google rating, maybe that’s for the meat dishes they serve.

Address: 961台東縣成功鎮中山路55號 | # 089850135 | Google Maps 

Best Pizza in town

披薩阿伯 • Uncle Pete’s Pizza

I first came here in 2016, and had read about the laowai who plays violin for all the customers. Sure enough, halfway through our meal (the hummus pizza was excellent), he starts making his way around with his fiddle. He played for each and every table and then…passed right by us. Haha. Pete is one of the nicest guys in town, charges big waves, and makes a solid pizza. I recommend mix and matching on a single large pie. There’s a creaky old piano and the walls are adorned with Pete’s original artwork.

Address: 950台東縣台東市臨海路一段167號 | # 0952179165 | Google Maps

Best fish & chips in the Universe

台澢號 • Taitung Tea House

Gonna cheat here because I’m not 100% vegetarian as I do eat fish on occasion when I feel my body needs it. And I have a thing for fish & chips, haha. In fact, I might go out on a limb and say this is my favorite fish & chips in the world. Although my hometown Irish pub Kelly’s pulls a mean one as well. Anyways, you have two choices here, either classic or crispy, and the fish comes straight from the ocean nearby. The cost is a very reasonable 200ntd, and you need to pay extra for dip for your chips. And they close reallly early, at 6:30pm. Dulan is also a funky little town to spend time in and I would recommend that travelers stay up here rather than in the city.

Address: 959台東縣東河鄉146-2號 | # 0955 092 961 | Google Maps

Best veggie burger

初 早餐 • Early Breakfast

I’m not sure if that’s the actual name of this place but that’s what Google says… Anyways, this is a popular breakfast / brunch spot that is always crowded during lunch time with a young crowd. They have what I might call the best veggie burger in the city. It isn’t very large and it isn’t very typical for that matter either, but it’s a Beyond Meat burger and tastes great. In typical Taiwanese fashion it comes with a fried egg on top, and a nice charcoal bun. A solid 4.5 stars! Plenty of other breakfast stuff as well, but beware that some things use pork oil, so make sure you order from the designated vegetarian menu.

Address: 950台東縣台東市正氣路463號 | # 089330798 | Google Maps

Best all-around spot

得來素蔬食早午餐 • Delaisu

Closed? They seem to have dropped off the map. Let’s see if they make a comeback…

As the place that I frequent the most, I’ve got no problem putting this at the top of the list. You could say it’s a Taiwanese take on fast food, veggie style.  But it’s so much more than that. Not only is it cheap, but you have a very large menu with everything from Italian & udon noodles to rice curry dishes to an assortment of veggie burgers and hot dogs with fries, sandwiches, and more. It also doubles as a breakfast / brunch spot, in particular the zhua bing wraps are excellent. You can sometimes score some nice seasonal fruit from area farms to boot. The only bummer is that they close at 1:30pm and aren’t open for dinner. Say hello to the nice ladies behind the counter for me!

Address: No. 627, Gengsheng Road, Taitung City, 950 | # 08 922 2288 | Google Maps 

ABC Deli

Sadly, they are closed. RIP to the nicest falafel & pita on the island. A few photos for posterity…