Taipei is one of the most vegan friendly cities in the world. When you walk through the streets in Taipei, it’s not hard to discover new vegetarian and vegan options every few steps.
From small street vendors selling affordable veg dumplings, to a classy restaurant offering some of the best vegan food you'll ever have, Taipei is a great destination for a vegan foodie trip. In this guide, let me show you some of my favourite places to have delicious food in Taipei.
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Foldie
Vegetarian | Near Zhongxiao Dunhua Station
Foldie stands out as one of my top recommendations for vegan food in Taipei thanks to its innovative menu, visually stunning presentation and intricate flavours and textures.
The menu features creative takes on Asian favourites like tomato wonton with a creamy chilli dressing and truffle stinky tofu, as well as Asian twist on classic western burgers and pasta. Their menu marks the dishes that contain egg or milk, and the ones that aren’t marked are vegan.
During my visit, I decided to order four of their appetisers. Each plate is a masterpiece of intricate flavours and textures. One standout dish is the coffee braised pork belly with taro rice cake which contrasts a vegan fatty pork with varying textures as well as taro cake that has chewy top part and a crispy fried bottom part, all enhanced by a rich coffee-infused sauce. The truffle stinky tofu is another surprise with a golden crispy exterior and a umami sesame dip. As the stinky tofu is quite mild here in terms of ‘stinkiness’, it may be a good chance to sample this Taiwanese street food classic. The other dishes - Tomato wonton with creamy chilli filling, and minced pork gyoza with chive flowers and salted black bean sauce - are both fantastic as well.
Although they don’t have a big selection of vegan desserts, the mille feuille is heavenly and has become a highlight of my whole trip. From the flaky mille feuille layers, to the rich Hakka tea (lei cha/thunder tea) and black sesame thick cream, this dessert is next level amazing.
Foldie has a sophisticated atmosphere, though it can become quite noisy during busy hours. Despite the bustling environment, the superb food quality, together with the friendly service and classy decor make this a must-visit in Taipei.
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Mukuchi Kitchen & Bar 無口小廚
Vegan | Near Daqiaotou Station
Nestled near the historic Dihua Old Street, Mukuchi Kitchen & Bar is a hidden gem that offers delicious vegan ramen bowls. Tucked away in a charming alleyway, this restaurant lets you enjoy your ramen with a view of traditional Taiwanese architecture. It’s a popular place so be prepared for a short wait during peak hours.
They are all vegan and specialise in ramen bowls, which hit all the right notes with its hearty and rich flavours. You can choose between a light sugarcane clear soup or a creamy oat milk base. For the topping flavours, you have options from the classic soy sauce or miso, to more creative flavours like truffle or pomelo pepper. Just be careful of the spicy toppings as they may be too spicy for some (I ordered the tantan flavour. Despite having only one chilli icon, it was almost too spicy to eat for me).
Also, don’t miss out on their delightful sides like the crispy asparagus tofu skin rolls, or desserts like oat milk panna cotta and drinks like oat milk milk tea to complete your meal.
Just around the corner from Mukuchi, you’ll find Koneko (coffee shop) and SyoSyoHouBou 無所洋食 (specialises in pasta and rice bowls) that are owned by the same company.
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TauHuYaki 島呼燒
Vegan | Near Daqiaotou Station
Tau Hu Yaki is a little dessert shop that specialises in cute vegan pancakes. Crafted with a unique batter made from tofu and oat milk, these pancakes has a soft, cake-like shell reminiscent of the Japanese street dessert imagawayaki. Each freshly made pancake comes in a variety of flavours like matcha red bean, brown sugar mochi, and seasonal fruit jams.
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Nice Cream
Vegan | Multiple locations
If you’re craving some desserts, then Nice Cream is a must-visit vegan gelato shop in Taipei. Expect to find flavours like chocolate and pistachio here, with other rotating and seasonal flavours.
I love the ice cream with egg waffle here. They are able to veganise egg waffle, which is a street dessert usually made with eggs (obviously). This vegan version is just as delicious with a crispy outside and soft chewy inside, which pairs perfectly with their ice cream.
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BaganHood
Vegan | Near Taipei City Hall Station
Located near the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and within walking distance of the Taipei 101 area, Baganhood is a classy vegan restaurant with some good quality food. They offer a predominantly Western menu that includes burgers and pasta, alongside some fusion dishes. While the prices are on the premium side, the high quality of the food makes it a worthwhile foodie destination.
There are some standout dishes like the Sichuan peppercorn fried chicken that’s made from enoki mushrooms. It features a light, crispy batter with a well-seasoned stringy interior that mimics the fried chicken texture. Another dish I tried is the mezze maniche rigate with yolk and cheese, which is well-made but lacks a bit of the wow factor I was hoping for.
The restaurant also has a retail space where you can purchase vegan goodies to take home.
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Vegan Amore
Vegan | Near Taipei Station
Located on the 3rd floor of the Q Square shopping centre, this restaurant has an extensive, all-vegan menu that also caters to people who don't eat the five pungent roots.
The fried chicken with wasabi mayo was the standout dish during my visit with a rich teriyaki sauce and a meaty texture. You'll also find a selection of pasta, burgers, desserts and more. The price is not cheap especially for Taiwan, but the good food quality and convenient location still makes Vegan Amore worth a visit.
For more options near Taipei Station and Ximending, check out this vegan food guide.
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Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐
Vegan-option | Multiple locations
Din Tai Fung, renowned globally for its exquisite xiaolongbao, has expanded its menu to cater to vegan diners in Taiwan. I was excited to try out their vegan offerings, but ended up quite disappointed for its average food quality.
Starting with the positive, their vegan menu is clear with a good variety of dishes. And the prices are quite reasonable. However, because Din Tai Fung is famous for their xiaolungbao with a juicy filling, I am disappointed that the vegan version has almost no soup and a veggie filling that’s on the bland side. The other dishes I tried - vegetarian mushroom buns and taro xiaolungbao - are also pretty average.
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DeliSoys 上善豆家
Vegetarian | Near Zhongxiao Fuxing Station
Delisoys is a modern restaurant specialising in soy-based dishes, with about 60% of the menu offering clearly-marked vegan options. The restaurant serves a range of flavourful dishes, from pan-fried dumplings with a crispy, web-like crust to savoury clay pot dishes and stir-fries.
For dessert, order the traditional dessert 'douhua', which is a sweet tofu pudding that offers a smooth and delicate tofu texture.
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Yang Shin Vegetarian Restaurant 養心茶樓
Vegetarian | Near Songjiang Nanjing Station
This is a great place to go to try out vegan Chinese yum cha and dim sum. Most of the choices are vegan. The ones with egg or milk are marked clearly.
You can find the classic dim sum like shao mai, dumplings, buns and rice noodle rolls here. All the dishes I tried here are delicious. Finish the meal with a black sesame paste, which is a dessert soup with sweet, fragrant black sesame flavour.
One thing to keep in mind is that this place is quite busy. Despite being a decent-sized restaurant, the whole place was filled up at around 12:30 during my visit.
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Vege Creek
Vegan | Multiple locations
Vege Creek is a vegan choose-your-own-ingredients soup noodle chain in Taipei with a few locations in popular areas, including in Taoyuan International Airport.
You can build your noodle bowl with options including mock meat, tofu, vegetables, noodles and more. After choosing your ingredients, you hand the ingredients to the staff and pay. You will receive a buzzer which will notify you when the noodles are ready (usually within a few minutes).
The bowl of noodles is hearty and delicious, especially great for colder weather. The soup base is flavourful and the ingredients are cooked well.
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Fruitful Food 果然匯
Vegetarian | Multiple locations
Fruitful Food is an all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffet chain with multiple locations across Taiwan, including two branches in Taipei. They are highly popular, so to secure a spot, I recommend arriving early or making an online reservation through their website. Prices are about NT$600-$700 depending on the time and day, which I think is a great value because of the variety of food.
All the food and drinks are marked clearly. Look for the leaf symbol with the word 全素, which about 60% of the dishes are vegan on the day of visit. The food stations are all very active with a steady flow of fresh dishes throughout the service hours. The made-to-order stations are also great with options like stir fry lion’s mane mushrooms and hearty clay pot noodles.
Cross-contamination could be a problem, especially for the ice cream and dessert sections. For example, even though the ice cream station has separate scoops for vegan and dairy ice creams, customers don’t necessarily follow the rules which results in dairy ice cream mixed with the vegan options. And the dessert section has a similar problem of customers using the same tongs for vegan and non-vegan desserts. If you are unsure, ask the staff for new utensils.
Despite the problem, I’d still recommend Fruitful Food buffet for its extensive and tasty vegan options.
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NUTTEA
Vegan | Near Da'an Station
NUTTEA is a vegan bubble tea shop specialising in nut milk and nut cream that's made using 5 types of nuts: almond, cashew, macadamia, hazelnut and walnut. For first-timers, I highly recommend any drinks with the thick and delicious nut cream. I've tried the four seasons tea with pistachio cream and matcha with strawberry cream, both of which are delicious.
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Shang Ding Huang Jia 上頂皇家素食水煎包
Vegan | Near Taipei Station
This shop is popular among vegan travellers for a reason - Their dumplings (potstickers) and buns are super affordable and delicious. The dumplings are just NT$30 for a half-serve of 5 and buns are NT$15 for one. Both options are well-made, fresh and full of filling.
