Must-eat Delicacies
Enjoying local gourmet food is a must on a trip.
2019 Select Delicacies
Shops that represent Kaohsiung City are picked by voting in the contest held by the City Government.
Cuisines of Military Dependents’ Village
In the early days, soldiers who came to Taiwan with the government brought the food culture of various places in China to Taiwan. There are numerous military dependents’ villages in Zuoying and Fongshan, and their dishes integrate the local features to become the cuisine characteristic of Kaohsiung, including hot pot with pickled cabbage, beef noodles, dumplings, etc. You can taste them all at local restaurants and diners.
Mullet roe
Because of its hot weather, you can often see mullet roes being sun-dried throughout Kaohsiung. Mullet roes are a very authentic Taiwanese coastal delicacy, entirely handmade and take 6-10 days to complete the process. The rich, oily aroma of mullet roes, the slightly sticky texture, when eaten with sliced radish and scallions, will fully release their freshness and sweetness.
Spring rolls
Spring rolls are a traditional festival dish. Thin wrappers wrap around ingredients such as bean sprouts, carrots, and cabbages. When peanut powder joins other ingredients in spring rolls, the freshness of the pork will be further emphasized.
Baozi
Baozi is a common street food in Taiwan. There are many followers for either sweet or savory baozi. You can do no wrong whether you pick sweet sesame baozi, custard baozi or savory meat and scallion baozi.
Ice desserts
The hot weather in Kaohsiung is the reason why there is such a wide variety of ice shops here for people to choose from. All kinds of ice desserts, such as snow ice, shaved ice, cottony ice and ice cream, help the citizens of Kaohsiung drive away the moody feeling of the stifling summer.
Gourmands’ recommendations
Hakka cuisines in Meinong
Meinong is famous for Hakka cuisine and has inherited special cooking methods from the early days. Mouth-watering dishes such as braised pork with dried bamboo shoots, braised bitter gourd with pineapple sauce, and braised pork knuckle all use rock sugar to intensity the color, and fried shallots to bring out the flavor. Their oily, shiny luster, along with the fragrance of charcoal, and rich aroma of soy sauce provide the savory sweet taste that will not be forgotten for sure.
more Moon World Mud Chicken
In addition to a great spot for sightseeing, the world-renowned mud volcanoes at Tianliao Moon World can also be used to create special meals. Wrap free-range chicken in aluminum foil and then cover the whole thing with volcano mud. Roast it for three hours in a high temperature oven. Crack the mud open with a hammer to reveal the juicy and aromatic kiln-roasted chicken that will surely amaze you with its savory yumminess.
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Featured specialties in Kaohsiung
Cishan’s Banana
Kaohsiung’s Cishan the “Kingdom of Banana” in Taiwan. Pay a visit to Cishan Old Street and treat yourself to all kinds of banana desserts such as banana eggrolls, banana cakes and banana popsicles!
Jiasian’s Taro
Jiasian is the “Home of Taro.” Taros grown here have soft and delicate texture. Taro cake, taro balls and taro ice made of Jiasian’s taros are all must-eat delicacies.
Meinong's White Jade Radish
Meinong is famous for its radishes harvested in autumn. You can experience pulling radishes out by yourself. Meinong's White Jade Radish is delicious whether they are made into cold salad, soup or pickle.
