We're Digital Nomads Living in Taipei, Taiwan. Here's What We Eat.
These aren't the kind of meals you'd post on Instagram — this is what we eat every day. With prices!
Every time we write about some “practical” aspect of our lives as digital nomads, we’re surprised by how well people respond. We have to remind ourselves: what’s “normal” to us is often very interesting to others — especially to anyone considering this lifestyle.
So we thought people might be interested in exactly what we eat.
We’ve often said that when we’re living in countries where restaurants are cheap for us Westerners, we tend to eat most dinners out.
But we’re currently living in Taipei, Taiwan, and one thing we’ve discovered about Asian countries is that almost everyone eats a lot of meals out.
No, really — almost no one cooks!
It’s partly because casual dining is cheap even by local standards — as cheap or cheaper than cooking for yourself. Taiwan has essentially “crowdsourced” its dietary needs.
It’s also because the apartments are too small to have real kitchens. But maybe this is a chicken-or-the-egg thing: kitchens are small because eating out is so cheap.
Take a look at the kitchen in our first apartment:
What follows are our casual, day-to-day dinners: five places we keep going back to again and again.
We could try to dazzle you with pictures of our occasional “nice dinners out,” like all those travel-influencers on Instagram.
But that’s not what this article is.
We’re also including prices (in USD), but do keep in mind we are living in the Xinyi District, probably the most expensive part of town.
About half the time, we eat in the restaurant (or find nearby seating), and about half the time, we get takeout and eat it in our apartment (and then feel guilty about all the unnecessary takeout packaging).
“The Buffet Place” Right Around the Corner
Buffets are extremely popular in Taipei, and this is the one that’s closest to our apartment. You grab a plate, dish up what you want, and then the checker — well, she doesn’t weigh the plate like in America. Instead, she sort of paws through it with a pair of tongs and then announces a price.
Honestly, after five or six visits, I’m convinced there’s no method to her pricing — she’s just charging by the mood.
Self-serve water, tea, and soup are free, and a big bowl of rice is a very slight additional charge.
Incidentally, that lack of a “sneeze-guard” would never fly in America, would it? There is a warming rack under most of the food, but we’ve also noticed that they put food out once and then leave it until it’s gone.
Because of that — and because Chinese food doesn’t sit particularly well in buffets — we always try to get there early.
Price for a typical dinner per person: $3-$5 USD, based partly on how much meat you get, but mostly on how much the clerk likes the look of you that day.
(There are no added taxes or tipping in Taiwan.)
“The Dumpling Place” Down a Nearby Alley
In Taiwanese cooking, dumplings are one of the three major food groups (along with noodles and soup — yes, this is a joke).
My God, these people love their dumplings!
And we like them too — mostly. When we were in Seoul last month, we mentioned how there is meat in everything — how one dumpling restaurant even had a sign out front in English: “There is pork in all our dumplings” — even the “vegetable” ones!
That’s 100% true here too. Except the “leek” — those might legitimately be vegetarian.
They have a zillion different kinds of potstickers (fried) and dumplings (steamed), and they’re all about 24 cents each.
No one speaks any English, and like most restaurants here, you write your own order on a slip of paper and give it to the clerk (which requires us to use Google Translate since the order form is in Chinese).
But it’s fairly easy to figure out, and surprisingly for a place like this, they take credit cards.
Michael likes the “curry” dumplings, but I think they have too much — yes — meat.
Price for a typical dinner per person (12 dumplings): $2.75.
“The Indian Place” One Block Over
Here’s a good travel hack: if you’re in unfamiliar surroundings and you don’t want to risk a bad meal, go Indian. Not all Indian food is equally good, but it’s a hard cuisine to screw up too badly.
After trying several Indian places, we decided this little hole-in-the-wall right near our apartment is the best. Literally everything they cook is amazing.
And the Indian cook is extremely handsome. That certainly doesn’t hurt.
Here’s a typical dinner for the two of us:
Price for a typical dinner per person, with multiple selections, saffron rice, and naan: $11 — $15 with drinks and samosas.
“The Healthy Salad Place” at a Nearby Mall
Speaking of pork in everything, real Chinese cuisine isn’t as healthy as I expected. Along with all the meat and grease, the rice is always white, and there’s even more deep-fried crap than back in America.
It is much easier to get vegetables than in America (and the vegetables are delicious, unlike in the U.S.), and I love all the properly-cooked tofu.
But I still frequently find myself craving healthier food, so I'm glad we found this salad place in the food court of a nearby mall.
You choose from a bunch of different salads, and it’s easy to get a good mix of grains and vegetables.
But I’m convinced I’m the only one who ever gets my favorite salad — a lightly marinated nine-bean one — because there’s only one little tray in the display, always with only one portion left. And they always say they don’t have any more.
Price for a typical dinner per person: $4 (if we share one extra-large salad with a big bowl of soup) or $6.50 (if we each get our own large salads).
“The Other Buffet Place,” Where Someone Serves You
The buffet mentioned above is an indoor place that primarily caters to young professionals. This one is more working class, and here they serve you.
The food might be slightly better at the other buffet place, but here it’s cheaper — and the checker isn't as mercurial.
Dinner tonight was (clockwise from upper left): glass noodles; stir-fried tree ear fungus; marinated vegetables (surprisingly good!); stir-fried morning glory; fried boneless chicken; and fried tofu.
Price for a typical dinner per person: $3-$4.
Like this feature? Let us know, and we’ll do it in other countries too!
Brent Hartinger is a screenwriter and author. Check out my new newsletter about my books and movies at www.BrentHartinger.com. And preorder my latest book, below.
Great article! Yes, I’d love to see this for every country!
These “slice of life” articles are really fun. I enjoy insights into your day to day.