What to eat in Kaohsiung & where to eat in Kaohsiung? — Top 15 Kaohsiung must eat food & best places to try them

Well this probably doesn’t need much reminders ?! Taiwan bubble milk tea paradise with countless shops on the streets, you will be overwhelmed by not knowing which store to visit.

Bubble milk tea taste is soft but rich flavor, crunchy pearls when chewing. Bubble milk tea here is slightly fragrant, fat, fresh milk does not overwhelm the traditional tea taste. Generally is standard!

Do whatever you want, but you definitely have to try at least one cup of bubble milk tea to complete your trip. You can see which shops are crowded with people, let come in, don’t have to confused so much. If you do not drink bubble milk tea as well as you have not come to Taiwan.

Mango Shaved Ice

Taiwanese Mango Shaved Ice has long been famous, especially in Kaohsiung. This dish consists of smooth shaved ice, mango cubes, syrup and a big mango ice cream ball, making this dish really a great refreshment. This is also a must try food in Kaohsiung.

Where to eat in Kaohsiung? Some best places to eat in Kaohsiung you definitely must visit

Ruifeng Night Market (Ruifang Night Market)

It is considered the most attractive night market in Kaohsiung, bringing together more than 1.000 booths, stalls selling all kinds of traditional Taiwanese cuisine and delicious dishes of other countries. Just take the MRT to Kaohsiung Arena station (red line), exit the door at Exit 3, go straight for 3-4 minutes to arrive! The only tips is you should come here in the evening and when you really hungry, because there are billions of dishes in the market, but it will be regretful if not try all…

Some outstanding dishes are:

Fujian fried noodles (曾氏福建炒麵 ZNEG’s Fujian chaomian)

Right from the main gate, first turn, go straight for about 1-2 minutes you will see it on the right, a beautiful little shop with the words 曾氏福建炒麵 ZNEG’s Fujian chaomian. In contrast to its appearance, the noodle of this shop is really super delicious. Stir-fried noodles are very soft, not dry, meat, shrimp are full, pleasant to taste. Only about $3 for a portion that can enough for 2 people.

God Fried Chicken Steak (上帝雞排)

This shop takes the most time to find because it is located at a less crowded turn. Experience when going to Ruifeng night market is that you must follow zigzag road to discover all the corners of this market.

However, when you have found it, it really deserves and as the name of the shop, after eating this chicken steak, you will go to heaven too. The medium-fried chicken breast (chicken steak) is soft and hot, addictive! There are 5 tastes you choose, among them the best is the cheese and the sour-spicy Thai chicken flavor!

QQ Ball (mini doughnuts)

You will see it at the beginning of the market. As mentioned above, the cake is delicious and this stall is very crowded so you need to take advantage of the right time to buy without having to queue.

There are also fried potato doughnuts, cakes, jelly, …. 1 billion things to eat here. Traveling to Kaohsiung, do not skip the night market of Ruifeng.

Ruifeng Night Market
Address: Yucheng Road, Zuoying Dist., Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Total retail floor area: 3,000 m²
Hours: 6PM–12AM / Monday, Wednesday: Closed
Phone: +886 986 554 866

Liuhe Night Market/Liuhe Tourist Night Market

Special market for tourists (English name is Liuhe Tourist Night Market). However there are also many delicious dishes and also have convenient Cosmed & Watson store to buy cosmetics bring back after eating. Take the MRT to Formosa Boulevard station, Exit 11, the market located on the right your hand.

Some delicious dishes are:

Hollow Doughnuts (胡椒餅)

In the middle of the night market, just go and find, you will see. The cake have chopped pork inside + scallions + black pepper. The flavor of cake is pungent and spicy, quite interesting, the marinated meat is very rich, crispy and crunchy, with price of $1.28/cake.

Grilled food

Just a short distance away from Hollow Doughnuts stall, there are all kind of types of meat and vegetables here, just choose and give them into a basket and charge and go to the table for waiting. The grilled food here is very rich, it looks a bit burnt, but it tastes good. However, a minus point is a bit expensive, a person who pick a little of some meat, vegetables has to pay 200 ~ 300 TWD ($6.38 ~ $9.57). If money is not a problem then you must try it.

Papaya Milk Smoothie

As I mentioned above, Papaya Milk Smoothie may not sound very attractive but this is Taiwan night market specialty! Even in this market, there also are dozens of different shops selling Papaya Milk but you must find out delicious stall, it located just a few steps from the beginning of the market, right in front of Cosmed & Watson cosmetics shop. The smoothie here is super rich and bold, papaya here has a sweet taste so I order no sugar, no ice. A big and fat cup of papaya smoothie with fresh milk and sweet taste of ripe papaya.

Liuhe Night Market
Address: Liuhe 2nd Road, Xinxing District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan 800
Phone: +886 7 285 6786

In addition to these 2 popular night markets, Kaohsiung also has other bustling night markets for you to enjoy street food such as: Ziqiang Night Market, Jilin Night Market, Freedom Sunset Market,… So much, every day visit one market, I’m sure, you need at least 2 weeks to explore all these markets. Therefore, it is necessary to search on the Google map a bit to see which market is closest to your place, then go.

Qishan Street Food

It will be a big mistake if you do not visit Qishan culinary street during your trip to Kaohsiung.. This neighborhood with ancient beauty possesses a unique culinary background, you will find all the traditional dishes that make up the name of Kaohsiung here. Each dish is elaborately and meticulously processed by expert chefs. The taste is different from other places. Although delicious, but the price is quite reasonable, giving 10 points.

We have a very detailed review of this street here: Qishan Kaohsiung — How to visit Qishan Old Street & Meinong Folk Village in one day?

Ceng Ji Kitchen (曾記廚房)

This shop does not have an English name, so it must be found in Chinese. Take the MRT to Yanchengpu Station, exit 2, and walking about 5 minutes away to come, use the address below and find it on Google Map, it’s simple. This shop is most famous for being a dish but hear the name you just wanted to try:Shark fin soup! Honestly, I don’t know if it’s true that the soup is made from shark fin, but it’s really super-delicious. Go here and eat a bowl of shark fin soup/shark fin noodles to experience this special light sour soup.

Address: 高雄市鹽埕區新樂街162號 (162 Xinle Street, Yancheng District, Kaohsiung City)
Hours: 11:00-14:30 & 17:00-20:00

Xiaoyin Liangcha Milk Tea (小飲涼茶)

Another store doesn’t have a name in English but super famous in Kaohsiung recently! Ignoring the glamour that attracts me come here for the first time, bubble milk tea here is really delicious! I don’t like to drink sugar, so I always order milk tea without sugar or has a little sugar. Bubble milk tea here is light sweet, fat, light fresh milk but still does not overwhelm the taste of tea. Pearls are tough, soft, pleasant to taste! In addition, I also tried mango tea here, also very delicious.

Address: 高雄市成功一路276號 (No.276, Success Road, Kaohsiung City)
Hours: 10:00~20:30

In addition, there are many famous restaurants in Kaohsiung serve countless local traditional dishes that you can enjoy. However, eating in a restaurant is definitely more expensive than eating in a street or night markets, so you should consider your budget before making a decision. Some famous names for your reference: Ikki (Kaohsiung Dream Mall Branch), Yakiyan (Kaohsiung Zhongshan), Din Tai Fung Kaohsiung Store, Tasty Steak (Kaohsiung Zhongshan Branch) …

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, to and from Kaohsiung you can refer to

• Kaohsiung Classic Attractions Day Tour
• Kaohsiung Unlimited MRT Pass
• Kaohsiung i-Ride Experience Center
• Mini Suzuka Circuit Kart Racing Ticket in Kaohsiung
• Kaohsiung Sea and Mountain Tour
• Kaohsiung Night Tour
• Suzuka Circuit Park Ticket in Kaohsiung
• [10% Off + 1 Extra Free Day] 4G SIM Card (TW Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan from Chunghwa Telecom
• 4G SIM Card (TPE Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan from Far EasTone Telecom
• 4G WiFi (TW Airport Pick Up) for Taiwan
• 4G Portable WiFi for Taiwan from Uroaming (Unlimited Data)
• 4G Portable WiFi for Taiwan from WiFiBB (Unlimited Data)
• 4G LTE WiFi (TW Airport Pick Up) for Japan
• [Sale – Taiwan Food Promo] Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Discounted Ticket from Taipei
• Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Consecutive Unlimited Pass (2 or 3 Days)
• Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Discounted Ticket from Taoyuan
• THSR Exclusive Discount One Way Ticket from Taoyuan (Two Tickets for the Price of One)

Are you finding more top things to do in Kaohsiung: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Kaohsiung blog — The fullest Kaohsiung travel guide blog for a budget trip to Kaohsiung, Taiwan.