What to do eat in Dan Shui taipei

Hello friends, I wrote quite a bit about the night markets in Taiwan including Tonghua, Shilin, and Keelung. This time I want to talk about something you can do during the daytime. Enjoying Dan Shui.

Dan Shui is located a good 45 mins MRT away from the center of Taipei city. I usually come here after heading up to Beitou to enjoy the hotsprings since it’s along the way back.

Dan Shui view

When you arrive, the first thing that you will see is the gorgeous ocean wharf. This was something that I definitely missed living in the city for so long. It’s nice to have a breath of fresh air.

No need to despair about not being able to explore the water further because you can take a ferry boat ride across the water to the Fisherman’s wharf.

Along the wharf where you see a bunch of people, that’s where you know to line up. Before you start going in line though, you need to make sure you buy your tickets! It’s 90NT for a trip there and back.

Being that it’s a fishing wharf there’s not much there when you arrive but there is an old street with lots of stalls. Some selling souvenirs while others sell snacks. Something to keep in mind is if you are a seafood junkie, this is the place to get it!

Braised tea eggs

The thing to get here are the tea braised eggs. They’re so flavorful and delicious! They have them in quail, goose and chicken versions!

The other popular stand here is the donut stand. They’ve been there for years at at 10 for 150NT ($6 CAD) it’s a total steal!

Wharf

There wasn’t much to do on the wharf so we returned after half and hour. The ride back was rocky and wavy so if you’re prone to being sick on boats, make sure you’re prepared!

When we returned we went to the old street to look for things to eat and buy. There are lots of teas and nougats so if you’re a fan of those, that’s where you should get them!

It’s usually a pretty busy street but if you go later in the day, it’s calmer since people usually go in the morning.

Sponge cake

★★★★

On the way there, we came across this sponge cake shop. There was a two block long line so Old bean said we had to go. Turns out they make these GIANT sponge cakes and sell them for cheap! You can either get the original flavor or the cheese flavor where they stuff American cheese in the middle. Strange I know but they love putting their American cheese on all sorts of pastries here.

Look at how big it looks when it comes out of the oven! Then they cut it into eight giant steamy pieces and pop them into boxes for you.

Can you see how high these are! The height on that thing is amazing! I It was a good 4 inches!

Sooooo soft and flufffyyyy!

Speaking of pastries, these are AMAZING. They also sell these at various shops but I find that these QQ cakes are the best since they offer sooo many more flavors and there’s the most mochi on the inside.

QQ cakes

★★★★

Whoops, I didn’t even explain what they were. A QQ cake is basically a round pastry that is stuffed with a flavored filling paste and mochi so it’s gooey and flaky at the same time! This particular shop offers matcha, taro, sweet potato, curry, meat floss, mountain yam and red bean flavors!

After all the sweets we decided that it was about time for us to sit down and have a savory meal. We decided to stop by this “mom and pop” shop because 1) most people were here and 2) I was brought here last time by locals.

Noodles and meat sauce

★★★

And here they are! The top left is the fried tofu with crystal noodles on the inside, then we have the fishballs with pork and last but not least, egg noodles with meat sauce.

Fish balls

★★

I always find these fishballs to be so interesting looking because they are filled with meat. I wonder how they made them that way? The texture of these weren’t soft and bouncy as you would find with most fish balls. Instead they were tender and had a bite to them.

Ah-ge tofu

★★★

This is called the “ah-ge” tofu. It’s a giant tofu puff filled with crystal noodles and then closed up with fish paste before being deep fried. Then, it’s topped with a sweet sauce similar to hoisin. It’s quite the unique dish and is a must have.