Life in Taiwan engages all of the senses. From the waves of scooters whizzing by on a humid summer day to the cicadas buzzing around you on a cool evening hike, the sights, sounds and sensations of the country are unique. But in order to truly appreciate the food-loving Taiwanese culture, you must also come with an empty stomach and a penchant for foodie adventures. 

Imagine walking down a crowded street at night that is lined with booths of fried finger foods, fresh fruit and seafood, strange unknown meats and delicious drinks and desserts. That dream is a reality with Taiwan’s night markets, the trademark of the Taiwanese eating experience. It’s almost as if you are going out to an incredibly cheap home-cooked meal, except every stand is a different home and every stand owner is the master of his or her kitchen. Often times, they will cook your food right there in front of you. You can watch as the chef lathers a slice of squid with a spicy marinade and throws it on the grill. Order an oyster omelet and see it slowly materialize on the heated stovetop in front of you.

In addition to its high quality and low prices, this night market culture is inherently a more social experience than other dining options. When you go to a night market, you are constantly wandering through the bustling streets and hidden alleys with your friends and family. It is a type of culinary window-shopping, an event that becomes as much about the exploration as the eating itself. As you each purchase your own items — beef noodle soup, bite-sized fried mini-crabs or, if you’re daring, the ubiquitous foul-smelling stinky tofu — you are constantly exchanging bites and sips of each other’s orders. 

These fresh food meccas seem to be more than a mere tourist attraction as local families, teenagers and couples seem to frequent them as often as visitors do. Some may be slightly commercialized, as is the case with Taipei’s largest market, Shilin Night Market, but the food quality rarely suffers and the prices stay relatively affordable no matter how popular a certain area gets. Scattered throughout all of Taiwan’s major cities and towns, these night markets are open every night until the crowds die down. They provide a perfect dinner or late night snack for the most fast-paced, fearless and frugal of customers. 

If cheap street food isn’t your style, there are several sit-down restaurant options as well. In the modernized Xinyi district surrounding Taipei 101, you can find a host of steakhouses, gourmet dim sum spots and dessert cafés scattered among other bars and nightlife hotspots. A 45-minute MRT ride north out of the city will take you to the coastal suburb of Danshui, which offers excellent seafood meals alongside a well-developed fisherman’s wharf. Even the relatively rural beachfront county of Yilan on Taiwan’s northeast coast features many family-owned eateries that serve buffet-style meals to locals and visitors alike. 

But the restaurant of global renown to eat at — ranked by the New York Times in 1993 as one of the top 10 restaurants in the world — is upscale dumpling house Din Tai Fung. The food here isn’t as cheap as some dishes served by street vendors, but the price tag is well worth it. Din Tai Fung has made a name for itself by perfecting its handcrafted specialty soup dumpling. The traditional steamed dumpling holds a tasty broth inside its soft, outer dough. As you take a bite, you get a burst of this flavorful soup which adds the right kick to the meaty, doughy deliciousness of the dumpling. Other personal favorites at Din Tai Fung are the spicy shrimp and pork wontons and the stir-fry water spinach.

Admittedly, I have grown up a Din Tai Fung fanatic. One of the restaurant’s two American locations is just ten minutes away from my house in Bellevue, Wash., the other location being in Arcadia, Calif. But the original restaurant in Taiwan, though tightly packed, spans an impressive five floors in central Taipei.

Wherever or whatever you decide to eat, Taiwan has both the variety and the quality to curb your appetite. Between the night markets, the world-renowned restaurant chains and the hole-in-the-wall local joints, my trip here is quickly becoming one extended food coma. And with a full stomach and an equally full wallet, I’m not complaining.

Stay tuned next week for my review on my upcoming trip to the South of Taiwan! 

Reach columnist Perry Nunes here.