After a decade in the restaurant industry, teaching myself how to make Taiwanese food and cooking in the pressure cooker that is New York City, I’ve learned that the most powerful ingredient in many recipes is nostalgia. It often makes you assume the food you were raised on is the best way to eat — the only way — and makes you consistently return to your childhood favorites without a second thought. But just because you grew up with a certain dish or a certain restaurant doesn’t mean it’s good. I make trips to my hometown of Taipei a few times a year, and with each one, I try to shake off my nostalgia bias. Sometimes I eat at one of my regular spots and realize, This is kind of ass. Sometimes I stumble into a random food stall and end up finding my new go-to. Those experiences got me thinking: Where would I bring my staff from New York to try Taiwanese breakfast for the first time? Or someone who has never been to Taipei and has no idea about the incredible craft beer scene here? That’s how this list came about. It shows how I maneuver around Taipei in a day — it’s a joy ride through everything that makes this city an international destination. There are old-school spots, like the Taiwanese stir-fry restaurant I always come back to (even though I technically run a Taiwanese stir-fry restaurant of my own), and a temple to beef noodle soup…
