10 dishes you must try
The most-loved dishes — ranked by what locals actually order, not what tourists are pushed toward
1The bowl that defines Chiayi — shredded turkey over steamed rice with chicken-fat drizzle and pickled daikon. NT$35-50 and you will order a second.
2Live chub fish deep-fried then simmered in a clay pot with tofu, vermicelli and taro. Netflix-famous since 2019. Queue-only, no reservations.
At 1,403m on the Alishan Forest Railway, a century-old wooden box holds braised pork, egg, pickled vegetables and rice. It tastes better because of where you are.
A crisp, flaky square biscuit shattering into airy shards at first bite. Classic salted sesame; modern bakeries offer taro, matcha, cheese. Excellent train-home souvenir.
Chiayi's classic morning ritual: warm apricot-kernel almond milk paired with fresh-fried youtiao that snaps crisply. Yu Xiang Wu on Zhongshan Road — locals queue before dawn.
Chiayi's cool-evening meal — thin-sliced beef in a personal hot pot of sa-cha broth (dried shrimp, garlic, chilli, coconut). Gentler and more fragrant than Sichuan mala.
One of Asia's rising specialty coffees, grown at 1,000–1,500m with volcanic soil. Floral sweetness, bright acidity, silky mouthfeel — prized by Japanese and Scandinavian roasters.
Chiayi summers are fierce — the antidote is piled shaved ice with seasonal fruit. A-Er's silken tofu and peanut-soup variation at Wenhua Night Market is the cult version.
Eggs simmered in soy, five-spice, black tea and star anise until deeply mahogany. Warming in a clay pot at every Alishan Forest Railway stop. NT$10–20 each.
Freshwater eel flash-fried in a blazing wok with ginger, vinegar and dark soy until the edges caramelise, then tossed with thick noodles. "Bearded Rong's" at Wenhua Night Market is the legendary name.