10 dishes you must try
The most-loved dishes — ranked by what locals actually order, not what tourists are pushed toward
1Sanxing scallions layered with oil between spirals of dough, pressed on a seasoned iron griddle until the outside shatters and the inside stays flaky and fragrant. The best stalls — notably Ke's Scallion Pancake in Jiaoxi — have weekend queues that extend half a block. Eat plain, no sauce.
2Yilan's most prized edible souvenir. Whole Kailan ducks dry-rubbed with Taiwanese spice, cold-smoked over sugarcane, air-dried until firm and mahogany-red. Sliced thin and eaten cold — lightly salty, faintly smoky, with a savoury sweetness from the sugarcane smoke. Yang Sheng at Luodong Night Market has been doing this for decades.
A Luodong Night Market original you won't find in Taipei. Seasoned pork paste wrapped in egg-roll skin, deep-fried until the outside crackles and the inside steams juicy. Cylindrical, golden-brown, scallion-fragrant. Buy one hot, eat it standing — that is the way.
Tender lamb slow-braised with Chinese angelica root and warming herbs, broth a deep caramel brown. The danggui's slightly bitter earthiness transforms the lamb's richness into something surprisingly clean on the palate. Arrive early — the queue starts well before the evening rush.
5The dessert Yilan does better than anywhere else in Taiwan. A papery spring-roll skin, shaved peanut brittle curled over it, two or three scoops of ice cream (taro, peanut, red bean or the divisive but wonderful cilantro), rolled tight. Cold, creamy, crunchy, soft — all at once. NT$40 is a bargain anywhere on earth.
6Jiaoxi's springs emerge at exactly 45–56°C — the temperature range that gives the white its barely-set, silky texture and the yolk its warm flowing-custard consistency. The sodium bicarbonate water adds a mineral delicacy that kitchen cooking cannot replicate. Available from kiosks at Jiaoxi Station and beside the public foot-bath area.
Water spinach irrigated with mineral-rich spring water — noticeably more tender than conventionally grown versions, stems snapping crisp while the leaves wilt in seconds in a hot wok. Stir-fried simply with garlic and rice wine, it is the kind of vegetable dish that makes you pause mid-bite.
Yilan grows some of Taiwan's finest kumquats. The fresh kumquat tea — whole preserved kumquat brewed in hot water with honey and a pinch of salt — is sour, fragrant and refreshing. Kumquat jam, kumquat cake (a subtler cousin of pineapple cake), and scallion-kumquat shortbread make excellent souvenirs.
Ground glutinous rice pounded until gossamer-smooth and almost impossibly elastic — softer, stretchier than Japanese mochi. Classic filling is ground peanut with sugar; taro cream, red bean and black sesame are excellent alternatives. Best from specialist mochi shops in Yilan City, made fresh daily.
10In 2010, Kavalan won a blind tasting against aged Scottish single malts in Edinburgh. The secret: pristine Xueshan mountain water, Taiwan's hot and humid climate accelerating barrel maturation, and obsessive quality control. The Solist series represents the pinnacle; the Classic is the entry point. Visit the distillery in Yuanshan — 15 minutes by taxi from Yilan Station.