This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant.
Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant.
But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care.
Photo: Hollie Younger
AUTHENTIC EATS
In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to expat pub grub in a quest to quench homesickness; not for the infamously flavorless cuisine of my homeland but the vibrant international fusion that now defines the London culinary scene.
In Taipei, I have watched my mulled wine clingfilmed and microwaved at the bar. I have borne insult to many a squid pizza. Don’t get me started on the Thai stir fries served with no chilies because “you’re a foreigner.”
Photo: Hollie Younger
As a Latin food lover, I’ve also endured many bland flour-tortillas stuffed with cheap cheese and unseasoned meat, wrapped up in the pillowy guise of a “Mexican burrito.” All this to say, I approached Pang Taqueria with a fair dollop of skepticism.
On first impressions, Pang is a small establishment that could house 20 small-framed patrons on a good day. The lights are bright, the tables are neon orange and the open kitchen gives more laidback lunch spot than fine dining. The inspiration is the taquerias of Mexico and the focus is the food. You will find no sombreros or Day of the Dead decor here.
But what identifies Pang, squeezed among furniture stores on a quiet alley by Linjiang Night Market, is the waiting crowd. Chen says business has picked up since his Michelin recognition, but Wednesday night’s 20-minute wait was well worth it.
Photo: Hollie Younger
PRODUCE MAKES PERFECT
Uniquely, Pang sources many Taiwanese ingredients and incorporates local flavors to Mexican classics. Take the Tripa taco with Taiwanese-style pork intestines (NT$140) and the horchata (NT$120) using rice milk from Taitung.
Chen says Mexico and Taiwan share many characteristics, from climate to produce to local palettes. His experience in Mexican cuisine also taught him a more carefree culinary attitude, “for us, tacos are just a vehicle for the flavors... what you put on it is limitless.”
Photo: Hollie Younger
Chen also uses locally-grown corn to hand-prepare masa dough for his in-house corn tortillas every day. In every taco, this perfectly dense, mealy wrap holds the staunch line of defense between his expert blends of saucy proteins and my t-shirt. No floppy tortillas here.
The Michelin guide showcases Chen’s signature cochinita pibil taco (NT$140): slow-cooked pork shoulder, house-made habanero salsa and hibiscus-pickled onion. It’s incredibly rich and complex — is that cinnamon? Can you taste nutmeg? Truly one of the most layered and harmonious flavor hits I’ve taken this year.
But what would keep me running back is the elote (NT$180), a grilled corn salad with crumbly feta, punches of onion and cilantro, a spicy crema I could have eaten by the bucket-load, and an addictive smokiness: these guys individually blowtorch each helping right at the open kitchen, and it’s not just for show. This is the must-eat on every table. Some couples have tucked into a bowl each.
My go-to order, and personal taco litmus test, is always a Baja fish taco (NT$150); a hearty chunk of beer-battered white fish slathered with sour cream, slaw and tangy pico de gallo. Chen’s holds its own with any I’ve tried, including in Baja birthplace San Diego. When you’re drowning fried foods in avocado crema and habanero oil, it’s difficult to stave off the sogginess. But Pang’s offering is perfectly crispy until the very last bite; they’re made to order and served up the second they add that last sprig of cilantro.
We also sampled the Birria taco (NT$140), a hearty stew of slow-cooked Australian beef cheek, and the Chorizo burrito (NT$330).
Two to three tacos per patron, and as much of the corn elote you can fit in, is the perfect order, washed down with a cool bottle of Corona (NT$150). The price is high for Taipei but an absolute steal for this level of craftsmanship, authenticity and world-class ingredients.
Even without the Bib gourmand, word of mouth is super-spreading across the city, and for good reason.
There was only one thing criminally missing at Pang’s, I thought, as I parked a seat at one of Xinyi’s many cocktail bars and finally sipped on an ice-cold margarita.
When nature calls, Masana Izawa has followed the same routine for more than 50 years: heading out to the woods in Japan, dropping his pants and doing as bears do. “We survive by eating other living things. But you can give faeces back to nature so that organisms in the soil can decompose them,” the 74-year-old said. “This means you are giving life back. What could be a more sublime act?” “Fundo-shi” (“poop-soil master”) Izawa is something of a celebrity in Japan, publishing books, delivering lectures and appearing in a documentary. People flock to his “Poopland” and centuries-old wooden “Fundo-an” (“poop-soil house”) in
Jan 13 to Jan 19 Yang Jen-huang (楊仁煌) recalls being slapped by his father when he asked about their Sakizaya heritage, telling him to never mention it otherwise they’ll be killed. “Only then did I start learning about the Karewan Incident,” he tells Mayaw Kilang in “The social culture and ethnic identification of the Sakizaya” (撒奇萊雅族的社會文化與民族認定). “Many of our elders are reluctant to call themselves Sakizaya, and are accustomed to living in Amis (Pangcah) society. Therefore, it’s up to the younger generation to push for official recognition, because there’s still a taboo with the older people.” Although the Sakizaya became Taiwan’s 13th
For anyone on board the train looking out the window, it must have been a strange sight. The same foreigner stood outside waving at them four different times within ten minutes, three times on the left and once on the right, his face getting redder and sweatier each time. At this unique location, it’s actually possible to beat the train up the mountain on foot, though only with extreme effort. For the average hiker, the Dulishan Trail is still a great place to get some exercise and see the train — at least once — as it makes its way
Earlier this month, a Hong Kong ship, Shunxin-39, was identified as the ship that had cut telecom cables on the seabed north of Keelung. The ship, owned out of Hong Kong and variously described as registered in Cameroon (as Shunxin-39) and Tanzania (as Xinshun-39), was originally People’s Republic of China (PRC)-flagged, but changed registries in 2024, according to Maritime Executive magazine. The Financial Times published tracking data for the ship showing it crossing a number of undersea cables off northern Taiwan over the course of several days. The intent was clear. Shunxin-39, which according to the Taiwan Coast Guard was crewed