Wanderlogue

Soy milk in America might be dismissed as a fad, but in Taiwan if you ever see a storefront with 豆漿 (aka soy milk) in its name, that means you’re at a real local breakfast joint. Ding Yuan Soy Milk has been around for decades, and continues to churn out piping hot Taiwanese breakfast pastries each morning, serving a loyal clientele from the wee hours of the morning (no seriously, they open at 4am every day). In recent years, they’ve gotten recognized in Japanese tour books, so many Japanese tourists also flock over for breakfast before heading to CKS Memorial Hall.

Ding Yuan covers all the usual suspects when it comes to a Taiwanese breakfast. There’s the shaobing 燒餅 (flakey sesame breads that are often cut in half and made into sandwiches of sorts), and then there’s the scallion bing 蔥花餅, which is a fluffier bread that is stuffed with scallions (pro tip: add an egg). They also have soy milk 豆漿 (hot, cold, sweet, savory), rice milk 米漿, rice balls 飯糰 and various baos, including xiaolongbao 小籠包 (aka soup dumplings). The line may be snaking out the alley, but you can get a full breakfast spread spending only coins, it doesn’t get any better than this.