My Top Ten Nearby Dining Destinations

I’ve now been in Kaohsiung for seven months.  You learn a thing or two in seven months.  With how often I eat out, I’ve learned three or four things about eateries in my neighborhood.  I’m the de facto restaurant critic of the ETA crowd. 

In keeping with one of the main purposes of this blog, i.e. to inform future Kaohsiung ETAs, I’d like to write about my favorite restaurants and stands near where current and future ETAs live/will live.

Let me quickly point out that I’ve added a new tab to the column on the right side of the blog, “Posts for Kaohsiung Expats.”  From “Hail Caesar (Park Hotel!)” onwards, I’m going to flag all posts that touch directly on Fulbright or general U.S. expat life in Taiwan and especially Kaohsiung.  I hope this will make it easier for future ETAs and American expats to search for the posts that best serve their needs.  Unfortunately for my future readers, I’m way too lazy to go through my entire archive all at once and flag posts from the pass that fit the category.  If wordpress.com made it easier to retroactively categorize, I’d do it.  For now, I’ll periodically add posts to the category when I have the patience.  Blame WordPress.

Anyway, on to the food! First, a Google map of the immediate area.  Click on it for a full size image.  In the center of the full size image you’ll see Linde Road.  I live on the corner of Linda Rd. and Guangjhuo Rd. 

Here’s a list of the ten restaurants I frequent most.  When applicable, I’ve factored in the opinions of the other ETAs with whom I eat out occasionally:

1. Hola Burrito/Ali’s Indian-Pakistani.  Ali is from Karachi, Pakistan. He has lived in Kaohsiung for about two years, and he speaks fluent English.  He runs a “burrito” stand that sells “Mexican” “burritos.”  In fact, his burrito is Indian chapatti bread around some curried chicken, onions and assorted spices.  It’s absolutely delicious!  Just don’t expect a Mexican burrito.  Also, the attached Indian restaurant is very cheap and a great value.  Ali’s restaurant is on LinQuan Road one block east of Guanghua Road.
2. Thai Café.  Thai Café is the best restaurant in the neighborhood.  Run by a Thai family that spends two seemingly endless months per year back home in Thailand, they churn out unbelievable Thai food for pretty good prices.  Don’t show up at 7 PM unless you want to wait outside for a while.  Thai Café is two or three doors down from Hola Burrito.
3. Noodle Lady’s Noodle Shop.  This isn’t the name of the shop, it’s just what we’ve come to call it.  Best noodles in the neighborhood for a very reasonable price.  Chialing, the owner, is really cool and speaks fluent English (although she will helpfully prod you to practice Chinese).  Just about every dish is top notch, although there’s a special place in my heart for “Dani’s Special.”  Noodle Lady’s Noodle Shop is at the corner of Guanghua Rd. and Linnan St. (can’t see the name Linnan on the map above—it’s the road halfway between Wufu and Linde).
4. Muddy Waters Café.  Muddy Waters is one of a number of Western restaurants run by Amy, the uninominal Western cuisine tycoon.  Muddy Waters makes excellent soups, sandwiches and salads.  Sandwiches at all similar to those in the US are rare in Kaohsiung, so Muddy Waters is an oasis for those jonesing for a taste of home.  The prices are a little high, but the high quality ensures good value.  The serving staff is very cool.  Muddy Waters is in the middle of a block running along Heping Road, after TongQing Rd.
5. Pasadena Café.  Next door to Muddy Waters, Pasadena is another Western cuisine hot spot.  Serves pasta rivaling a decent Italian restaurant in the US, plus fantastic baked goods.  Also a little pricy, but a good value.
6. Dumpling Shop.  Cheap and delicious, fried or steamed, shrimp, leek, curry, or spicy… the dumpling shop is a staple of many of the ETAs diets.  Very cheap, very fast, very good.  On LinQuan Rd. between GuangZhou and GuangDong Rd.  Just look for the dumplings.
7. Japanese Restaurant.  Again, not sure of the name.  There’s a Japanese restaurant on the corner of Linde and LinQuan Rd.  It’s not fantastic, but it’s open later than many other restaurants (until 10 PM) and it can satisfy a yen for Japanese.  A little pricy, but not too bad.
8. Taiwanese Self-Service Bento Box Shop.  This store, run by a few old ladies who find all foreigners fascinating, gives you a bento box with some rice and lets you pick your three sides and one meat portion buffet-style.  The food is textbook Taiwanese, and it’s not worth visiting after 7 PM because the food gets cold.  However, for lunch or an early dinner it’s easy, tasty and cheap.
9. Portuguese Restaurant.  I’ve only been here once, so strictly speaking it shouldn’t be mentioned.  Nevertheless, it’s so good it has to be thrown in the mix.  The restaurant is a few doors down from the “Japanese Restaurant.”  It’s pretty expensive, but it’s delicious.  I recommend going with a few other people because they serve set meals for two, four, six or eight for a set price.
10. McDonald’s!  Look, sometimes you’re going to need to recharge your qi.  No better place than the franchise that only tastes the same, no matter where it is (this is no small feat because 99.9% of bread in Taiwan tastes unusually sweet [Taiwanese folks have sweeter main dishes and less sweet desserts.  Americans think Taiwanese entrees are too sweet, and Taiwanese think American desserts are too sweat.  It’s pretty interesting.] and even ground beef tastes a bit different).  McDonald’s is on the corner of Wufu Rd. and Guangzhou Rd.

Our ETA group will likely put together a fancy restaurant guide for next year’s ETAs.  However, I hope this guide helps any future ETAs or, especially, non-ETA expats who read it.  I also think it might interest others to see what I’ve been eating. 

Before anyone shakes their head about how many restaurants above are Western, just keep in mind that my lunch most days is standard Taiwanese.  I’ve more than thrown myself into sampling the local cuisine.  Fish eyes.  Check.  Pig intestine.  Check.  Oyster omelet.  Check.  Stinky tofu.  Check.  I’ve written it before but I’ll write it again: Taiwanese food is good.  Some ETAs disagree with me because they dislike how it’s more greasy than US food.  However, if you can handle a little extra grease, it’s delicious. 

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