Goonnight Hostel

This simple shop is always jam-packed with customers. Its signature is undoubtedly the eponymous duck rice – smoked duck pieces on steamed rice drizzled with a secret sauce. Another speciality, hand-sliced duck leg rice, is available in limited quantity, boasting smoky and juicy flesh. And of course, the duck also goes well with the array of noodles on offer. Try assorted duck offal soup, and side dishes made with bean sprouts.

The room isn’t particularly spacious, but it does exude a homely feel. Similarly, the menu features Taiwanese home-style cooking, that is lightly seasoned and in smaller portions. The signature grilled Pacific saury in honey sauce is braised until the bones are tender and edible, perfect with a bowl of steamed rice, pork lard rice, or braised pork rice. Or you can opt for steamed taro root cake with shiitake and dried shrimps as starch.

Memorabilia and vinyl records mingle with glamorous portraits and obsolete farming tools in this nostalgic interior. In the same spirit, the menu compiles a list of some much-missed home-style Taiwanese classics of yesteryear. For the perfect companion to a bowl of steamed rice, order the fried chicken leg with old ginger in three-cup sauce, which delivers deep soy, basil and sesame flavours. Ask about the chef's specials on weekends.

In 1993, this dumpling shop began life as a street stall in a local market. Now it has become a household name throughout south Taiwan. Apart from steamed pork and beef dumplings, the variety filled with assorted vegetables also stands out – its plump, full skin enrobes a filling of shredded wood ear fungus, green bok choy, glass noodles and dried tofu. Pancake rolls that are crispy and nicely browned are also popular.

Cratain is a portmanteau of Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain, which the owner once climbed. He draws a parallel between his restaurant and mountaineering, using the pristine white space as a blank canvas for dishes finessed with well-honed European techniques. He offers a set menu with a choice of mains, alongside optional seasonal specialities. Meat, chargrilled or pan-seared, is the main event, but the pasta is also a highlight.

Unlike many seafood joint, the room with blue-green walls and lots of greenery feels relaxed but also chic. The family business, run by a father and son, also stands out with a unique sense of humour in dish naming and the incorporation of Western produce in recipes like squid ink fried rice, which impresses with its strong, earthy aromas of truffle oil. Another popular dish, silky scrambled egg with sea urchin roe bursts with briny sweetness.

After a long stint in a Taipei vegetarian restaurant, the chef returned to his hometown, piquing curiosity with his refined plant-based cuisine. He serves three set menus with artfully plated courses that layer rich flavours. Varied techniques, such as fermenting, pickling, grilling, braising and searing, are deftly used to great effect. The vegan braised pork rice uses diced monkey head mushrooms instead of pork, creating light, briny umami.