Stinky Tofu
臭豆腐chòu dòufu
- Fermented
- Savory
- Umami
- +3 more
North · Destination
New Taipei
新北
Hill-and-harbor snacks that ring Taipei, from Jiufen taro balls to Shenkeng tofu
Map of New Taipei
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Open in the mapIntroduction
The food of New Taipei
New Taipei wraps around Taipei like a collar, 29 districts running from the hills to the coast, so its food is scattered among small towns: steaming taro balls on the hillside old street of Jiufen, A-gei and fish balls at the mouth of the Tamsui River, tofu dishes served one shop after another on Shenkeng's old street.
Most of these snacks come with an origin story, and often with more than one. The origin of A-gei is told more than one way: Chinese Wikipedia says Yang Zheng Jinwen devised it in Tamsui in 1965 to avoid wasting unsold ingredients, while an old shop on Zhenli Street says it has been making A-gei since about 1961; Tamsui's iron eggs have at least two founding tales; and Shenkeng is known for its tofu, served on the old street everywhere from tofu soup to fried to stinky. Rather than rushing through three districts in a day, pick one and eat slowly.
- 2 dishes
- 3 neighborhoods
The short list
Known for
What New Taipei is famous for, most iconic first. Foods with their own guide are linked.
Jiufen taro balls (yùyuán)九份芋圓
Chewy little balls of taro or sweet potato served hot or iced, often with sweet red beans; plenty of shops on Jiufen's old street sell them.
Tamsui A-gei (āgěi)淡水阿給
A fried tofu pouch stuffed with glass noodles, sealed with fish paste, steamed and topped with sweet chili sauce; Chinese Wikipedia says it was created in 1965 on Tamsui's Zhenli Street, while an old shop on that street says it has made A-gei since about 1961.
Shenkeng tofu and stinky tofu深坑豆腐與臭豆腐
Shenkeng is known for tofu, and its old street serves it in every form from tofu soup to fried to stinky, including a number of stalls grilling stinky tofu on skewers.
Dish guide
Tamsui iron eggs (tiědàn)淡水鐵蛋
Braised eggs re-braised and air-dried until small, dark and chewy; there are at least two accounts of where they came from, and none is settled.
Tamsui fish ball soup淡水魚丸湯
Fish-paste balls with a meat filling in a light broth; Chinese Wikipedia lists fish balls alongside A-gei, iron eggs and fish crisps as Tamsui's specialties.
Jiufen red-yeast ba-wan九份紅糟肉圓
Fried ba-wan on the old street are filled with hind-leg pork steeped in red yeast rice lees, in a translucent, springy wrapper with a rich red-yeast fragrance.
Dish guide
Yonghe soy milk breakfast永和豆漿
The Taipei Times reported in 2002 that Yonghe's first soy milk shop, Tunghai (East Ocean), opened in 1955 near Zhongzheng Bridge, founded by a group of veterans from Shandong; Chinese Wikipedia likewise ties the Yonghe Soy Milk name to a breakfast shop founded in 1955 by northerners (that sentence carries no citation). Soy milk, sesame flatbread and fried dough sticks are the core order.
Sanxia bull-horn croissants (jīnniújiǎo)三峽金牛角
Chinese Wikipedia lists the 'bull-horn bread' among Sanxia's well-known products and foods, and English Wikipedia names these croissants as the old street's most notable specialty.
Wanli crab (Wànlǐ xiè)萬里蟹
'Wanli crab' is a marketing brand for sea crabs caught by Wanli fishermen, created by New Taipei City in August 2012 and not a single species (flower crab, three-spot crab and others); Wanli sits on the northeast coast and borders Keelung to the southeast (Chinese Wikipedia).
On the table
Signature dishes
Dishes with their own guide that are most tied to New Taipei.
Ba-wan
肉圓ròuyuán
- Savory
- Sweet
- Umami
- +1 more
Where to wander
Neighborhoods to know
Districts and towns to eat your way through.
District
Tamsui淡水
Tamsui sits where the Tamsui River meets the sea, about 40 minutes by metro from Taipei Main Station on the Red Line. The port opened after the 1858 Treaty of Tianjin and once shipped out tea, camphor and other goods; today the action is along the riverfront and an old street that runs up Zhongzheng Road from near the ferry docks.
Keep reading
A few of the snacks here belong to Tamsui. A-gei is a hollowed-out fried tofu pouch stuffed with glass noodles, sealed with fish paste, steamed and topped with sweet chili sauce, Chinese Wikipedia says it was created in 1965 by Yang Zheng Jinwen on Zhenli Street, while an old shop on that street says it has made it since about 1961. Iron eggs are braised and air-dried until dark and chewy, with more than one founding story. There is also fish ball soup with a filling, and crunchy fish crisps.
Neighborhood
Jiufen九份
Jiufen is a hillside settlement in Ruifang District looking toward Mount Keelung, its houses stacked up the slope along stone steps. Gold was found here in the 1890s, mining peaked under Japanese rule and ended in 1971, and the town turned toward tourism after the 1989 film A City of Sadness was shot and released.
Keep reading
Cars cannot enter the old-street lanes, and the snacks crowd both sides of Jishan Street and Shuqi Road: taro and sweet potato balls, grass cakes filled with shredded radish and dried shrimp, fried red-yeast meatballs, and a few tea houses with sea views. The nearest rail station is Ruifang, about 15 minutes away by bus.
Known for
District
Shenkeng深坑
Shenkeng lies on the southern edge of the Taipei Basin, ringed by mountains, with the Jingmei River running through. In the Qing period it traded in tea, dyes and camphor; its old street is about 300 meters long, and New Taipei placed Shenkeng Street in a historic-scenery zone from 2008 and finished the restoration in September 2012.
Keep reading
The town is known for tofu, and its annual Four Treasures festival pairs tofu with green bamboo shoots, black pork and tea. On the old street tofu comes as soup, fried, red-braised and stinky; there are also stalls grilling stinky tofu on skewers, where the sauce covers some of the smell and makes it a gentle first try. There is no rail line, so come by bus or car.
Known for
Food history
A food history of New Taipei
Tamsui was the earliest developed port in northern Taiwan. According to Chinese Wikipedia, it opened after the 1858 Treaty of Tianjin and customs collection began in 1862; it shipped out tea, camphor and other goods until the Japanese colonial government built up Keelung harbor and gradually took over its role. Jiufen's gold was found in the 1890s, mining peaked under Japanese rule and ended in 1971, and the town turned to tourism after the film A City of Sadness was shot there and released in 1989; today its signatures are the old street's taro balls, grass cakes and red-yeast meatballs.
In the Qing period Shenkeng traded in tea, dyes and camphor; after the war roads and railways replaced river transport and the town faded. Chinese Wikipedia says Shenkeng's street was widened in a Japanese-era urban renewal beginning in 1915, was placed in a historic-scenery zone from 2008, and had its restoration finished in September 2012. All of this rests mostly on Wikipedia, whose dates differ in places (the year Jiufen's gold was found appears as both 1892 and 1893), so treat it as a rough outline rather than settled history.
Plan your trip
Getting there
Open New Taipei in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)Tamsui is the northern terminus of the Tamsui-Xinyi metro line, about 40 minutes from Taipei Main Station. Jiufen takes a train to Ruifang and a bus of about 15 minutes, or the direct bus 1062 from Taipei (about 90 minutes according to Wikivoyage). Shenkeng has no rail line and is reached by bus or car. Check current timetables before you go.
In pictures
New Taipei in photographs
Photo credits
Glowing red-orange paper lanterns printed with Jiufen's name hanging above the old street's wooden eaves at night
Photo: Another Believer · CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)
Guide in progress
The full New Taipei guide is still on its way
We are still researching New Taipei: its markets, restaurants and a food itinerary will come in a later update. In the meantime, these complete guides are close by.
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ReviewedDrafted with AI and cross-checked against sources.Last reviewed Oct 11, 2026