As a sizeable island with a fairly temperate climate, Taiwan has both the sea and the land to cater to a range of agriculture. We’ve seen throughout a couple of weeks in Taiwan the fruitful results, chomping our way through a range dishes, learning about more regional cuisine than we’d expected from such a small country.

Keelung, as a port city, is by no means an exception. Its expansive night market is indicative of its own unique food scene, distinct from Taipei’s modern, trendy offerings and Jiufen’s classic Taiwanese street fare. Though the food on offer in Keelung is generally found around the country, this little coastal city stamps a declarative claim upon the dishes that its passionate locals hold dear.

Surf and Turf at Daily Fresh (天天鮮)

It doesn’t take a lot of dining in Taiwan to understand that locals really love their deep-fried food – and that’s nothing that we’re here to complain about. From sweet potato QQ balls to stinky tofu, you’ll find fried foods on every corner of the city with little to no effort. Famous internationally is Taiwanese-style fried chicken, the meat often boneless, either in pieces or as a steak-like slab, and covered in a crumb-like flour dredge that results in a distinct texture in the mouth. Add to that is the ever-present five spice, and you can immediately pick out Taiwanese fried chicken in a line-up off the bat.

Daily Fresh (天天鮮), a restaurant hidden within a tiny alleyway of Keelung city, combines this beloved style of cooking with all the fresh ingredients that Taiwan has to offer. Pork chops, chicken legs, fish steaks, and tiny shrimp are all on the menu cooked in the same style, in all sorts of combinations with the option of a semi-runny fried egg. If that’s a little heavy, you can also order yourself a bowl of clam soup.

The meat all come with a little bit of sweet chilli sauce, and the rice with some cooked vegetable rather than the heavy braised fatty pork mince more typically found in Taiwan. The chicken leg is juicy, the pork chop tender, the fish steak flaky and the tiny shrimp bursting with flavour, as well as a little gritty from the sea. The dishes are predictably delicious – you don’t come and order fried food like this and expect something unique, but it is an undeniably great time. Whack on a half-cooked fried egg and you’re all smiles for the rest of the day.

An unexpected favourite between us was the clam soup – lightly seasoned yet flavourful, the pork adds umami, and the clams extra flavour. On a cool, drizzly evening like the night we visited, it was a great way to round the meal.

LuPing Soybean Breakfast Shop

Breakfast is an essential part of many people’s days, and a Taiwanese breakfast is a quintessential experience that any keen travelling foodie should experience. Commonly carb-heavy, breakfast shops offer cheap, hearty, fast food to start the working class’s day. LuPing Soybean Shop specialises in homemade soy milk (豆漿) and grilled flaky pastries (燒餅) that’s grilled in-store – it may not be to order but with such a high turnover from both dine-in patrons and delivery orders, you can expect food that’s warm, if not still piping hot.

We ordered a savoury soy milk (鹹豆漿; NTD25; US$0.85) and a fried dough fritter wrapped with a grilled pastry (燒餅油條; NTD30; US$1) for dipping. Savoury soy milk may be an acquired taste; lightly salted, it is more of a soup with a light nutty, soy flavour and floating chunks of tofu, soaked youtiao dough fritters, a drizzle of mild chilli oil and a garnish of spring onions and fresh coriander.

In its entirety it’s not dissimilar to a Chinese rice porridge though it is incomparable to a lot of dishes that are commonly found. Jos didn’t mind it; Noms was not so particular. Eaten with the light, crispy carby monstrosity of the youtiao dough fritter wrapped in flaky pastry, it makes for an exceptionally filling breakfast.

Perhaps less obscure is the fan tuan rice roll (飯糰; NTD35; US$1.20). Hot rice is wrapped around an array of fillings which often depends on the shop. In this case, the common selection of a youtiao dough stick, pork floss, and pickled vegetables were used to create a hefty, portable meal. The flavour is basic but enjoyable: the dough stick was still crispy when we had it, the pickled vegetables a little sweet and sour, the pork floss sweet and meaty. Pair this with a warm, sweet soy milk (甜豆漿; NTD20; US$0.70) – mild, creamy, vaguely nutty and hardly beany – and you’ve got yourself a classic Taiwanese breakfast.

Keelung-Style Noodles at Triangle Window (三角窗麵擔)

As a carb-heavy country, noodles are a common mealtime staple, with many of Taiwan’s famous dishes including beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) and Tainanese danzai mian “slack season noodles” (擔仔麵). Though there’s hardly any information (at least, in English) on Keelung-style noodles on the internet, several of the 400+ Google reviews of a little restaurant seems to claim its position as the top vendor of such a dish.

If what we ordered is anything to go by, then we can describe Keelung-style noodles as a simple dish of flat, wide wheat-based noodles served dry, with some seasoning and garnishes such as fried shallots and bean sprouts. One bowl of these dry noodles (乾麵) goes for a shockingly measly NTD25 (US$0.85) or NTD50 (US$1.65) with wontons, and goes best with a bowl of wonton soup (餛飩湯; NTD25; US$0.85).

What a tasty dish. The noodles are springy and savoury, flavourful despite the lightness of the colour. What little they had seasoned it with is enough to make it moreish. The locals seem to all add a bright red chilli sauce – though not spicy, it’s a little sweet, fairly garlicky, with an acidic touch from the vinegar, which adds to the simplicity of the dish.  The wontons, though small, are flavourful and savoury. It’s a humble breakfast, basic but reliable. It’s the sort of flavour that one might find nostalgic, but having not encountered a dish like it in the rest of our trip it really was a delicious stop in Keelung, and not too far from the station.

Curry Fried Noodles (咖哩炒麵) at the Entrance of QingAn Temple (慶安宮)

Curry has travelled around the world, taking as many forms as the places you can find a dish with such a name. Though likely a dish you can find some variation of throughout Taiwan and even Hong Kong or Mainland China, Keelung seems to have made a sort of claim on curry-fried rice or noodles in particular. Keelung seems to stake this dish as one of its local specialities, as prevalent as the potages or glutinous oil rice in the Miao Kou Night Market (廟口夜市).

It consists of a thick sauce seasoned with curry powder, mixed through rice or noodles and a variety of toppings of your choice. Cooked fast and served in large portions, it makes for a hefty meal that keeps you going during cool, drizzly weather. At the entrance of Keelung’s QingAn Temple (基隆慶安宮) hidden down a narrow alleyway you’ll find a little restaurant which specialises in curry-fried noodles and rice. This was where we stopped for our meal, though plenty are dotted around the city, with a couple of options near the main Night Market. We ordered ourselves a combination curry fried noodles (什錦咖哩炒麵) for NTD75 (US$2.50).

Having been accustomed to the typical serving sizes of Taiwan, the plate was quite a shock – it was comparable to portion sizes we associated more with New Zealand, so it was good to have ordered one between the two of us. The flavour was fairly in line with our expectations – a starch-thickened sauce with a typical pre-packaged curry powder mix, but the viscosity allowed for it to coat the noodles well, and the volume of sauce made for an incredibly dense meal. There was a variety of Asian-style meatballs, meat pieces, and seafood, including tiny whole shrimp.

A surprising bonus was the addition of chilli sauce, whose slight sweetness and acid brightened the rich, savoury curry sauce, and though not all that spicy it did add the slightest kick and helped to balance the dish. Though we’d entered with low expectations we were more than satisfied with this little restaurant, and would be happy to recommend for those looking for a cheap meal or a good curry fried noodle.

Despite the size of the city and its proximity to much more popular locations such as Taipei and Jiufen, Keelung has plenty to offer with its dining scene. If you’re there for more than a couple of days, it’s a great opportunity to venture out of the Night Market and try some of the local fare.