Fuhang Soybean Milk 阜杭豆漿 is probably THE most famous traditional Taiwanese “soymilk” restaurant in Taipei. The place is a sight to see, with workers making all sorts of scrumptious Taiwanese pastries from scratch right before your eyes.
The lines are looooong, and start early. Basically, if you don’t want to wait in line, you should show up before 7AM. Otherwise, the line could be anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours (!).
The first time I went with my mom, it was around 9:00AM, but that is already way too late if you want to avoid the lines. The line went down the stairs and around the block.
We have no choice, so we got in line.
As you move inside the building, you can see the helpful rules they’ve posted about the line.Come in, go down and then up the stairs to 1/F (which is not the ground floor, but the first floor). The last part of the line is the most fun, because you get to walk past these large windows and peer into the HUGE kitchen where they are preparing the hundreds (thousands?) of various breakfast items.These are traditional ovens where they bake the sesame flatbreads (“shaobing” 燒餅）The best! Freshly made fried crullers ,”you tiao” 油條.The place is crazy crowded, but the line moves pretty quickly. Still, we waited probably 45 minutes.This guy’s hand kneading a HUGE piece of dough that will become sesame flatbreads.Here they are, at another step where they are rolled up.These sesame flatbreads are already baked and ready to be served (or stuffed with a fried cruller 油條）。One popular classic combo is to put the fried cruller “youtiao” inside the sesame flatbread “shaobing”. We call it 燒餅油條 shaobing youtiao.
It’s delicious. I’m holding a 燒餅油條 shaobing youtiao while my mom is holding a fantuan (rice ball – more on that below).
One of their most well-known dishes is the savory soy milk (which is kind of like a tofu pudding). Adding a bit of acid causes the soy milk to “curdle” so that it resembles soft tofu. Add a bit of hot sauce, fried crullers, and maybe some scallions, and you have yourself a traditional Taiwanese breakfast!The rice ball (fantuan) 飯糰 is delicious as well. The outside is sticky rice and the inside is usually pork floss (pork sung) and preserved turnips.
My mom got up the next morning around 6AM and walked over again (our hotel, the Sheraton, was only a 5-minute walk away). This time, she said there was a line but it was only inside, and she didn’t have to wait long at all. She got a couple of shaobing youtiao (fried cruller + sesame flatbread “sandwich”) takeaway.
All of the food is good here. It’s cheap, fresh, delicious, and all made from scratch. The lines are brutal, so if you can, show up before 7AM. It’s worth it though! I loved everything I tried.
Fuhang Soy Milk 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Zhongxiao E Rd, 108號2樓