August 10, 2026
Published
Table Notes rounds up the week's Taiwan food and travel news from Chinese- and English-language sources. Dates, prices, and promotions change quickly; check the linked source before planning around one.
Taiwan's tea-seed oil industry is in the middle of a widening carcinogen scare, seven producers now implicated. The Tourism Administration has published an official night-market ranking that inverts the conventional wisdom about Shilin. Trains are harder to board without a reservation.
This week in brief
News & Openings
Seven tea-seed oil producers over carcinogen limit 苦茶油已7家苯駢芘超標
Ongoing; briefings August 11 and August 19 · Hualien County subsidy covers 90% of test cost to NT$6,000
Seven producers of tea-seed oil — a premium cooking oil heavily gifted to tourists — have now tested over the 2.0 μg/kg benzo[a]pyrene ceiling, with eight batches tracing to a single Chiayi mill that used Chinese raw material. TFDA will hold industry briefings August 11 in Yunlin and August 19 in Chiayi, then send oil-pressing specialists into factories to review process controls. Buy from certified organic or traceability-marked co-ops rather than unbranded market stalls.
Zhonglian soybean-oil case turns political 中聯油品案 國民黨4青年告發卓榮泰等貪污圖利
August 4–10
Four KMT youth activists filed a corruption complaint against the Premier and Health Minister over the government's handling of the Zhonglian soybean-oil recall, which now covers 1,300 downstream businesses including breakfast shops across Taiwan. Seven of thirty batches exceeded the same 2.0 μg/kg benzo[a]pyrene ceiling, one at 8.1 μg/kg. The exposure levels involved are low and the recall has been broad; it remains safe to eat at a Taipei breakfast shop.
FamilyMart adds 270g chicken cutlet and functional smoothies 全家推「巨厚重大雞排」270克
Cutlet intro price through August 18; smoothies through September 1 · Cutlet NT$89; smoothies NT$59
FamilyMart's hot-food line now sells a 270g extra-thick fried chicken cutlet at NT$89 (NT$10 off) through August 18, putting a night-market staple in a 24-hour convenience store at a night-market price. The chain also launched three functional fruit smoothies — apple, mulberry, carrot — at NT$59 through September 1, with names that translate roughly as "apple-smooth," "mulberry-sleepy" and "carrot-bright."
TRA flagship west-coast trains fully reserved every August weekend 台鐵新制：8月週五六日西部幹線新自強號全車對號
Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August · 200 standing tickets per train, day-of-travel only
For the whole of August, on every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, West Coast Line EMU3000 New Tze-Chiang services abolish non-reserved seating entirely and run fully reserved. On the day of travel, TRA releases a strictly capped 200 standing tickets per train at station counters and ticket machines only. This is the single most likely trap for foreign visitors doing weekend day trips down the west coast — the previous norm was that you could always buy a standing ticket and get on.
Awards & Lists
Raohe tops official night-market ranking; Shilin only third 饒河街觀光客認證必逛
Survey covers calendar year 2025
The Tourism Administration's 2025 inbound survey ranks Raohe Street as Taiwan's most-visited night market by international visitors, ahead of Ningxia and Shilin. Raohe's advantages: a compact 600m lane rather than a sprawl, direct MRT access at Songshan station, and a denser concentration of food stalls than Shilin's increasingly souvenir-heavy layout. Night markets remain the single most-visited attraction type for international visitors at 86.9%.
Deals & Promos
Chingshin brings back Capoo collaboration with nine blind-box cups 清心聯名咖波推9款杯身
Cups from August 1; T-shirt pre-order August 3–16; bag from August 17 · T-shirt +NT$550; bag free with two yogurt drinks
Chingshin Fu Chuan's Capoo collaboration returns with nine limited illustrated cups given out blind-box style, three new ruby-grapefruit drinks using Taiwanese purée, and pre-orders for a Taiwan-made T-shirt at +NT$550 through August 16. From August 17, buy any two yogurt drinks and get a free insulated two-cup carry bag while stocks last. The Capoo pop-up at Huashan 1914 runs to September 13.
KFC Taiwan puts green Sichuan pepper in an egg tart 肯德基推「青花椒花生蛋撻」
Tart August 11–24; bouquet kit from August 14 · Single tart NT$57; combo with one original tart NT$101; 6-pack NT$285 with meal
KFC's green-Sichuan-pepper line extends into dessert with a custard tart brushed with numbing-pepper sauce, topped with crushed peanuts and chilli powder, over a molten peanut filling — NT$57, sold August 11–24 only. From August 14, buying a six-piece gift box in store gets a free DIY egg-tart bouquet kit for Qixi (Chinese Valentine's Day, August 19), nationwide limit 12,000 sets. Taiwan's KFC menu diverges wildly from the American one.
Burger King double Angus set NT$258 through August 18 漢堡王雙層安格斯寵爸套餐258元
Through August 18 · NT$258, up to NT$114 off
Choice of three double Angus burgers plus four nuggets, small fries and a medium drink for NT$258 through August 18, up to NT$114 off. Excluded: airport, science-park and children's-amusement-park branches. Note the airport-store exclusion — visitors on a departure day often assume chain coupons work at TPE and they generally don't.
Wang Steak gives free lobster to guests named Wang 王品牛排「歡慶國王節」姓名有「王」或玉部首
Weekdays through August 31 · Free NT$1,089+ lobster platter with two set menus
Anyone whose name contains the character 王 or any jade-radical character — including 玉, 瑋, 瑩, 琳, 珊, 瑞, 玲, 瑜, 珍 — who dines in on a weekday with two set menus receives a free lobster and grouper platter valued at NT$1,089 and up, through August 31. This is unusually accessible to foreign visitors because Wang is one of the most common Chinese surnames and the romanisation appears directly on passports.
Festivals & Events
500甜 dessert guide publishes August 21 with Songshan party 500甜2026甜點派對
August 21–23 · Ticketed; prices vary by vendor
UDN's 500甜 dessert guide — sister award to the established 500碗 street-food guide — publishes its second-year winner list August 21, with a three-day market at Songshan Cultural & Creative Park running August 21–23. Thirty-seven brands participate, including YU CHOCOLATIER, Double V gelato, Le Ruban's peach daifuku, and 慢慢弄 cheesecake used twice at presidential state banquets. Tickets are on sale now.
Taipei Burger Carnival at Expo Park, free entry August 29–30 2026臺北國際美食節－漢堡嘉年華
August 29–30, 14:00–20:00 daily · Free entry; pay per item
The Taipei International Food Festival's headline event is a free-entry outdoor burger market at Expo Park running 14:00–20:00 on August 29–30, with 50+ brands covering American classics, Taiwanese gua bao, Mexican tacos, Italian lampredotto, New Zealand meat pies, plus desserts and drinks. A cross-vendor stamp card qualifies for a prize draw and return-visit coupons. Bring cash as well as mobile payment; the event is fully outdoors and late-August heat plus thunderstorms are a real risk.
via 臺北市會展產業發展基金會 Taipei MICE / 花博公園 Expo Park official (Chinese)
Sustainable food carnival and reptile show share August 29–30 臺北永續食農嘉年華、2026台灣兩棲爬蟲特寵嘉年華
August 29–30 · Food carnival free; reptile show NT$250 general, under 120cm free
Expo Park is triple-booked August 29–30. The sustainable food carnival runs 11:00–18:00 at Pavilion of New Fashion, free admission, with nearly 100 food-and-agriculture organisations, parent-child cooking areas, and a challenge trail earning a take-home planting pot. The reptile and exotic-pet show runs 10:00–18:00 Saturday and 10:00–17:00 Sunday inside EXPO Dome, general admission NT$250, children under 120cm free. One weekend, three festivals, one MRT stop.
On the Calendar
Beef Noodle Festival October 9–11, Nature Show November 14–15
Beef Noodle October 9–11; Nature Show November 14–15
The 2026 Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival runs October 9–11 at Yuanshan Expo Park with the national championship and a first-ever NT$200,000 total prize pool. The Nature Show returns to EXPO Dome November 14–15, ticketed, with 300+ booths covering reptiles, insects, amphibians, plants, minerals and keeping equipment. Beef noodle soup is the single most-searched Taiwanese dish in English; the festival is the obvious annual peg.