August 17, 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.
Time Out named Taipei the world's third-best street-food city the same week McDonald's Taiwan withdrew both new shrimp burgers over banned antibiotics. A three-Michelin-star chef opened a French bistro in Da'an, Starbucks runs a no-strings BOGO on August 19, and one hot-pot chain is about to serve coriander soup.
This week in brief
- Taipei ties for third in Time Out's 2026 global street-food ranking, behind Ho Chi Minh City and Kuala Lumpur.
- McDonald's Taiwan pulled both shrimp burgers after nitrofuran detection; cash refunds available through September 30.
- Paul Pairet's POLUX opens in Da'an — French bistro cooking, no tasting menu required.
- Starbucks Taiwan: buy-one-get-one Grande drinks, no card required, August 19 only, 11:00–20:00.
News & Openings
Paul Pairet opens POLUX Taipei, his first overseas city POLUX台北菜色曝光 初訪必點4道招牌菜看這裡
Opened August 1; closed Mondays and Tuesdays
Paul Pairet is the chef of Shanghai's three-Michelin-star Ultraviolet. He opened POLUX on Anhe Road in Da'an District on August 1. It is an all-day French café and bistro, not fine dining: brunch and pastries by day, French home cooking and wine at night.
Tainan pilots multilingual menus at West Market and Garden Night Market 台南觀光推友善外語計畫 西市場及花園夜市示範菜單優化
Announced August 17
Tainan's Economic Development Bureau named West Market and Garden Night Market as pilot sites for multilingual signage, maps, and illustrated menus in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean. No completion date was given, so assume partial coverage for now.
Netflix chef opens Taiwan-exclusive jjamppong and jjajangmyeon in Zhongshan 甜蜜蜜台北首店菜單曝光
Menu revealed August 13
The Taipei flagship of 甜蜜蜜 — the brand of Culinary Class Wars chef Jung Ji-sun — revealed Taiwan-exclusive Korean jjamppong and jjajangmyeon alongside signatures like spicy cream shrimp and dim sum. The 100-plus ping Zhongshan location is the brand's first overseas branch. Jung is also this year's ambassador for the Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival, October 9–11.
McDonald's Taiwan withdraws shrimp burgers after antibiotic detection 麥當勞蝦排檢出禁用抗生素 北市進貨5.9萬片未流向其他業者
Refunds available through September 30 · 海味揚蝦堡 NT$99 à la carte, 海味雙層揚蝦堡 NT$129
McDonald's Taiwan launched two shrimp burgers on August 12 and pulled both from every restaurant by 10:30 the next morning after the importer's own batch test detected nitrofurans, a banned antibiotic, at 0.7 ppb. Anyone who bought either burger on August 12 or early August 13 — à la carte, value meal, or delivery — can claim a full cash refund at the original restaurant through September 30 using a paper receipt, transaction slip, or cloud-invoice screen.
Awards & Lists
Taipei ties for third in Time Out street food ranking 台灣1城市強勢上榜！2026全球10大最佳街頭美食城市 冠軍在亞洲
Time Out surveyed 24,000 people worldwide and ranked Taipei third for street food, tied with Jakarta at 59%, behind Ho Chi Minh City (63%) and Kuala Lumpur (62%). The magazine credited night-market culture and named Shilin, oyster omelette, and stinky tofu. Taiwan's own Tourism Administration survey of inbound visitors put Raohe first, Ningxia second, and Shilin third.
Deals & Promos
Starbucks Taiwan: no-strings Qixi BOGO, Bearista bundles, Mid-Autumn pre-orders 星巴克買1送1！七夕限定、無門檻「大杯買1送1」
Qixi BOGO August 19 only, 11:00–20:00; Bearista bundles through August 19; Mid-Autumn pre-orders from August 12 · Qixi BOGO: Grande or larger, max two transactions. Bearista bundles: NT$700–890. Tuesday combos: Grande Americano + croissant NT$164, + cheesecake NT$188.
On August 19 only, 11:00–20:00, buy two Grande-or-larger drinks of identical size, temperature, and flavor and one is free — no card required, maximum two transactions per person.