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Guides · Cycling in Taiwan

Ten Stops Around Taiwan: One Dish Each, and Whether It Is Open

Cycle Route No.1 runs 968 kilometres around Taiwan. The Ministry of Transportation’s research institute suggests nine days, following Provincial Highways 1 and 9. Once a nine-day itinerary is set it is hard to change — train tickets, accommodation and vehicle scheduling are all locked together. Which is why the real question on a round-island tour is never "what is good here", but "on the day and at the hour I reach that town, will it be open?" This guide picks ten stops and one dish each, and puts opening hours, closing days and service length first. Six of the ten either close on a set day or open for only a few hours. Data checked on Google Maps, 8 August 2026.

How the ten were chosen: supply points, not the official station list

The Ministry of Transportation designates bike-and-rail transfer stations. The first phase covers Songshan, Hsinchu, Xinwuri, Chiayi, Zuoying, Fangliao, Taimali, Taitung, Ruisui, Hualien and Dongshan, each with bike channels, route boards, basic tools, drinking water and a first-aid kit.

That list was drawn up for transfers, not for eating. Small stations such as Taimali, Ruisui and Dongshan have nothing nearby worth a dedicated stop, while the two places that matter most to a rider are absent from it — Fenggang and Su-ao.

So the ten below follow where riders actually stop: Taipei, Hsinchu, Changhua, Chiayi, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Fenggang, Taitung, Hualien and Su-ao.

Ten stops, one dish each

Ratings and review counts are a Google Maps snapshot from 8 August 2026. Under this series’ two-tier rule, a shop is a primary pick if it rates 4.0 or above with 300-plus reviews; those below that bar but carrying Bib Gourmand, long-established or strong local status are listed with their actual scores shown, for you to judge. None of these places has an English menu, and most are cash only.

Three combinations that will leave you standing outside

Lay the hours and closing days over a nine-day plan and three combinations stand out as trouble.

First, Liuqian in Tainan. Open 05:00 to 11:00 and closed Monday through Wednesday, it is realistically only available at dawn from Thursday to Sunday. If your Tainan day falls on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, write it off rather than detour.

Second, Yexiang Bianshi in Hualien. Open 09:30 to 13:30, closed Sundays. Hualien is usually the second overnight stop on the east coast, and most riders leave Taitung or Ruisui in the morning and reach the city in the afternoon — by which time it has shut. To eat there you have to invert it and treat it as breakfast on the day you leave Hualien.

Third, Dalu Xiaochibu in Fenggang. Open 06:00 to 16:00 with no closing day, which sounds generous, but it sits at the western entrance to the South Link. Ride past in the morning before the Shouka climb and the timing is perfect. Come over the South Link from the Taitung side and you usually descend after 16:00, by which point it is closed. Direction of travel decides whether you eat.

Two supply checkpoints: Fenggang and Su-ao

Two of the ten matter for more than food. They are supply checkpoints — past them, there is nothing.

Fenggang is where Highway 9 heads into the South Link towards Shouka and Highway 26 turns off for Kenting. The Shouka climb has essentially no resupply, so water and food have to be topped up in Fenggang. Shop density here is high: besides Dalu Xiaochibu, the street has fritter and noodle stalls clustered together, making it the last place to eat properly before the South Link. From May to July, the mango stalls along the Fangshan section of Highway 1 double as natural resupply.

Su-ao is the last substantial resupply before the Suhua Highway heading south. Once you pass into Dong-ao and Nan-ao, shops thin out noticeably. Eat properly around Zhongshan Road in central Su-ao and carry buns or bread with you — Yizhenxiang is on Zhongshan Road Section 1 and opens at 08:00, so the timing works.

Alternatives in Su-ao: A-Tongbo fish balls (No. 73, Yugang Rd, 09:30–17:30, closed Wednesdays, rating 4.0 from 1,198 reviews) and Su-ao Miaokou rice noodle soup (No. 6, Zhongyuan Rd, 07:30–15:30, closed Wednesdays, rating 3.9 from 1,272 reviews). Both close on Wednesdays, so hot food that day means arriving early or changing plans.

What a support vehicle actually does across nine days

The biggest variable across nine days is pace. A headwind, a puncture, a rider going deep — any of these puts you two or three hours behind at the next town, and most of the places above cannot absorb a two-hour error.

That is where a vehicle running with the group earns its keep. When you are behind, it can carry riders forward to a stop that is still open, or run ahead and buy the meal before the next place closes. Whether you eat properly on several of those nine days is, in practice, a logistics problem rather than luck.

On top of that, luggage and clean kit have to move every day regardless. Handling meals and baggage from the same vehicle is simpler than solving both separately each evening.

Restaurant stops and food runs are not standard inclusions but can be requested while planning. What is possible depends on the date, route, group size and whether the shop is open that day.

Vegetarian, halal and other dietary limits

These ten are street-food shops and long-standing local places, which makes dietary restrictions harder to manage than at a single-order restaurant.

Vegetarian: Taiwan is unusually vegetarian-friendly, and convenience stores and vegetarian buffets are dense along the route. The problem is that the shops above are largely meat-centred. If you are strictly vegan, treat these ten as your companions’ itinerary and find a vegetarian place on the same block; do not expect these shops to adapt on the spot.

Halal: not one of the ten holds halal certification. We are not going to pretend otherwise. The practical approach on a round-island tour is packaged food and self-catered vegetarian meals, stocking up on the days you stop in larger cities such as Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Allergens: shared woks and shared frying oil are the norm at street-food stalls, so cross-contamination is hard to avoid. If your allergy is severe, treat all ten as high risk and favour places that can state their ingredients clearly.

FAQ

How long is Cycle Route No.1, and how many days?

968 kilometres. The Ministry of Transportation’s research institute recommends nine days, linking the counties along Provincial Highways 1 and 9. It can also be ridden in sections with train transfers.

Which of the ten is easiest to miss?

Liuqian Hongzuo in Tainan. It opens 05:00 to 11:00 and closes Monday through Wednesday, so realistically only Thursday to Sunday at dawn. If your Tainan day lands Monday to Wednesday, pick something else.

Where do I resupply before the Shouka climb?

Fenggang. It is the junction of the South Link section of Highway 9 and Highway 26, and the Shouka climb has essentially no resupply — top up water and food here. Dalu Xiaochibu opens at 06:00, seven days a week.

Where is the last resupply before the Suhua Highway?

Around Zhongshan Road in central Su-ao. Shops thin out noticeably once you pass into Dong-ao and Nan-ao, so eat properly here and carry bread or buns. Yizhenxiang Bakery is on the same road, open 08:00–20:30 seven days a week.

Why recommend places rated only in the threes?

This series uses two tiers. Primary picks rate 4.0 or above with 300-plus reviews. Places with Bib Gourmand, long-established or strong local status that fall below that bar are still listed, with their actual score and review count shown, for you to judge. Google ratings for Taiwan’s classic queue-forming shops generally sit between 3.5 and 4.0; screen on a single threshold and fewer than four of the ten stops would survive.

Sources

Rules and road conditions change — always check the official announcements before you travel.

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