Souvenirs To Buy in Taiwan

I’ve learned some of what makes this country special. To help share a bit of Taiwan with family, friends, and acquaintances, I wrote a list of the best things to buy.

You’ll need to travel throughout the island to find the best gifts. Many are edible gifts you can only get in specific cities. Meanwhile, you can find trinkets at typical souvenir shops.

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23+ Taiwan Finds That Are Worth the Money

Some of these are items you can only get in Taiwan. Check my additional souvenir guides for more gift ideas.

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1. Taiwanese Nougat Candy

• Avg. Price: NT$150 per box
• Texture: Soft, chewy, sticky, with crunchy inclusions like nuts or seeds.
• Most Popular Flavor: Peanut Milk Nougat Candy (original flavor)
• Tips: Based on my experience, Salico (牛軋糖) had the best-tasting nougats

These traditional Taiwanese candies are soft and chewy, yet have a crunchy texture depending on the flavor. Peanut nougats are a prime candidate to fix this example. And I love them. Ate a whole bag in a night.

You’ll find many of these throughout Taiwan.

For instance, you could try 73 Candy in Hualien City. If they’re still around.

But Salico Foods’ nougats are great. And many Taiwanese have told me it’s their nougat of choice.

As it’s one of the most recognizable nougat companies in Taiwan.

If you decide to try their candies, here are some flavors they offer:

• Nougat Cake
• Date & Walnut
• Peanut Crisp

Or get it online

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2. Tea-scented Perfume: P.Seven Perfume

• Best Place to Buy: P.Seven stores in shopping centers
• Avg. Price: NT$2,250 for around 60 ml
• Scent Examples: Oolong Tea, Aged Tea, & Formosa Tea

The P.Seven perfume uses tea leaves aged for 10 years to create a refined scent. It won the 2022 Art and Olfaction Independent Award [1].

I use the Oolong Tea scent (cologne) whenever I go out.

You can find this perfume on Taiwanese e-commerce websites like Pinkoi for NT$4,050. But if you ship it to the US, you’d have to pay at least NT$1,970 ($62) for shipping.

I recommend buying them while in Taiwan. You’ll find it for less.

P.Seven lists everywhere you can see their perfume on their ‘locations’ page.

This perfume is an excellent way to carry the scent of Taiwan and remember the country’s delicious tea.

Get P.Seven Online

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3. A Bottle of Kavalan Whiskey

• Avg. Price: NT$1,399 per bottle
• Chinese Name: 噶瑪蘭單
• Taste: Lively, tropical fruits, chocolate, caramel, with woody notes
• Notes:
  • Hard to find outside Taiwan
  • Award-winning malt whiskey

Many supermarkets, Simple Marts, and some convenience stores sell Taiwan’s award-winning Kavalan malt whiskey for at least NT$1,399 ($44.50) a bottle [2].

I’ve heard this liquor’s hard to find outside Taiwan.

If you’re a whiskey lover and haven’t exceeded the maximum amount of alcoholic beverages you can bring, get one of these bottles.

Here’s a review for for liquor enthusiasts:

Here’s where to find it:

• Kavalan showrooms and shops
• Supermarkets & hypermarkets
• Convenience stores (e.g., 7-Eleven)

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4. Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor

• Avg. Price: NT$1,199 per bottle (varies by shop & bottle)
• Chinese Name: 高粱酒
• Taste: Acidic, candy-sweet nose; light, natural red berry palate; grassy, clean finish

It’s a liquor famous to Taiwan’s Kinmen, but you can find the Hundred Dragon and 38% alcohol by volume (ABV) in most convenience stores, supermarkets, and liquor stores.

Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor’s website lists everywhere you can find their drinks for sale.

Here’s a review of Kinmen Kaoliang 58°:

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5. 3D Contactless Cards

The following cards come in various shapes and sizes — depending on who they collaborate with:

• EasyCard (Guide): Most popular card.
• iCash 2.0 (Guide): More niche.
• iPASS (Guide): Typically used in Southern Taiwan.

Make sure you check out what cards are available.

They rotate their limited edition cards frequently. Each of the above guides will have links to their current offerings.

EasyCard once sold 1 of their cards shaped like a Poké Ball. Meanwhile, I bought myself an iCash card shaped like a 7-Eleven coffee cup. Then I got a Star Wars-themed iPASS.

Almost all of these cards don’t offer any special features. There’s a single iCash card I remembered that doubled as a scratch ticket. But it’s not for sale anymore.

Speaking of:

Most of these cards are limited-time purchases. And when trying to find them, they’re usually sold out. Either because of popularity or people wanting to flip them.

Whether you’re visiting or living in Taiwan, check every convenience store you see for these unique smart cards. Costs will vary.

Mine cost NT$450 ($14). You could buy older limited-time iCash 2.0 or EasyCards on Taiwanese shopping sites, but I recommend against doing that. Because they’re smart cards that use NFC.

Where to buy:

• Convenience stores: mostly at 7-Eleven & Family Mart
• Carrefour (seldom)
• Taipei Metro stations: from gift shops & occasionally service counters
• Shopee; I recommend against doing that. Because they’re smart cards that use NFC.
  • That means someone COULD tamper with their functionality.

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6. Taiwan Beer

• Avg. Price: NT$35 per can
• Taste: Clean, refreshing, & smooth 
• Notes:
  • Japanese Rice Lager style
  • Incorporates ponlai rice in its recipe

You can find cans of Taiwan beer anywhere throughout Taiwan. If you get the cheapest version, I’ve seen cans for around NT$35 ($1.11) at 7-Eleven.

I’m not a beer enthusiast. I can’t specify the notes this beer has. But if you’re bringing this beer home for yourself or someone you know, I recommend bringing Taiwan’s most popular beer.

Here’s someone with more knowledge than I reviewing the beer:

But there’s something you’ll need to consider when transporting beer.

Carbonation.

You don’t want an accident after bringing the beer home from a plane ride.

Here’s a trick I found on YouTube.

Every time I drink carbonated drinks, I twist the can clockwise several times. It’s something I saw on Better Call Saul, but don’t know whether it’s reliable. It appears people have had mixed results.

Anyway:

Where to buy:

• Any convenience store
• Few street food stalls
• Any supermarket & hypermarket
• Restaurants & bars

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7. Kuai Kuai Snacks

Kuai Kuai (乖乖 or Guai Guai) snacks are puff corn snacks that cost NT$28 ($0.89). You can find these at any convenience store or supermarket.

When looking around Taiwan, you’ll often see these bags adjacent to electronics.

That’s because 乖乖 means “well-behaved.” And it’s believed that these snacks will make electronics behave and not have errors.

I explain the rules about this superstition here.

You’ll find these bags in multiple colors, but green is the color I see most adjacent to electronics. My research has shown me that Taiwanese people choose green because green lights usually indicate an active electronic device.

For instance, green lights on modems or routers indicate the device is functioning correctly.

Moreover, the bag must be full (and unopened) to make your electronics behave. However, the size of bag you get doesn’t matter.

Anyway:

The bag’s dotted line indicates that you can write your name on the bag.

Here’s where to get them:

• Any convenience store
• Supermarkets & hypermarkets
• Random snack shops

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8. Soda Crackers

• Avg. Price: Less than NT$73
• Best Place to Get Them: Super- or hypermarkets
• Taste: Savory, mild onion flavor, crisp texture, with a light saltiness.
• Recommended Flavor: Green onion flavor

You can find Taiwanese soda crackers at any supermarket (and possibly convenience store). These usually cost less than NT$73 ($2.30).

What are they?

They’re thin crackers made from:

• Yeast
• Baking soda
• White flour
• Sprinkled sea salt
• Varied flavoring

The last point leads me to my recommendation. If you like green onions, I recommend the green onion flavor.

I hate crackers because I prefer soft textures. But these are one crunchy(ish) snack I can eat every day.

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9. Chia Te Pineapple Cakes From Chia Te Bakery in Taipei

• Avg. Price:
  • NT$38 ($1.21) per pineapple cake (price varies by flavor)
  • NT$372 ($13) or NT$620 ($21) for a box of 20
• Taste: Buttery, sweet, tart pineapple filling, crumbly pastry, fragrant with tropical notes.
• Notes: You could order from Amazon, though more expensive.

The Chia Te traditional pastry bakery in Taipei City bakes the most popular preservative-free pineapple cakes in Taiwan.

You can find them in varying flavors like egg yolk, cranberry, cherry, and plum. Their cakes have a crumbly crust and a buttery yet fruity taste.

Expect to pay at least NT$38 ($1.21) per pineapple cake. Pricing will vary based on the flavor you get. They sell other pastries (like mooncakes), but we’re talking about pineapple pastries.

For pineapple cake with a firm texture and a chewy filling, you’ll want to try Taipei Leechi.

I recommend getting the original flavor.

For a box of 12 pineapple cakes, you’ll need to fork over NT$372 or NT$620 for a box of 20. 

You could order these from Amazon, but they’re significantly more expensive.

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10. Sun Cakes from Sun Bakery in Taichung

• Avg. Price: NT$270 ($9.50) for a box of 10
• Best Place to Get Them: Taichung City
• Taste: Honey mixed with maltose.
• Texture: Flaky & messy to eat

Taiwanese sun cakes, or Tai Yang Bing (太陽餅), are pastries from Taichung, Taiwan. They’re soft, flaky, and rolled into a shape that looks like the sun, hence the name.

They taste a bit like honey mixed with maltose.

While you can find these cakes anywhere in Taiwan, I recommend getting them from Taichung. Specifically from the 23 Sun Bakery (23 太陽餅店).

It’s close to the original Chun Shui Tang restaurant (the birthplace of bubble tea). So, you can try the original pearl milk tea while you’re at it.

They charge a bit for their pastries, but not enough to shatter your wallet. 23 Sun Bakery’s cakes are worth it, though. They’ve been baking these things for over 40 years.

If you’re buying these for someone at home, buy a gift box. They’re around NT$270 ($9.50) for a box of 10.

Show this address to a taxi driver, plug it into your Uber app, or click the link and follow it on a map app: 40343台中市西區三民路一段191號

You can also ask around to see what the locals recommend. They’ll likely have better insight on where you should buy suncakes.

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11. Snacks to Buy in Taiwan

Like sun cakes, most cities and towns throughout Taiwan will have popular snacks. For instance, there are A-Po iron eggs (淡水阿婆鐵蛋), which are a specialty that originated from Tamsui. You can find these eggs all over the place when wandering around Tamsui.

Otherwise, observe your surroundings when you’re in different places throughout Taiwan. What places seem different from others? What’s the primary theme of the area?

Here’s an example. The flying fish is a cultural symbol for Taiwan’s Orchid Island. Thus, you’ll likely find flying fish-related snacks throughout the island.

Based on my experience, Taiwan has many snacks not available in the States.

I recommend walking into a supermarket and buying snacks like:

• Mr. Brown instant coffee: It’s a Taiwanese coffee company.
• Mochi balls: Comes in many flavors like peanut & matcha.
• Pineapple cakes: An affordable way to try pineapple cakes.
• Soda crackers: I mention them somewhere in this guide.
• Anything with tapioca pearls: The black balls used for bubble tea.
• IMEI mini puffs: IMEI is a Taiwanese snack company & I recommend trying their mini puffs.
• Plum candy: Super sour.
• Pork paper: Pork mixed with other ingredients in a paper shape; taste like pork jerky.
• Taiwanese fruit jelly: Juicy & chewy jellies.

This guide will have recommendations.

I recommend visiting these supermarkets and hypermarkets because that’s where you’ll save the most money. Don’t buy these snacks from convenience stores, because they’ll charge at least 10% more.

You could also search for candy bars you’ve never seen. As I don’t know what’s available in every country.

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12. Taiwan Jade: Some of the World’s Best

• Avg. Price: $30 (USD) per KG
• Reason to Buy: Taiwan has a lot of high-quality jade

Wealthy families often adorn deceased relatives with jade jewelry because they believe it’ll absorb the dead person’s blood. Due to this blood absorption, the deceased has a higher chance of banishing evil.

Taiwan produces around 1,000 metric tons of this stuff each year. And most of it comes from Hualien County.

But it isn’t ordinary jade.

Taiwan has a lot of high-quality jade. Thus, designers can slice into 2-millimeter-thick pieces. It’s also greener than other jade mined from other countries because of its higher chromium content.

Across from the Jianguo Weekend Flower Market in Taipei City, you’ll find the Jianguo Jade Market.

They have thousands of stalls with jade sellers.

I provide more information about this place in a separate piece.

You’ll find high-quality jade in different shapes, sizes, and designs. But you’ll want to make sure you have money set aside.

Good jade will cost at least $30 per kilogram [3]. 

You’ll want to ensure you take a class on how to identify real jade. I’m not saying the vendors have fake stuff, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

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13. Meat-Shaped Stone from the National Palace Museum

• Best Place to Buy: National Palace Museum
• Avg. Price: NT$200 each
• Notes: Get jade shaped like cabbage for NT$22,000
  • Or smaller ones for around NT$200

You’ll often find meat-shaped stones on display at Taipei’s National Palace Museum. But you can sometimes find them at the museum’s gift shop for at least NT$200 ($7.00) each.

Since they’re stones, they’ll add more weight to your luggage or package than other Taiwanese souvenirs.

What are they?

These rocks are banded jasper with layers of white crystals and translucent flesh pink. Due to their designs, these stones typically resemble marbled steak or a hunk of pork belly.

While at the museum’s gift shop, you could find jade shaped like cabbage. But you’ll have to set your wallet on fire and hand the store clerk NT$22,000 ($776).

Learn more about the NPM and other cool souvenirs they have.

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14. Miniature Sky Lanterns

• Avg. Price: NT$90 each
• Best Place to Buy: Shifen

You can find miniature sky lanterns at most Taiwanese souvenir shops for NT$90 ($3) each. You can get these at any time throughout the year.

The picture above is from a shop in Ximending, Taipei.

I recommend getting them from a souvenir shop in Taiwan’s Shifen. It’s in New Taipei City’s outskirts and hosts the annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival.

It’s a pain to get to, though.

It’s the time of the year when the Taiwanese write wishes on paper lanterns and release them into the sky to the deities.

If you can’t, you’ll find them at most souvenir stores.

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15. Taiwanese Glove Puppets: Budaixi

• Avg. Price: NT$1,000 – 52,000
• Best Place to Buy: Taipei City

You may find Taiwanese glove puppets for sale at the Puppetry Art Center of Taipei or Chang Yi Fang Puppet Creations.

I found these for sale at the Syntrend mall in Taipei.

What is budaixi (布袋戲), though?

It’s one of Taiwan’s older and most famous pastimes. Designers craft these puppets with intricate details. Later, puppeteers will use them to tell stories through puppet operas about topics relating to popular folklore.

Some stories will have magical beings duke it out. In contrast, others involve ancient warriors fighting each other.

If you’re staying somewhere with cable TV, you could watch PILI TV and see these dolls in action.

Here’s a scene from a PILI TV puppet drama series on YouTube.

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16. Local Taiwanese Tea

You can get local loose-leaf tea in vacuum-sealed containers, tea bags, or inside canisters.

And here are the different types of tea from Taiwan I recommend:

• Oolong – wūlóng (烏龍): Has a floral, fruity, and sometimes grassy flavor.
• Black tea (紅茶): Earthy, malty, floral, with hints of sweet & bitter notes.
• Green tea (綠茶): Grassy, vegetal, floral, with sweet undertones & slight bitterness.
• White tea (白茶): Subtle, delicate, floral, with sweet undertones and light fruitiness.

I have a separate post where I cover the details of each tea.

Taiwan produces over 20,000 tons of tea yearly for a good reason.

I recommend trying tea at various tea houses or sample drinks from tea merchants before deciding what you want to bring home.

You’ll also want to check whether you can actually mail or bring the tea on a plane. America’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says you CAN bring loose-leaf tea leaves and bags to the U.S. [4].

Check with your airline safety government entity to ensure they’re as lenient.

Buying tips

• Ensure your airline allows loose-leaf tea
• Get tea bags from tourist destinations (e.g., Jiufen) and from traditional markets
• 茶 (Chá) means tea in Mandarin; may help when asking for it

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17. Keychains Shaped Like Taiwan

These wooden (or plastic) keychains are the most common souvenirs in Taiwan. Just check any gift or souvenir shop in Taiwan.

They start at NT$50 ($1.75) and are lightweight, meaning you could buy these in bulk and give some to all your friends and family back home. Or, you could snap them all into your bag.

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18. Postcards of Taiwan’s Scenery

Taiwan has some beautiful postcards with portraits of the country’s various landmarks. 

Often, you’ll find them made of wood and etches with images of local landscapes. They’re affordable, support local artists, and give you the means to carry a memory of everywhere you’ve visited.

Without having to stuff too much weight in your luggage.

If you don’t intend to mail these postcards, you can stamp your postcard with a souvenir stamp that correlates with where you brought your mailing card.

For instance, if you buy a postcard at Houtong, you can stamp it with one of the many Houtong souvenir stamps.

You can find Taiwan postcards at most souvenir or stationery shops throughout Taiwan.

You can also get them from bookstores. When getting letter cards from bookshops, they’ll likely just have photos of some landmark.

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19. Cultural Products

Taiwan’s various cultures offer different souvenirs you may like. For instance, the Hakka people have oil-paper umbrellas:

Meanwhile:

Taiwan’s indigenous tribes have handcrafted items like jewelry and knives.

I included the umbrellas only because they’re on every other “souvenir” guide.

My wife is Hakka and said that most people don’t buy the umbrellas.

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20. Taiwanese Pottery

• Avg. Price: NT$100 –2,700 (varies by shop)
• Best Place to Buy: Jiufen Old Street

You can get it from any pottery shop in Taiwan. Prices will vary depending on where you visit.

If you want to take your gift-giving to the next level, consider taking pottery classes and making your own tea set.

Moreover, why not pair it with a tea set when getting Taiwanese tea? 

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21. Merchandise From Taipei 101

Some Taipei 101 souvenirs include:

• Glass water bottles shaped like Taipei 101
• Building blocks that look like LEGOs — but shaped like the skyscraper
• Magnets
• Keychains
• Models
• Postcards: make sure to stamp it with a souvenir stamp from the 89th floor

You can find souvenir shops throughout the skyscraper. Whether on the basement floors or the 89th-floor observatory.

More information on visiting Taipei 101.

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22. Of Course, You Need Starbucks Mugs

Literally walk into any Starbucks (there are a lot of them) and buy any mug with a Taiwanese city that looks appealing.

The photo below is from Banqiao’s train station, where I found most of Taiwan’s main cities on mugs.

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23. Taiwan Name Stamps (AKA Chops)

• Avg. Price: NT$100 –21. Taiwan Name Stamps
• Where to Buy: Locksmiths & shopping centers
• Avg. Price: NT$50+

A Taiwan name stamp, chop, seal, or 印章 is a stamp that Taiwanese use for signatures on legal or professional paperwork.

It’s critical to have it if you live here.

The name stamps in the image above were more than NT$3,000 each.

Instead of using their English names, a foreigner would use their registered Chinese name.

That requirement doesn’t stop tourists from buying them, though. If you don’t have a Chinese name, you can use whatever Chinese characters you desire. Ensure you know what the character means before engraving it, though.

I’m sure you don’t want to give someone a stamp that’s insulting them in Mandarin.

Here’s where to get them…

You’ll find all the more affordable stamps (NT$100 and under) at locksmiths. Identify these stores by looking for giant keys on signs or peeking through windows to see hundreds of these stamps on display.

You could get the NT$50 ones, which just have a piece of rubber attached to cheap wood. If you’re gifting it, I recommend spending NT$300 – NT$500 on customized ones that also come with ink pads and carriers.

When getting my chops, I didn’t know there were NT$50 ones, which led me to buy a NT$500 one. It’s a bulky plastic — not cheap plastic — handle with a nice black carrier case and ink pad.

You’ll often find high-quality stamps (e.g., made of jade) within shopping centers. However, these often cost over NT$600. And sometimes they won’t offer services to carve Chinese characters into the rubber, requiring you to visit a locksmith, anyway.

And how to get one.

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24. Coins

Taiwan has a lot of commemorative coins that’ll easily fit in your luggage.

Or you could trade in your money for more difficult-to-find coins:

I got these coins from this shop: No. 27號, Guling St, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, 100

This place is a short walk from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and easy to find.

However:

The dudes there didn’t speak any English. They were super friendly, though. I showed them pictures of the coins I wanted and they pulled out the NT$20 coin.

They had to go to another shop to get the half dollar coin.

You can ask for them in case they actually have them in stock. But don’t push them to get it.

This site will show you some of the cemmemorative coins available.

Read this guide for more tidbits on Taiwan’s currency.

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Other Considerations

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Tourist Tax Refund

Taiwan’s VAT refund for tourists applies to purchases over NT$2,000 at designated stores within 30 days. These stores display “VAT Refund for Tourists” signs.

To claim, tourists must present eligible receipts, a passport, and purchased goods at refund counters in airports or ports before departing Taiwan.

Refunds can be processed as cash or credited to a card. The standard VAT rate is 5%. Tourists should check store eligibility and ensure proper documentation to receive the refund efficiently. 

More info on the VAT refund.

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Receipt Lottery: Maybe Win Money from Purchases

Taiwan’s receipt lottery, or Uniform Invoice Lottery, incentivizes tax compliance. Every official receipt, or “uniform invoice,” includes an 8-digit lottery number.

Folks can check these numbers against bi-monthly lottery results announced by the Ministry of Finance. Prizes range from NT$200 to NT$10 million.

Residents AND tourists can then claim winnings at post offices or banks with a passport and the winning receipt. Receipts from any store issuing uniform invoices are eligible.

It’s a great way to score extra free money if you’re lucky.

Know that not all stores will offer receipts, though they should.

Here’s how it works and how to play.

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Things You Can Only Buy in Taiwan

The only things that you could “only” get in Taiwan are freshly baked goods like pineapple cakes or suncakes and affordable bubble tea.

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What’s Not Worth Buying

• Computer Parts: More expensive than many countries
• Supplements: Super expensive
• Action Figures: Better off buying figures online (if possible)
• Designer Clothing & Accessories: Typically more expensive

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FAQs

What Product Is Taiwan Famous For?

Taiwan is famous for pineapple cakes, bubble tea, loose-leaf tea, electronics, sun cakes, and more.

What Brands Are Cheaper in Taiwan?

Most goods in Taiwan aren’t more affordable compared to the rest of the world other than the Taiwanese clothing brand, NET.

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Sources

• [1] Tea-scented perfume wins award. Focus Taiwan. 07/02/2022.
• [2] Awards. Kavalan
• [3] Taiwan’s jade. Taiwan Panorama. December 1980.
• [4] Can you bring tea into an airplane? TSA, US.