Taiwanese Gourmet: Discover Authentic Taiwanese Flavors in Elmhurst

Note: This review is primarily for vegetarians who may find themselves dining here with meat-eating friends. Taiwanese Gourmet offers an authentic Taiwanese dining experience, and it’s best appreciated by those who eat meat. While there is a decent selection of about a dozen vegetarian dishes—mostly healthy, steamed tofu and vegetable options—they’re not the main attraction, lack depth in flavor and tend to be less exciting. That said, there are some more flavorful choices like crispy tofu and the traditional stinky tofu. The best vegetarian option is the crispy tofu with the savory garlic dipping sauce hands down! They are also accommodating and if you can describe something you’d like with their existing ingredients, they will try to accommodate. The real draw of this place is its traditional Taiwanese entrees, which are clearly a hit—on weekends, every table is packed. It’s a lively, bustling atmosphere: expect a lot of noise, clanging pots, and fast-moving staff. Service is friendly but busy, and the overall vibe is more family-style chaos than quiet, relaxed dining. Also, they’re cash only, so come prepared.

Came here to try the trending beef noodle soup — it was pretty good! We also ordered the braised pork with rice and the pork and fried tofu with rice, both were 10/10. We didn’t bother getting drinks since they serve fresh complimentary tea (we even got a refill!). I noticed almost every table ordered the clams, so I definitely felt like I was missing out. I’ll be coming back to try the seafood next time — especially those clams everyone seems to love.

This restaurant offers very authentic Taiwanese cuisine with a traditional touch. From classic street snacks to more skillfully prepared dishes, you can find nearly all the Taiwanese favorites you might think of. The stir-fry dishes, in particular, are highly recommended—they’re full of wok hei and best enjoyed fresh on-site. With the fast service, it’s a good choice both for a quick solo meal and for casual gatherings with friends.

Had the beef stew with rice noodles, oyster pancake (sweet sauce ?). Everything was ok for a fix but eating in Taipei is first class and this was coach. Friend had fried chicken leg, gotta say, tasty.

Very cozy restaurant! Food overall was yummy and had large portion sizes - Stinky tofu: 8/10, first time having this. Texture was so airy and soft! Sauce was good. Wish there was more flavor or salt to the actual tofu. Def strong smell. The pickled cabbage it came w was very yummy - Sautéed cabbage: 7/10, standard - Sweet and sour pork chop: 10/10, crispy and loved the sauce - Oyster pancake: 10/10, first time having this. Very chewy, and lots of oysters!! Sauce was good

First time trying this Taiwanese restaurant and it went way beyond our expectations! We ordered so many dishes just the three of us and finished everything. The fried pork was crispy on the outside, tender inside, and the fried intestines were surprisingly clean and super tasty. Every dish was full of bold, well-balanced flavors just like what you’d expect from authentic Taiwanese home cooking. The restaurant has a cozy, homey vibe and to top it off, the staff were lovely and provided great service. If you’re in the area, definitely give it a try — now we know why we couldn’t leave a single bite behind.

Queens doesn’t chase food trends. It creates them. Before Taiwanese food was “cool,” before the hype spots and influencer noodle pulls, Taiwanese Gourmet in Elmhurst was already putting in work. 40+ years deep. No gimmicks. No attitude. Just straight-up bangers. Green awning, red lanterns, fish tank, and what looks like straw armor on the wall (turns out it’s old-school rain gear — respect ). This place is built like a food dojo. Ordered like men who feared nothing: sausage with raw garlic (don’t ask, just do it), pork rolls that taste like childhood joy, stinky tofu that’s way less scary than its name, and a Taiwanese meatball that looks like it came from another dimension but absolutely slaps. Then the closer: three-cup chicken. Dark, glossy, basil-packed, cooked like it’s someone’s grandmother judging you from the kitchen. Unreal. Yes, also picked ordered their famous beef noodle soup. Solid. It was spicy and flavorful. Very Comforting. But the real flex here is the old-school menu — dishes you don’t see on TikTok, made the way they’ve always been. Lesson of the day: trends come and go. Real spots stay dangerous. Taiwanese Gourmet is still swinging.

I'm always searching for delicious Taiwanese food throughout NYC, so I was so excited to finally have the chance to stop by Taiwanese Gourmet recently. It's been bookmarked for quite a while, but it's a bit out of the way in Elmhurst where I don't find myself that often! Our party of 2 came by around 7pm on a weekday -- we were able to get seated immediately, and while the place was really busy the whole time we were there, I think there were always a couple of empty tables available. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share: - 蒼蠅頭 "fly heads" which is just stir-fried ground pork with chive flowers and black beans was not bad. I thought the ground pork had a great savoury flavour to it, but the chive flowers tasted a bit undercooked. I felt it was a bit heavy/oily, too. - 清炒高麗菜 sautéed cabbage was a little disappointing. Taiwanese cabbage is probably one of my favourite vegetables, and I was disappointed at how bland this dish was. The leaves were a bit too chewy for my taste, and I felt like it was significantly under-seasoned (salt/soy sauce/sesame oil would have gone a long way here). - 溼煎虱目魚 braised milk fish was delicious! It's not that common to find milkfish in the US (especially of this quality) even as a classic Taiwanese dish, so I was really pleasantly surprised at how yummy this was. The portion size was SO big, and the flesh was just soo fragrant -- tender, juicy, practically melted in your mouth with an amazing savouriness. Definitely would strong recommend this dish. - 番茄牛蓋飯 beef and tomato over rice was really tasty too. The tomato was cooked to a perfect softness, and the mature flavour paired really well with the slightly more umami bites of beef and scrambled egg in the thick sauce (some mix of black pepper and oyster sauce flavours). It was not too heavy at all when eaten with the rice; I felt like I could have just eaten this itself as my meal :) Service was very quick, and all of the staff were very lovely with taking our order and offering suggestions and whatnot. Note that they are a cash only place, so do come prepared! While there were some spots for improvement, I think this was still a very yummy (and promising) meal overall, and I'm excited to come back to try some of their other dishes (on their quite expansive menu).