• 5
• Best Buffet in Taipei By Far

A decade ago all-you-can-eat buffets were a highlight of any vegetarian or vegan's trip to Taiwan. However, over the last few years as vegan restaurants joined the scene with their creative, original, and even healthy meals, and especially after the fake meat scandal a few years ago, these famous buffets began to lose their appeal. Then when Evergreen stopped catering to vegans and consistently labelling their food I mostly stopped recommending visitors to Taiwan even bother with them anymore. But Fruitful Food has changed that. GOOD FOOD While it's similar to the traditional all-you-can-eat buffets (like Evergreen, Spring or Jen Dow), still offering the typical Taiwanese / Japanese / Western fusion, with a good salad bar and vegetables which can be cooked to order, it also offers a much more modern, healthier menu with more emphasis on fresh food and less on deep fried food and fake meats (though they are still available, including egg-free Tempura). CONSISTENT LABELLING I'm always suspicious of fake meats (except at Loving Huts) however as far as I can tell Fruitful Food consistently labels what's vegan (and what contains dairy / egg) in Chinese, but the symbols are colour coded (green for vegan), easy to recognise, and I'm sure the staff would be happy to explain them. This sets Fruitful Food well apart from Evergreen, Spring and especially Jen Dow. They also serve a good range of vegan desserts, including a couple of delicious vegan cakes and vegan sorbet (from a machine). PRICE AND RESERVATIONS Lunch is about NT500, and dinner 600. So while it's certainly expensive for Taipei, for an all-you-can-eat deal it's excellent value. Make it your main meal of the day, and your afternoon tea or coffee. It's absolutely packed during the weekends, for which reserveations are required well in advance. I recommend visiting on a weekday lunch. It closes at 3PM, at which customers are required to leave promptly so that they can prepare for the dinner shift, so get there early if you want to enjoy a leisurly, multi-course meal. This restaurant, along with Sophie's Garden and the Guangfu Loving Hut, should be high on the list of every visitor to Taiwan.