The West Coast’s Biggest Taiwanese Culture Festival Returns to Union Square

The regional cuisines of Taiwan are vast and endlessly diverse, but any Taiwanese food festival worth its salt has to hit all the classics: beef noodle soup, fat-drenched lu rou fan and popcorn chicken bedecked with crispy basil leaves. An ice-cold boba tea to wash it all down.

On Saturday, May 10, San Francisco’s 32nd annual Taiwanese American Culture Festival returns, and Union Square will be awash with all of those foundational dishes and more. The biggest event of its kind on the West Coast, the festival has steadily expanded its food offerings since returning from a pandemic-era pause a couple years ago. These days, the Union Square extravaganza boasts more hot food options, a greater mix of established restaurants and up-and-coming pop-ups and collaborations with national brands like Yun Hai. (The Brooklyn-based Taiwanese pantry’s sauces and dried fruit snacks are a staple for countless second-gen Taiwanese food enthusiasts.)

An ideal food tour of this year’s festival offerings might include a stop at the Liang’s Village stall for a hearty bowl of beef noodle soup and some spicy, Pingtung-style cold peanut noodles, especially if it’s a hot day. Both Liang’s and the boba shop Mr. Green Bubble will be selling the succulent braised pork belly rice bowls known as lu rou fan, though my personal favorite is Mr. Green Bubble’s take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken — one of the best versions you’ll find at a boba shop. Meanwhile, Hayward cult favorite MITK will offer some of the most nostalgic street food dishes: oyster pancakes, black pepper buns and fan tuan (aka “rice burritos”).

Those with a sweet tooth can make a beeline for Little Moon Bakehouse (formerly Annie’s T Cakes) for Taiwanese-inspired buns and pastries, and Nekosama’s assortment of cute cat-shaped cookies.

The festival will include a book fair highlighting Taiwanese American authors, fun merch from local artists and designers, and a robust lineup of both traditional and contemporary cultural performances (headlined by singer-songwriter Niko Rain).

But for many visitors, checking out each year’s food lineup is the most exciting part of the festival. Who knows? Maybe next year stinky tofu will even make an appearance.

This year’s Taiwanese American Cultural Festival will take place on Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.