Eating a railway bento box (便當 or bian dang) while riding the train is a quintessential Taiwan experience. When you enjoy this simple boxed lunch, you are partaking in an experience that harks back to when Taiwan was a Japanese colony.
While Taiwan Railways makes all the bento boxes sold on board nowadays, there are a some especially delicious variations still made by private vendors at a handful of train stations around the country.
In this article, I will introduce both the Taiwan Railways bentos plus the best of these regional variations you can seek out while traveling around Taiwan.
History of Taiwan’s Railway Bento Boxes
The Japanese word bento (弁当) means “convenient meal”. In Japan, it can refer to a variety of boxed/take-away meals, often with little partitions between the different food items.
During the Japanese Colonial Period in Taiwan (1895-1945), the Japanese built an extensive train network in Taiwan (see every station here).
At the time, trains on this network had dining cars, but in 1914, vendors also started selling boxed lunches from station platforms.
They called these bentos, but the word was phonetically approximated in the Taiwanese language as pian tong (便當). In Mandarin, which later became the standard in Taiwan, this is pronounced as bian dang.
After the Japanese period, more and more people started using trains to get around, and the love for lunchboxes increased.
At some point, Taiwan Railways (formerly and still commonly called TRA, but now officially TRC) incorporated bento boxes into their operations and started selling them from carts on the train.
Originally, these railway bentos came in metal tins which had to be returned, but over time they switched over to paper boxes. As dining cars gradually disappeared from trains, the take-away bentos became even more popular.
Despite the rise of Taiwan Railways-made bentos, many private vendors at certain stations have stood the test of time.
Many of their unique or especially delicious takes on the bento box have achieved “famous” status in Taiwan. Local riders will visit or get off at those stations just to enjoy one of these bentos.
What’s in a Taiwanese Railways Bento Box?
Compared to Japanese bentos, which emphasize aesthetics and artful arrangements, Taiwanese bian dang focus on providing a heartier and more filling meal.
Every bian dang starts with a bed of rice (usually more than you would get in a Japanese one) with various cooked sides piled on top, with no concern about them touching.
As a main protein, the classic bian dang has a fried-then-braised pork chop (排骨). However, variations could include a chicken drumstick, fish fillet, piece of pork belly, or tofu in vegetarian versions.
Common sides include braised cabbage (滷高麗菜), stir fried greens, a half or whole braised egg (滷蛋), pickled mustard greens (酸菜) or radish, braised tofu (豆乾), and kelp (海帶, often comes tied in a knot).
Taiwanese sausage, carrot, konjac jelly, fish cake, pickled ginger, kelp, dried sour plum (thought to reduce motion sickness), and other ingredients could also make an appearance.
Six Must-Try Railway Bento Boxes in Taiwan
Below I’ll start with the classic railway boxes made by Taiwan Railways and sold on the trains. Then I’ll introduce five other famous ones made by private vendors (these are the best) near stations around the country.
Taiwan Railways Bento Boxes
According to news reports, the TRC (Taiwan Railways Corporation) sells over 9 million railway bian dang per year.
These are the quintessential bentos that locals purchase and eat on trains in Taiwan. However, these are mass produced in enormous kitchens, often hours before they are sold.
Thus, these ones are not as good (in my opinion) as the other five I will introduce below.
These bento boxes come in six main variations depending on the kitchen location. The six locations are in Taipei, Qidu, Hualien, Taitung, Kaohsiung, and Taichung. You can explore the various bento box options made at each kitchen here.
The boxes were traditionally rectangular, but nowadays round containers (圓盒) or even octagonal ones (see photo below) are becoming more common.
As you can see from above photo, most of them range from TWD 100 to 120.
Every bento comes with a pair of disposable chopsticks. You are allowed to eat it on any train type, but you probably wouldn’t want to on a packed local train. A person also comes around regularly to collect garbage.
How to Purchase One
There are three ways you can purchase a Taiwan Railways bento. The first way is to pre-order it. To know if your train will have this option, first search for the train on the official site (and follow my train booking guide).
Once you key in your route and see a list of trains, hover over each one and watch for the orange bento icon (see image above) indicating that this route has bentos. You can also check for the train number in this table. Take note of whether it says 午餐 (lunch) or 晚餐 (dinner).
After you book your seat, but before paying, there will be a page where you can select to add a pork chop bento (排骨便當) or a vegetarian one (素食便當), as in the above screenshot. The cost for one is TWD 100 and you can order maximum 1 per passenger.
There may be an option where you have to choose electronic or printed receipt. Just choose printed receipt. This means they will print the receipt and give it to you with the bentol
When you pick up your physical train tickets at the station, you’ll get a coupon for the bento. If you pick up the ticket at a convenience store, it will be indicated right on the ticket. If you user a mobile ticket via the Taiwan Railways app, then you’ll get an e-voucher for the meal.
During the train ride, the staff will bring the lunchbox to you and you need to give them the coupon or show them the mobile voucher.
A second way to get a Taiwan Railways bento is to simply purchase one in the train station. Larger stations will have both official Taiwan Railways bento box kiosks (watch for TRC symbol of the words 台鐵便當, like in the above image) and ones made by private vendors.
They usually only sell them before meal times and only in larger stations. Look for train-shaped kiosks (like my images here) or private kiosks with huge stacks of them. Many of these take EasyCard, so you can just swipe and go.
Some of these may be cheaper (starting from around TWD 60 to 80 for simpler ones) than those you can pre-order or purchase on the train.
Last but not least, you can buy one from carts plying the aisles on the train. These are usually sold at lunch or dinnertime, but only on certain trains (use either method I mentioned above to see if your train will have meal service).
While they don’t usually sell bento boxes on the High Speed Rail (HSR), you can buy them in many HSR stations and carry then onto the train.
Fulong Bento Boxes
The bento boxes sold at Fulong Station (福隆車站) in New Taipei City are commonly referred to as “Taiwan’s Classic Railway Bento” (台灣經典鐵路便當之).
Fulong Station provides access to Fulong Beach (in my opinion the nicest beach in Northern Taiwan).
If you’re taking the train from Taipei to the East Coast (Yilan, Hualien, or Taitung), most express trains don’t stop at Fulong. Only some slower and local trains do.
In old times, Fulong was a halfway-point from Taipei to Yilan and trains would stop there for a while. By the 1970s-80s, the bento box vendors at the station were already in heavy competition with one another.
To give you an idea, in 2014, one bento vendor paid over TWD 4 million for the right to sell bentos there!
Fulong bento boxes (福隆便當) come in rectangular paper boxes, just like Taiwan Railways ones traditionally did.
They are often describes as coming with eight side dishes (八菜), but the exact number and what they are can vary a little.
But Fulong bian dang will usually have most or all of the following: braised pork, braised egg, braised tofu, cabbage, seasonal greens, sausage, chicken roll, kelp, pickled mustard greens, and pickled radish.
In my opinion, Fulong bento boxes are very similar to Taiwan Railways ones, but a overall just a bit better and fresher. Think of them as Taiwan Railways bentos perfected.
Over time they have become so iconic that there’s even a chain called “Fulong Platform Bentos” (福隆月台便當) in Taipei, with branches here, here, and here. You can find similar ones here in Taichung and here in Kaohsiung.
How to Purchase One
In the past, bento box vendors would come right onto the train as it stopped at Fulong Station, but they no longer do that.
But the vendors will be waiting for you on the platform. With your money ready, you can step off the train, buy one, and get back on again before the train departs. Expect to pay TWD 60 to 100 per bento.
If that sounds too stressful to you, you can also get off the train, enjoy your bento (and maybe the beach too!) and take a later train.
Besides the train station platform, you can find the shops that make the bentos just outside the station. Some of the originals include:
- Rustic Lunch (鄉野便當, here on the left just outside the station): Often considered the most representative ones, origins in the late 1950s
- Yilong Fulong Bento (宜隆福隆便當, here next to the above shop): Just as old as the above, and known for its “eight sides”
- Fuxin Fulong Lunnchbox (福新福隆便當, here): Another long-running one, opposite the other two (right side as you exit the station)
Fenqihu Bento Boxes
In my opinion, Fenqihu bento boxes (奮起湖便當) are the best bento boxes in all of Taiwan. The photos alone should be enough to prove that.
Just like Fulong was a halfway point from Taipei to Yilan, Fenqihu is a halfway point on the Alishan Forest Railway from Chiayi to Alishan.
There used to be a train maintenance shop here (right side of above photo, now converted into a railway museum), and to this day trains to Alishan still stop for a break there.
Therefore, eating a bento box by the train tracks in Fenqihu has become like a rite of passage in Alishan region – you just have to do it.
Because of its high mountain location, the veggies here are different: super fresh bamboo (Fenqihu is surrounded by bamboo forests), wood ear mushrooms (木耳), and mountain greens such as dragon whisker shoots (龍鬚菜).
For me, it’s the combination of these fresh foods, the generous portions, the retro setting of Fenqihu Old Street, and the gorgeous bamboo forest environment around Fenqihu that make this my absolute favorite bento box experience in Taiwan.
The cost of bentos in Fenqihu is a little higher than elsewhere, but you’re paying for the quality and experience.
How to Purchase One
If you ride the Alishan Forest Railway up to Alishan, it will include a one-hour stop at Fenqihu, which is plenty of time to explore Fenqihu Old Street and enjoy a bento box (note: the train coming down doesn’t include this break).
You may also choose to take a bus to Fenqihu (here are the bus times and how to book it online).
Here are the top bento box vendors in Fenqihu (#3 is the absolute best):
- Fenqihu Ekiben (奮起湖登山食堂便當, here): This is a cute bento box restaurant right on the train station platform (see above photo). Choose it for convenience, but it’s not the best one. The bentos range from TWD 120 to 160.
- Old Street Nostalgic Bento Boxes (老街懷舊便當, here): This bento maker is inside Fenqihu Hotel (see on Booking / Agoda), my most recommended hotel in town.
The bentos here are some of the oldest in Fenqihu (80+ years) and are truly next level. There are different options, including vegetarian, and you can even order one in an old-school metal tin if you dine in. Prices range from TWD 160-190.
- Railway Mountain City Nostalgic Bento Boxes (鐵道山城懷舊鐵路便當, here): My most recommended one in town, but you’ll need to walk a few minutes down the road to find it.
This vendor is housed in an old-timey little shop and the ingredients are super fresh and piled on. They have the option of pork or chicken drumstick, while the vegetarian one is the best I’ve ever had. On top of that, they only cost TWD 100-120.
On weekends, they offer two additional special ones: dongpo pork belly and pig trotters. Their bamboo soup is also delicious.
Chishang Bento Boxes
Remote Taitung county in southeastern Taiwan is known as the country’s rice basket. For this reason, the rice itself is the star of the show in its bento boxes.
Chishang is the first of two stations in Taitung’s Huadong Valley (花東縱谷 or East Rift Valley) known for its bentos. Chishang rice (池上米) is known as the best in Taiwan, and today many travelers stop there to go cycling by the rice paddies.
The origins of Chishang bentos go back to the 1930s and 40s, when locals used to sell balls of rice wrapped in bamboo leaf called fanbao (飯包 or “rice pouches”) on the train station platform.
After the Japanese period, these changed to regular bentos in metal tins. Then in the 1960s, they started to prepare them in thin wooden boxes, which allowed the rice to breathe and stay fluffy.
The fanbao name stuck, so to this day, Chishang bentos are still called fanbao.
While I don’t find these bentos to be super different than most others, I did really notice how good the rice is.
Chishang rice is springier (locals would call it more “Q”) and more translucent than other rice varieties in Taiwan, with a natural sweetness. It’s subtle, but hone in on the rice itself to fully appreciate it.
How to Purchase One
You’ll need to get off the train at Chishang to buy a bento box there. I recommend stopping for a couple hours, or even overnight, to enjoy cycling by the rice paddies on Mr. Brown Boulevard south of town.
- Quanmeihang Fanbao (全美行飯包, here): Classic shop with vintage bentos right in front of Chishang Station. This is the only shop that was traditionally allowed to sell their bentos on the station platform. Meat and vegetarian available, TWD 100-140.
- Wutao Chishang Fanbao Cultural Storyhouse (悟饕池上飯包文化故事館, here): This is my top vote for the best bento box in Chishang. There are multiple kinds, including pork, chicken, and fish (but no vegetarian), TWD 100-130. Some still come in the original thin wooden boxes. You can even eat your bento on a real train car parked out front.
Guanshan Bento Boxes
Two stations south of Chishang is Guanshan (關山), another Huadong Valley rice growing area which is also known for the delicious rice in its bentos.
Vendors first began selling simple bentos on Guanshan Station’s platform in the 1950s. In the 1960s-70s, Guanshan rice (關山米) was developed and promoted, catapulting Guanshan bentos to domestic fame.
In the 1980s Guanshan took off as a cycling destination in Taitung. It has since been eclipsed by Chishang, so comparatively few travelers stop in Guanshan these days.
If you do, then you’ll find Guanshan’s bentos are quite similar to those in its sibling town, Chishang, and they usually come in the thin wooden boxes, too.
However, Guanshan’s rice is a little softer, moister, and more fragrant. While Chishang remains the bigger star in Taitung, off-the-beaten-track travelers may enjoy Guanshan’s less commercial vibe (and bentos) more.
Read more about Guanshan and its cycling path here in my East Coast guide.
How to Purchase One
- Guanshan Bento (源昌關山便當, here): This is the original Guanshan bento box shop, running since 1970, right in front of Guanshan Station. They have the classic original box or options with barbecued meats, chicken, or fish, priced at TWD 100-125 Check the opening times before you go.
Checheng Bento Boxes
Last but not least, one of the most interesting bentos I’ve had in Taiwan was at Checheng (車程) Station on the Jiji Line (集集線).
The Jiji Line is a branch line similar to, but much lesser-known than the Alishan Forest Railway. It goes from Ershui in Changhua county to Checheng, a smaller former logging town near Sun Moon Lake in Nantou county.
See my full guide to Checheng here.
Checheng today is a tiny, wood-themed tourist town. Staying true to the theme, there are bentos in Chishang which come in thick wooden buckets (木桶), for a super nostalgic (if a little fabricated) feeling.
And the coolest part is, you can even take the wooden bento bucket home as a souvenir (read about other cool souvenirs from Taiwan).
Unfortunately, the Jiji Line from Zhuoshui to Checheng stations has been under repairs and closed for a few years. When I visited, the town was very quiet because of this.
There are still buses from Zhuoshui or Sun Moon Lake to Checheng. The train service should resume at the end of 2025, after which Checheng should pick up again.
How to Purchase One
First, you’ll need to get to Checheng, either by bus from Zhuoshui or Sun Moon Lake. You can a,so drive there, like I did on the same day I visited Sun Link Sea and Shuiyuan Rainbow Suspension Bridge nearby.
Checheng is small enough to explore in about one hour. For the famous wooden bento, go to this shop:
- Cedar Tea House (木茶房, here): Located next to a former log pond in town, the restaurant has the classic bentos in wooden buckets which Checheng is known for.
I went for the mackerel bento in a wooden bucket, but they also have smoked chicken drumstick, Dongpo pork, and vegetarian (pumpkin and mushroom). They all come as a set (TWD 490) with a few small side dishes, soup, dessert, and drink.
If you don’t care about the bucket, they sell the same sets without bucket for a little cheaper.
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about Taiwan’s bian dang as much I enjoyed eating and writing about them! Which bento box did you try in Taiwan (or plan to try) and what did you think?
Thank you for your recommendation. I will try for my upcoming trip in November 2025 when possible, though I have plan to cover Tao Yuan (1st time) and Taipei (other place of interest) which I have missed last year.
Excellent! Thanks for the article!