What to buy in Taiwan for Malaysians: Travel guide for snacks, souvenirs and more

If you’re heading off to Taiwan soon for a vacation, don’t forget to take some time off in between eating delicious meals to shop for snacks and souvenirs to bring home. Wondering what to buy in Taiwan? We’ve got you covered with this guide.

This guide outlines all you need to know when it comes to shopping, including what souvenirs, snacks, and beauty products to buy in Taiwan. We’ll also talk about how you can use the Wise card to save money on your MYR to TWD transactions.

While you can't hold TWD in your Wise account yet, you'll be able to spend with your card at the mid-market rate.

What souvenirs to buy in Taiwan

We really are spoilt for choice when it comes to things to buy in Taiwan, so let’s talk about some traditional handicrafts and Taiwanese tea that won’t be easy to find elsewhere.

Handicrafts

If you’re looking for souvenirs that are a little more traditional, Taiwanese handicrafts are definitely the way to go. For decor items, you can consider wood carvings or lanterns. Hand-painted lanterns are beautiful and easily packable since they can collapse in on themselves. Wood carvings of religious figures and sceneries are another great souvenir idea. With various places like Danshui Old Street and Jinshan Old Street to shop at, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find something you would like.

For tea aficionados, getting a teapot set from Taiwan would be a great idea to pair with all the fantastic Taiwanese tea that you can purchase as well. The Yingge district has plenty of shops and studios that produce pottery and ceramic items like teaware.

Taiwanese tea

Speaking of tea, there’s no way you can pass up getting some tea leaves when you’re in Taiwan. Famous for excellent Oolong tea varieties like Dongding and Alishan high mountain tea, Taiwan is home to some famous tea-producing regions like Alishan and Sun Moon Lake.

Of course, it would be best to purchase the tea from the region where it’s produced. But if you’re not planning on making a trip up to the mountains, a perfectly reasonable option is to look for tea leaves in a local tea house or even at the airport.

What snacks to buy in Taiwan

What’s tea time without some snacks to go along with it? You’ll be spoilt for choice in Taiwan, with tons of delicious traditional pastries and even instant cup noodles with actual meat included.

Traditional pastries

When we think about Taiwanese pastries, the first thing that usually comes to mind is pineapple cakes. Similar to the pineapple tarts we see back in Malaysia, pineapple cakes are essentially pineapple jam fillings encased in a buttery, crumbly outer layer. Famous producers of pineapple cakes include ChiaTe and SunnyHills. SunnyHills has multiple stores¹ all over Taiwan, but Chia Te only has a single shop in Taipei². But don’t worry, Chia Te’s pineapple cakes can be found at some 7-elevens, and you can even order delivery right to your hotel or the airport. A box of six pineapple cakes can range from 200-300 TWD (around 26.92 to 40.38 MYR).

Aside from pineapple cakes, sun cakes are also very popular. With a flaky outer crust and a sweet maltose filling, these pastries are the perfect accompaniment to tea. Ruyi Sunny Cake is one of the more famous brands for sun cakes, with outlets in Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung³. A box of six sun cakes from Ruyi Sunny Cake retails for 450 TWD (around 60.57 MYR)⁴.

Want something a little more interesting? How about green onion nougat crackers? These little snacks are a perfect blend between savoury and sweet, with the savoury scallions in the biscuit layers combining beautifully with the milky sweetness of the nougat sandwiched in the middle. Chia Te’s green onion nougat crackers are one of the higher-rated ones, so we’d recommend getting them along with the pineapple cakes if you’re planning to queue at the store.

Instant noodles

If you’re on the lookout for supper options, Taiwan has you covered too. With an insane variety of instant cup noodle flavours, here are some that you’ll have to try.

First off, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Imperial Big Meal’s cup noodles. These instant noodles come with a retort pouch that’s packed with actual chunks of beef so you don’t even have to add extra ingredients yourself. The different flavours also taste great, so that’s a big win in our book. A single cup can retail between 53 TWD to 89 TWD (around 7.13 MYR to 11.98 MYR)⁵.

For something with a little more Taiwanese flair, there’s TTL Hua Tiao Chicken Noodles. These come in both cup and bag variants, so you can pick which one you prefer. Similar to Imperial Big Meal, this instant noodle comes with a retort pouch of chunks of chicken meat, but it also comes with a little baggie of Shaoxing wine, which really kicks this instant noodle to the next level. If you add in some scallions at the end, you might even be able to trick yourself into thinking you’re back in Taiwan enjoying a bowl of hot, soupy chicken noodles. **A bag of 12 packets costs 554 TWD (around 74.57 MYR)**⁶.

There’s also a wide range of flavours with Tseng Noodles, including options like Scallion with Sichuan Pepper, Spicy Braised Pork, Hu Sesame and more. Different flavours use different noodles, with rice noodles, wide knife-cut noodles and more available.

Head to any local supermarket or grocery store to find these instant noodles.

What beauty products to buy in Taiwan

Taiwan might be slightly overshadowed by its neighbours when it comes to beauty products, but there are some great homegrown brands that you shouldn’t miss out on stocking up when visiting. There are plenty of beauty stores around, but big Cosmed outlets will most likely offer a decent selection if you just want to get all your shopping done in one spot.

Sheet masks

Sheet masks are a must-buy, and one of the most famous brands in Taiwan has to be My Beauty Diary. Started back in 2004, this OG Taiwan brand has some fan-favourite masks with ingredients like black pearl, birds nest and even natto. A box of four sheet masks typically retails for around 129 TWD (around 17.36 MYR)⁷.

L’Herboflore is another brand that uses Taiwan-inspired ingredients, such as black pearl, cherry blossoms and fruits like pear or watermelon. Each mask goes for 60 TWD (around 8.08 MYR)⁸.

Makeup

If you’re looking for makeup, there are plenty of local options to choose from too. For mascara, look towards 1028’s Extend Curl Waterproof Mascara EX. It retails for 450 TWD normally, but can be found on sale for as little as 383 TWD (around 51.55 MYR)⁹.

Need to get some new powder puffs and brushes? Check out Solone’s offerings, with a wide variety of makeup tools in addition to makeup products for the eyes, face and lips.

Save more when you shop in Taiwan when you stretch your MYR to TWD spending using the Wise card

There’s so much to see and do in Taiwan, but you won’t have to worry about paying more than you have to as long as you spend with Wise. With a Wise account, you can hold and convert between 40+ currencies and spend it in over 150+ countries.

You can order a linked Wise card before flying as well - simply top up your account with MYR and use the card to make payments in TWD so you don’t get hit with unreasonable currency conversion fees. There’s automatic conversion between currencies at the mid-market exchange rate, with low, transparent fees⁹. Unfortunately, you can’t hold TWD in your Wise account but card spending at the current rate you see on Google works perfectly.

Need cash on hand? You’ll be able to get 2 free ATM withdrawals of up to 1,000 MYR with the Wise card, so you’ll be able to visit markets, restaurants, and shops while always having a way to pay.

For cheap and convenient foreign currency spending in Taiwan and beyond.

💳 Get your very own Wise card

1. SunnyHills
2. Chia Te
3. Ruyi Sunny Cake
4. Ruyi Sunny Cake
5. Carrefour Taiwan
6. Carrefour Taiwan
7. Cosmed \
8. My Beauty Diary
9. 1028 Taiwan