Hamburgers and Hotdogs in Taiwan

You are considering opening a business selling hamburgers and hot dogs and are asking if beef or pork is used!!! Wow…one would think a hamburger joint owner would have that question ticked off the list by now.

Beef, of course!

Pork is less expensive, but local beef or even some imported beef is not all that expensive.

A hot dog shop will fail. A burger joint that does burgers well and adds hot dogs to the menu might do ok. Burger joints are a dime a dozen in the North. Most Taiwanese go to 7-11 for a hot dog or Costco. They are big sausage eaters not hot dogs. German bratwurst might do well. Most Taiwanese will opt for a sausage or hot dog without the bun. Keep that in mind.

Obviously beef is ideal but other meat (turkey, Bison, etc.) is used for the patties, even here in the US. In Iceland lamb is used for their burgers and hotdogs because it’s cheaper than beef. I wasn’t sure what meat is available in Taiwan and I’m not going assume beef is as readily available in Taiwan as it is in the US. Thanks for the reply though.

In Taipei, burger spots are opening everywhere and a lot of them are charging a premium for the American favorite. The cheapest specialty burger from a burger shop I have seen is around 180-200NT. A double would cost an extra 50-70NT more. In Taizhong the cost would probably be 20-30NT less than it is in Taipei.

It won’t hurt to serve burgers AND hot dogs, but not specifically the latter. I actually don’t really know a store in Taiwan that sells specialty hot dogs (like that shop in Hollywood), but it won’t hurt to think about it after some more market research.

Mostly beef patties, but it would be smart to offer alternatives since it’s not about the cost, but a lot of the population in Taiwan do not eat beef. Reason being that the first settlers in Taiwan were mostly farmers, most of them used cattle to graze and as transport, so people didn’t eat their companion. Might want to take that into consideration.

There’s not too many regular Taichung users on here, so it’s best you get some opinions from people in Taichung. Compared to Taipei, their tends to be more traditional families living there, so their choice of restaurant may not be western. However, not saying western restaurants wouldn’t thrive there, just something to consider.

Good points you brought up Ranlee. I remember my parents telling about the farmers and they really not eating beef.

12 posts were merged into an existing topic: Best pizza in Taipei

American Pizza beats the Taiwan pizza hands down, as does the Italian pizza which beats American pizza, IMO. Americans seem to go quantity, which is not bad if you are into that, Italians go for quality, thin crust pizza with excellent dough, sauce and cheese is to die for. Taiwanese all to often have neither quality or quantity.

Hamburgers and hot dogs, I love with grilled onions, but good luck finding anywhere that does that. But I would suggest thinking about the price point of the alternatives. for example, 50NT will get you simple bowl of noodles or dumplings, with a couple of side dishes maybe 100NT, 100 to 150NT and there are choices like buffet (where you can pick and mix from dozens of dishes) or good bowl of beef noodles, Sushi express, Ramen. People will ask themselves why would they pay that for a hot dog. (I would if it were a good quality hot dog and good hot dog bun, but I’m by no means the majority)

If you are going to do burgers and dogs, you need to also work on your french fry game.

@Mick Not sure I agree with you on what punters will pay. If you have a quality product, great ambience and intuitive, timely service, you can certainly carve out a niche for yourself. La Mesa, Whalen’s, On Tap, Carnegies, House of Pizza, Foster Hewitts, The Lighthouse, et al, all have medium-ranged prices and seem to be doing ok. Whereas, a priced-to-please joint like Green Hornet struggles.

Sure, there is lots of cheap eats around. But there is plenty of room for more. To the OP I say “jia yo!”

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Agree 100%, with a theme restaurant you can certainly do that, but at that point you are a long way away from the nasty ass hot dogs in 7/11 and priced outside fast food like McDonalds. But there is a crowd for it, but then you better be offering more than just hot dogs, pizza and hamburgers.

The location is also really important. Don’t take Taipei city center as an example of what you could do elesewhere.
It’s by far the richest part of the island and for some reason folks will spend more in Taipei city than in the outskirts of Taipei city. It’s a weird thing.

Anyway burgers have been done to death already even in taichung. Don’t bother.
BUT there is probably plenty of space for other cuisines or specialities. Restaurant biz is cutthroat everywhere most ppl lose money. FACT. Don’t invest money you can’t afford to lose.

The best burger in Taipei without a doubt is next to Taipei main station on Huayin Street.

OldiesBURGER 新美式文化料理
No. 57, Huayin Street, Datong District, Taipei City, 103
02 2552 6222

https://goo.gl/maps/6ojLSBPd3FT2

Fads come and go like the latest bout of diahorheaa here.

A couple of years ago it was cheesey chicken from Korea now its weird sandwiches in hipstery restaurants supposedly based on Bangkok street food.

Asian food or Asian versions of western food is usually the most popular option.

Agree, even location within Taipei city is important. I watch a lot of places fail trying to spend money on ingredient for a large variety of menu items and equipment to make them instead of keeping it simple and pay for good location and a simple menu.

OP, I think your next step, if you haven’t done it yet, is to get on the island and see what you can learn from visiting local burger shops. I think if you got passion for opening up shop, go for it, but make sure you have done the necessary research! Some users here have opened up shop and can probably give you good pointers, but you gotta figure out what works and what doesn’t.

Did you guys get to try out Otto pizza (behind Ming Yao Dpt Store in east district) while it was still open? I’m not one for Italian style pizza, but that place was bomb.com

OP go strong on presentation, atmosphere, sauces, propper desserts and soups, and throw in a few gimmicky things like a new flavor milkshake or a twist on something. Market the hell out of it all on Facebook, LINE and Instagram and others.
Drop dead waitresses helps to get a lot of the guys in.
And to repeat. Good music and atmosphere is lacking in this country I’d say.
Hotdogs will not work.
Hamburgers sure one more won’t break the market

Here’s what I think will help you succeed in a burger joint from the food aspect.

  1. Patties quality and has to taste good and have some variety like spicy pork or chicken doesn’t hurt. I hate the Japanese style burgers that are tiny and mixes onions and stuff into the burger. There’s already places like that so I’d avoid that. But that’s my personal taste.
  2. Have a salad bar type area for the burger where you can put whatever veggies you want. I think people like this, and it’s good because I like a lot of lettuce and jalapeños but not onions and tomatoes. Some people might hate lettuc or want light on the lettuce and heavy tomatoes. Gives people the option and it’s part of the experience.
  3. Good fries.
  4. Have some fountain drinks you normally don’t see in taiwan. Like AnW root beer. Mountain Dew. Dr Pepper or something. Good fountain drinks are important. Maybe even have frozen mugs for my root beer. That I would love.

Andrew will travel 2 hours on HSR from Taipei to Taizhong for that frozen root beer mug. You should consider it, OP.

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I’m serious though, has anyone ever been to a place with frozen mugs? It’s one of the best things to have in a hot summer with a nice burger or BBQ

Frozen mugs for beer, yes.

Frozen mugs for root beer served out of the alu can? No.

A proper root beer float? :bulb:…also a no.

  1. Patties ain’t going to be the big differentiator, not in Taiwan. And Friday’s and these paces already do wonderful juicy patties
  2. Too many will pile on the stuff and blow your margins and make a huge mess
  3. Good fries is almost standard in Taiwan now. Not much room to differentiate but sauces sauces sauces !!!
    4, yeah could be something to this. Bunch of American heritage pop culture drinks … Better would just be bunch of creative spins on existing drinks…umbrellas with customized printings, exotic fruit for decoration, customized shaped glasses

The patty is everythingggg! It is the heart and soul of the burger. You don’t have a good patty, you don’t have a good burger!

Agreed on good fries. Your burger is only as good as the fries you serve with it.

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