Mouna Restaurant

On a quiet stretch of Yanping South Road in Taipei's Zhongzheng District, just steps from the lush greenery of the Taipei Botanical Garden, Mouna Restaurant (暮娜餐館) stands as one of the most warmly regarded halal dining destinations in Taiwan — a restaurant that is as much a personal story as it is a culinary one.

The restaurant is named after its owner and founder, Mouna Elayachi, a Moroccan native whose journey to becoming one of Taipei's most celebrated halal restaurateurs is one of remarkable resilience and passion. She came to Taiwan after meeting her late Taiwanese husband, and after his passing chose to stay and raise their children in the city. Her love of food and her desire to share the flavours of the Muslim world with Taiwan led her to open a small shawarma stand at Maji Square near Yuanshan Station — which proved so popular that it expanded to counters at high-end department store food courts and a stall at the Ningxia Night Market. Spurred by hearing from Indonesian and Malaysian tourism officials that there was "no halal food in Taiwan," she set out to change that — opening Mouna Restaurant as a full, dedicated halal dining space that could represent the breadth and richness of Muslim cuisine. So effective has she been in this mission that the Saudi Ambassador to Taiwan has jokingly called her Taiwan's most effective cultural diplomat.

The interior reflects her roots immediately — Moroccan lanterns hang from the ceiling, zellige tile patterns adorn the walls, and lace-curtained private tables with windows create an intimate and elegant atmosphere that transports diners far from the streets of Zhongzheng. The dining room is spacious and welcoming, with a buffet setup available for busy times and larger groups, particularly on weekends when a more extensive spread of Moroccan and Arab-style dishes is laid out.

The menu draws on Mouna's native Morocco alongside the culinary traditions of the broader Muslim world — North India, the Arabian Gulf, and the Middle East — prepared by a chef who honed his skills in Dubai. Signature dishes include the beef and plum tagine, which melts without the need for a knife; rich, aromatic lamb tagine; fragrant chicken Kabsah; juicy, well-seasoned kebabs; thick and creamy hummus; hearty Lebanese beef pastry; and Moroccan harira soup. The biryani — infused with rosewater and a magical layering of warm spices — earns particular praise, as does the Moroccan mint tea poured dramatically from an ornate pot at height to cool and aerate the tea in the traditional style. The rice pudding provides a gentle, comforting dessert to round off the meal. Weekend visits offer the additional experience of a buffet featuring a wider range of Moroccan and Arabian dishes. Everything on the menu is prepared without MSG and with clear attention to ingredient quality.