Taiwanese Cuisine

Nine out of ten Taiwanese living out of Taiwan will say they miss food the most while away from their country. Food culture represents the face by which a country knows itself and represents itself to the world. Apart from the traditional Taiwanese food, you will find a wide range of regional Chinese dishes like Hakka, Cantonese, Buddhist inspired, Shanghainese, Sichuanese throughout Taipei. Taiwanese food is known for its sea food dishes. Sweet dishes and bubble tea are ubiquitous and definitely worth trying. Pork, sea food, rice and soy are the common ingredients. Beef is less common and many elderly Taiwanese still refrain from eating it. The Taiwanese version of Beef noodle soup remains one of the popular dishes in Taiwan. Taiwanese cuisine relies on abundant array of seasoning – soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, fermented black beans, peanuts, pickled mustard greens, chilli peppers, cilantro, basil and many more. A restaurants status depends on how crowded it is at 7pm. Some places take it as a point of pride to never upgrade their dining rooms, the point being that the attention goes into making high quality food.

 

Chinese Food

In Chinese cooking, the preparation of each dish requires concentration, time, and skill. The importance of colour, aroma, and flavour are emphasized greatly in their daily cooking. A dish with fragrant aroma will whet the appetite. Basic ingredients found in most Chinese dishes are scallions, fresh ginger roots, garlic, chilli peppers, wine, star anise, stick cinnamon, pepper, sesame oil, dried Chinese black mushrooms, and other mouth-watering aromatic spices. Sauces are made from vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, and other seasonings that add richness to a dish. Nutrition is important too to Chinese cooking. Ingredients used in Chinese cooking, such as scallions, garlic, ginger roots and more, have properties that thwart and alleviate various illnesses. Therefore, the correct ingredient proportions must be adhered to in the preparation of each dish or soup to ensure full nutritional value. Jingzhao Yin in Zhong Zheng and Wang’s Tzungzu in Beitou offer many Chinese are traditional Taiwanese dishes. Beef noodle soup, oyster omelettes, rice with stewed pork, meatballs, tofu, crab porridge, boiled salted duck, steamed chicken are some of the famous dishes.

 

International Food

There used to be a time when if you wanted to eat something other than Chinese, the best bet would be Tian Mu or one of the International Hotels in Taipei. But in recent times, restaurants offering food from all over the world have popped up. American, Indian, French, Swiss, German, Italian, Thai, Vietnamese and Japanese, all kinds of food is now available in Taipei.

 

Department Store Food Outlets

For cheap and delicious meals in a lively location, Department Store Food Outlets are the best place. Must visits are the food courts in Sogo Shopping Centre, New York New York and Mitsukoshi in Xinyi, Takashimaya in Shilin, Asia World Shopping Centre. Eating areas are clean and crowded at meal times. Pictures of food and prices clearly marked makes it a quick and easy option.

 

Night Market Food

A trip to Taipei would be incomplete without a visit to the night markets. They are full of life and truly the essence of Taipei. Shilin Market, Huashi, Tonghua are some of the good ones. Fried meat buns, bubble tea, oyster filled omelettes, fruit ices and a variety of things roasted on a stick, are some of the goodies you must try out while there.

 

Cafes

Taipei’s cafes are clean, attractive and unusual. Typically offering simple meals, sandwiches, tea, coffee, juices. Varieties of tea are available, from English milk tea, Chinese, Japanese, Herbal to fruit flavoured, traditional, hot, cold etc.  Bagel Bagel is a local cafe chain. Adamas is also fairly good. Along with these you will also find Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf around Taipei.

 

There are some weird foods you get too in Taipei. Like Blood on a stick made with pig blood, Duck tongue, Chicken legs, Chicken hearts on a stick, boiled assorted animal parts, Rooibus tea latte, stinky Tofu and more. If you like that sort of thing, these are an option too. Many restaurants sport weird themes too in Taipei. The well known ones are “Modern Toilet” restaurant. Its got seats in the shape of toilets and food gets served in toilet shaped bowls too. In fact the ice cream is faeces shaped. “D.S. Restaurant” is a hospital themed restaurant. “A380” is an airplane themed restaurant. “BUBU” restaurant has old cars, complete or cut into half as seating areas. “Jail” Restaurant has a jail theme as the name suggests. You can get to see and do some unusual things where food is concerned in Taipei.