Famous foreign personalities like Jamie Oliver bring business expertise, but in the long run it is local master chefs like André Chiang who will carry the torch. Celebrity chefs spread stardust over a nation’s food scene. They take the spotlight and make the headlines, introduce new ingredients and food preparation styles to give cooking an…
The number of breweries, and pubs offering their product, has been growing rapidly. Only a few years ago finding craft beer in Taipei was a bit of a challenge. Only a handful of bars had them in stock, and even fewer offered craft beer brewed in Taiwan. Nowadays, you could hardly throw a rock in…
Taiwan’s steakhouse market has moved upmarket with the arrival of some new restaurants. High-end Western food has long struggled to gain a footing in Taipei. Celebrity chefs known for fusion cuisine, like Singapore’s Justin Quek, have come and gone. Yet one type of pricey Western restaurant has been successful here: the American steakhouse and other…
The drink of choice is usually Japanese whiskey, sometimes in innovative cocktails. Nestled deep in the labyrinthine lanes east of AnHe Road, a luminescent sign in the shape of a target glows red, white, and blue. Look closer and you’ll see that the sign indicates the entrance to a partially hidden bar. Push open the…
By Steven Crook & Katy Hui-wen Hung Compared to the cult-like veneration of beef noodles, hot pot, and stinky tofu in Taiwan, the guabao (割包 or 刈包) is an underappreciated snack. What English-speakers often call “the Taiwanese hamburger” is available in every town and city, but certainly not on every street, nor even in many…
An American filmmaker went on a quest for the origins of General Tso’s Chicken, but for many in Taiwan there was never a mystery. Forget about chow mein, spring rolls, and sweet-and-sour pork. When Americans think about Chinese food these days, say experts in Chinese-American cuisine, the dish they think of first is General Tso’s…
Three Taipei restaurants to bear in mind when hankering for the food of northern China. Photos by Matthew Fulco Over the years it has become harder to find authentic northern Chinese restaurants in Taipei. Restaurant founders who arrived in Taiwan with Chiang Kai-Shek and the Kuomintang government more than 65 years ago have nearly all…
In selecting a place to eat, don’t forget to consider the price/performance ratio. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a much better eater than economist. And while economics in Taiwan poses its challenges, choosing the right restaurant in Taipei requires calculations several orders of magnitude more complex. The restaurant scene in Taipei is,…
For a foreign national, learning Taiwanese cooking turned out to be not just a culinary adventure, but a life lesson. Photos by Jules Quartly It used to be that if foreigners could pronounce the intended destination with approximate similitude, the cab driver would in wonderment compliment them on their “excellent” Chinese. I get much the…
East Asia is increasingly caught up in a love affair with Taiwan’s signature pastry. Tucked away on a luxuriant side street in Taipei’s tony Minsheng Community neighborhood is an unassuming and quiet café. While sparsely furnished, the café exudes a gentle warmth, its caramel wood walls bathed in the halcyon glow of halogen track lighting….
