Energetic Italian chefs are introducing one of the world’s great cuisines to the Taiwanese capital. Botega del Vin belies its posh East Taipei location. The restaurant may be situated amid luxury residences a stone’s throw from ZhongXiao East Road, but it feels like a trattoria – a rustic Italian eating establishment that usually caters to…
Publication is expected to help Taiwan’s outstanding restaurants achieve a higher profile internationally and boost tourism. Epicureans with an affinity for Chinese food have long appreciated Taipei’s culinary offerings. The Taiwanese capital has a rich variety of Chinese eateries, from no-frills street stalls specializing in scallion pancake to elegant Cantonese hotel restaurants. Compared to neighboring…
As consumer interest in organic foods grows, major food companies are entering this market segment. Around the world, consumers are expressing greater interest in healthier diets that include more natural and organic ingredients without artificial additives and preservatives. Global sales of organic food have surged 200% over the last decade, according to research institutes, and…
On the morning of July 28, Wei Ying-chung, former chairman of Wei Chuan Foods Corp., reported to the Taipei Prosecutors Office to begin a two-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 2013 edible-oil scandal that dealt a fatal blow to his company, once one of Taiwan’s leading foodstuff manufacturers. In late April, the appellate…
The recent incident of large numbers of eggs contaminated by pesticide use is but the most recent of a series of food scandals in recent years that have shaken consumer confidence. The government has instituted a number of regulatory reforms in an effort to deal with the issue, but it remains uncertain whether the current…
Head Chef Ko Kang-fei is taking the menu at The Sherwood’s Yi Yuan Chinese Restaurant south to Sichuan and Southeast Asia to deliver bold, sweet and spicy, and tart flavors. Fusing ingredients and cooking techniques from both East and West, Cantonese, Sichuan, and Thai cuisines, Chef Ko hopes that you will enjoy these daring flavors…
After spending around two decades in Taiwan, three years ago TOPICS contributor Mark Caltonhill returned to live in the UK. Within weeks, he was missing “three-cups” slow cooking, kongxin cai (空心菜), and perhaps most of all, stinky tofu (臭豆腐). Here is his report. Arriving at Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport in the 1990s after each annual…
The evolution of Taiwan’s mass market eating establishments has speeded up over the past decade to meet developing tastes and higher expectations. In recent years the long and colorful tradition of food vendors setting up roadside stalls has become less common, as hygiene requirements and city ordinances tighten up. Taking its place is a multitude…
Chefs have toned down the spiciness to accommodate local taste. Cuisine from China’s southwestern Sichuan province has a well-deserved reputation for intense flavors given its frequent use of chili peppers, numbing Sichuan peppercorns, bean paste, and garlic. Many aficionados of the cuisine insist that the spicier, the better. Anything less than fiery is considered pedestrian….
Taiwan has a long history of growing a wide variety of mushrooms, and was once a major exporter. BY STEVEN CROOK AND KATY HUI-WEN HUNG We eat too much of what is bad for us, experts say, and not nearly enough fruits and vegetables. But one positive trend is visible in some parts of the…
