By Steven Crook and Katy Hui-Wen Hung “My father was born in 1926 in Tamsui. My mother was born in 1930 in Tokyo, where my grandfather (who was from Banqiao; my maternal grandmother was from Tainan) worked as a financial advisor until 1946. During the war, both of my parents ate hiromaru lunchboxes, with the…
Once in a while, try something out of the ordinary, or even downright bizarre. Taiwan has so many excellent restaurants – at all levels of the price scale – that it’s really hard for a diner to go wrong. But where to go when you tire of the conventional choices and you’re in the mood…
By Steven Crook and Katy Hui-Wen Hung “My grandmother cringed at the very mention of sweet potatoes. She was born and raised in Tainan, and when she was growing up, sweet potatoes were all her family could afford to eat. In later life, the thought of eating sweet potato in any form repulsed her. Even…
Authentic Thai cuisine is no longer hard to find in Taipei thanks to changing tastes and more outbound tourism. The Taiwanese have always been ambivalent about spicy food. Some Taiwanese revel in the explosive effects of chili peppers on the palate (consider the popularity of spicy hot pot here), but just as many balk at…
Katy Hui-wen Hung and Steven Crook discuss their newly published book. Katy Hui-wen Hung: I grew up in Taipei, studied in the U.S. from 1984 to 1986, and have lived in the UK since the late 1980s. Some years ago in the UK, I got to know Marlena Spieler, the acclaimed cookbook writer. Marlena, an…
Warning: Do not serve alcohol to minors. When you drink, don’t drive. A food conglomerate that makes acclaimed whisky has introduced a Taiwan-flavored craft gin that is set to make a splash on the rocks or in cocktails. Pure spring water flows from Snow Mountain (Hsuehshan) and seeps into the sedimentary rock aquifer at the…
I spent nearly 20 years of my career in the news business. Sometimes people ask me: What was your most popular story? Which one attracted the most attention? My answer is a bit embarrassing, though it probably shouldn’t be. As a foreign correspondent, I got to cover a lot of big breaking news — presidential…
Changes in regulatory approaches are expected to cut deeply into the home sharing platform’s Taiwan business. Home sharing is a great way to experience Taiwan. During my two trips last year to Kinmen, the Taiwan-governed archipelago off the coast of China’s Fujian Province, I stayed in the same bed and breakfast, Shangheryuan. In between sightseeing…
Attitudes and facilities have improved, but much more still needs to be done. Taiwan is a crowded place. The population per square kilometer is nearly 20 times that of the United States, and the cities are crammed with parked vehicles and snack vendors. Although accessibility for wheelchair users has improved in recent years, for the…
Referendum Extends Use of Nuclear Energy In one of the 10 referendums that were also on the November 24 ballot, a substantial majority voted to overturn an article in the Electricity Act requiring Taiwan to terminate all nuclear power generation by 2025. Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka said that in accordance with that result, the…
