中文版English TICA 第八期 中華民國九十六年十月

 
 

 

My Favorite Taiwanese Food

By M. A. Diaz del Valle Hernandez
 

 

     One of the things I've come to observe during my three year stay in Taiwan is that, the most difficult factor involving the adaptation of any wai guo ren (foreigners) to this very interesting and peculiar country is the food. But with such a vast stock of culinary delicacies and an extensive menu of incredible dishes, how can this be? There are two explanations that run through my mind: food enters first through the eye and nose, and we have to accept that some dishes here have a very pungent smell (i.e. stinky tofu) and are not very attractive to the eyes either. Western people are simply not used to eating their chicken with the head still attached to it. Language is the other reason. Most foreigners who come here do not know a word of Chinese and this can be a real problem when looking for delicious food.

     I had no problem adapting to my new diet, and here is some advice on how to accomplish that: go out with local friends, they know the hot spots, and they can help, recommend, or simply just order things for you - it will make things a lot easier. Another advice is try everything at least once, what's the worst that could happen? If you don’t like what you try, don’t try it again, but if you do, well you know how that story ends.

      Now this is the part where I should be writing about my favorite Taiwanese food. The thing is I don’t have one, I have a wide assortment! Some choices I can’t go a week without trying are: dan pi (egg rolls, with cheese, bacon, smoked chicken, or tuna), han bao (breakfast hamburgers, I simply love them!), chao fan (fried rice any time any kind), jian jiao (chinese fried dumplings), and last but not least tang bao (steamed, succulent dumplings with soup pork or shrimp stuffing). Don’t be afraid to try new things or you will miss out on a great culinary experience.
 


 


 

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