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Before I arrived in Taiwan, many friends advised me that the food here
was different. They never quite fully explained why, so I came here with
a vague idea about the organoleptic characteristics (flavor, smell and
texture) of the Taiwanese cuisine. Before I came, the only taste
experience I’ve had was the “Chinese food” offered in my country, fried
rice, chop suey, eggrolls, chow mein and sweet and sour pork, which
later I discovered was only the tip of the iceberg of the culinary art
characterized by diverse, healthy and tasty.
During the time of orientation, my favorite
place was ‘‘The Jamaica Coffee restaurant’’. What I liked about it was
the blending between the eastern and western meals they served. For
example, fried chicken with some tofu, oriental-style salad, and a piece
of cake that had a very peculiar smell. During the lunch and dinner
hours, you might find me there eating a piece of fried chicken. After I
headed back to our university, I did not have an idea of where or what
to eat when dinner time came closer. Later, I tried heading to the night
market alone, not knowing what to order or what to eat. Because all of
the menus are written in Chinese (little did I know of any food stands
or restaurants keep a menu in English), I did not know what the food
was, and the worst of all is I didn’t know how to order it. Luckily that
day, I met my roommate and he took me to a restaurant that had an
Italian flag on the entrance. Just like the Jamaica Coffee, the
restaurant served a mix of eastern and western culinary plates. As weird
as it sounds, the food tasted good. But the problem was it was
expensive, so my intention to find a restaurant providing tasty meals at
affordable prices remains.
One day, I found an ideal place to eat, the Pound Restaurant, when
walked around the campus with some of my classmates. The Pound
Restaurant served excellent food, especially meat since I’m a meat
lover. That place later turned out to be my favorite restaurant due to
its being pocket friendly. I have no doubt that the dumping is my
favorite dish, with bacon, ham, cheese and/or sausage wrapped with egg
and flour. It is very similar to the omelets, only the different
wrapping gives it a crepe look. In addition, as delicious as it is, it’s
cheap and the charge depends on the amount of stuffing you order. If you
add one piece of ham and cheese, it would only cost 27 NT$. It was a
very delicious meal for me, and I recommend it to you all especially for
breakfast or dinner.
* This article was edited by Professor Yir-Huieh Luh at Department of
Agricultural Economics, National Taiwan University.
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