Taiwan, east of China, offers the world captivating mountainous terrains, fast-paced city life, hot spring resorts, ancient Chinese temples, and extraordinary cuisines bursting with unique flavor and a touch of tradition. Taiwan is home to a unique mixture of culinary influences drawn from its indigenous population as well as outside influences such as Japan and China. The mountainous landscapes freely give locals the space to grow fresh produce in a sub-tropical climate making Taiwan one of the best foodie destinations in the world. The locals take pride in their cuisine and accept others with open arms. They are known for their delicious fresh oysters, bubble tea, beef noodles, lunch boxes with hot pots, and warm pancakes that explode in your mouth. Taiwan’s exquisite backdrop and outside cultural influences emerging from Asian countries exemplify the beauty of multiple immigrants coming together to create something remarkable such as Taiwan cuisine. Through the islands transitions, from different cultures, cooking methods from Japan and China have seeped into Taiwan culture.

Today, if you were to travel to Taiwan, you would notice authentic Japanese and Taiwanese cuisines are similar in their preparation and taste. For instance, cooking rice wine is almost identical to the Japan wine they use in their rice. Other Japanese-influenced cuisines in Taiwan include sushi, miso, sashimi, seaweed, wasabi, Yansu Ji, Teppanyaki and Japanese style chopsticks. Fujian has a greater influence on Taiwanese cuisine with common dishes you’d eat on the island like broths, seafood, noodles, oyster omelets, and stinky tofu.

Taiwan culture like Fujian culture is traditional and conservative with family at the center of one’s life. In an attempt to eradicate Japanese culture, the government made special efforts to promote Chinese art culture in Taiwan such as traditional Chinese opera, folk arts, and calligraphy. The government operates multiple Chinese museums that further enhance Chinese culture.

Even though their countries neighbors heavily influence Taiwan, they also have some signature dishes, ingredients and cooking method of their own. For example, bubble tea originated in Taiwan and is known worldwide as a delicious pearl milk tea with simple ingredients of brewed tea, Ice cubes, sugar syrup, milk, and Tapioca Pearls. Another iconic dish in Taiwan is their beef noodle soup. Beef noodle soup is so popular that Taiwan throws a beef noodle festival in Taipei each year where chefs compete to create the most mouthwatering beef noodle soup. Some signature ingredients used in many local dishes are chicken, seafood, pork, rice, and soy. Popular cooking methods you’d see in Taiwan would be steaming food with bamboo, stir-frying, boiling and roasting meats.

Foods that are uniquely Taiwanese food can be found anywhere on the island, but especially at local night markets. These markets are not only for the consumption of delicious food, but a way for the community to socialize. Some foods you’d see at a night market might be stinky deep-fried tofu, rice with Taiwanese sausage, coffin deep friend white bread, stewed pork rice, baked black pepper pork, and scallion pancakes. Their cuisine is bold in flavor and fermented in texture.

The Island of Taiwan offers a vast variety of natural resources for cooking such as bamboo for steaming food. Some ingredients you could pick yourself on the island would be spring onions, garlic, Chinese chives, leeks, ginger, and basil. There is also a wide range of tropical fruits like guava, coconut, and Asian pairs. Taiwan people love to snack and use these ingredients to munch on through the day like spring onion omelets and shaved ice with sweet fruits.

In Taiwan, you can eat not only well but also cheap. There are a large variety of restaurants and local Taiwanese specialties you’d find strolling down to a night market in an urban or suburban area. Taiwanese people love to snack so they offer a variety of food choices in their street vendor.