Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Juices
Fresh-fruit stands selling juices and smoothies are all over Taiwan - these drinks make
wonderful thirst quenchers on a hot summer day. All you have to do is point at the fruits
you want (some shops have cut fruit ready-mixed in a cup) and the person standing be-
hind the counter will whiz them up in a blender for you after adding water or milk. Espe-
cially good are iced-papaya milkshakes.
Popular juices include
hāmìguā
(honeydew melon),
xīguā
(watermelon),
píngguǒ
(apple) and
gānzhè
(sugarcane). Sugarcane juice is usually sold at speciality stands
selling raw sugarcane rather than ordinary fruit stands.
Harder Stuff
The Taiwanese tend to be fairly moderate drinkers (with some exceptions, such as ban-
quets, being a time when much drinking occurs), but Taiwan does have a number of loc-
ally produced inebriants well worth trying. The most famous of these is
gāoliáng jǐu
(Kaoliang liquor). Made from fermented sorghum, Kaoliang is produced on Kinmen and
Matsu, the islands closest to mainland China. Another local favourite is
wéishìbǐ
(Whis-
bih), an energy drink with a fine mixture of
dāngguī
(a medicinal herb), ginseng, taurine,
various B vitamins and caffeine - and some ethyl alcohol to give it a kick.
How to Eat & Drink
When & Where
Most breakfast places open at about 7am and close midmorning. A traditional breakfast
in Taiwan usually consists of watery rice porridge (
xián zhōu
), baked layered flatbread
(
shāobǐng
) and steamed buns (
mántóu
), served plain or with fillings; the meal is gener-
ally washed down with plain or sweetened hot soybean milk (
dòujiāng
). Other popular
breakfast foods include rolled omelettes (
dàn bǐng
), egg sandwiches (
jīdàn sānmíngzhì
)
and turnip cakes (
luóbo gāo
).
The Taiwanese generally eat lunch between 11.30am and 2pm, many taking their mid-
day meal from any number of small eateries on the streets.
Zìzhù cāntīng
(self-serve
cafeterias) are a good option, offering plenty of meat and vegetable dishes to choose
from.
Dinner in Taiwan is usually eaten from 5pm to 11pm, though some restaurants and
food stalls in bigger cities stay open 24 hours. Taiwan's cities - especially the larger ones
- all have a fair-to-excellent selection of international restaurants. Don't be surprised to
run into a small Indonesian, Indian or even Mexican eatery on a back alley.
