[Taiwan Insider] The Origins of Bubble Tea with Chun Shui Tang @TaiwanScene Bubble tea, bōbà nǎichá (波霸奶茶), or zhēnzhū nǎichá (珍珠奶茶) – no matter what you call it, this chewy, milky glass of goodness is without doubt Taiwan’s most popular drink. But, did you know that it was invented here in Taiwan? (Image source: Taiwan Scene) The famous beverage’s origins…

Bubble tea represents the “QQ” food texture that Taiwanese love. The phrase refers to something very chewy and soft.  Chun Shui Tang and Hanlin Tea Room were the two  oldest bubble tea house in Taiwan. They both claim to have invented bubble tea. Regardless of which shop did it first, bubble tea joints have become the the most famous drink…

Ba-wan (Chinese: 肉圓) means meatball in Taiwanese and it was invented Changhua. People dry sweet potatoes, ground them into powder, made dough with the powder and then add  pork and dried bamboo shoots in dough to make Ba-wan. It is very delicious with sweet sauce or with mashed garlic. Resource:[email protected]___  Changhua-style ba-wan is considered to be the “standard” ba-wan as it is the most…

Trio café, which is in Huashan 1914-Creative park, is a very recommended café in Taipei. With excellent bartender and romantic atmosphere, you can enjoy a good meal and drink beer with your friends. The comfortable outdoor seating creates an excellent dining experience. While tasting the food, you can also enjoy beautiful view and cool breeze in the garden. Resource: Fanpage…

This shrimp wanton restaurant is in the north of the city, out near the DaQiao Railway Station. It’s called Shih Chiu Wontons(士久扁食). Specialising in a slightly different wanton, Shih Chiu look to keep it simple, whilst packing flavour. They also manage to provide a good selection of food they can quickly braise for you in their house stock, which goes well…

GuaBao, know it? If the answer to that is anything but an emphatic “Yes”, then you’re going wrong somewhere. Imagine a light, fluffy steamed bun, filled with slow-cooked pork, topped with pickled mustard greens, peanut sugar, and a sprinkling of coriander. There is a GauBao shop I would like to introduce to you, 不刈樣刈包 Booking-Young. Now, Booking-Young go for a slightly…

This may be a specialist chain soy milk shop, but they do much more than that.  Anything with 豆漿 in it, means soy milk. So, for the soy milk selection, we have: sesame (芝麻), adlay millet (薏仁), black bean soy milk (黑豆漿), almond (杏仁), and black tea (紅茶). But, it doesn’t stop there, this shop focuses on healthy drinks. So, we…

It was quite difficult to write an appealing name for this noodle store in English, as it doesn’t have one from what I can gather. So, please stay with me as I say century egg… I mean, the Facebook page calls itself Tsunami Gogo, but I couldn’t bring myself to call it that on my post. So, this store specializes…

This isn’t a fully-comprehensive guide to every single budget-friendly eatery in the capital. Nope. This is a small selection of just some of my favourite cheap eats, without skimping on quality. 圓環邊蚵仔煎 NingXia Oyster Omelet If you’re in the area around Ningxia nightmarket, then look no further than this delicious oyster omelet. Portioned up off this gigantic one, the oyster…

Breakfast is hailed as the most important meal of the day, so why take it lightly? I say, hit it head on and take it as a good chance to eat lots, as you’re going to burn it off throughout the day, anyway (hopefully). The Taiwanese breakfast is something to behold, they really push the boat out on all fronts.…