Peanut/sesame brittle and variations. Other candies like ginger, tea caramels, etc.
Matcha flavoured cookies.
Assortment of salty snacks (seawees, squid, jerky etc)
Some people might like sesame mochi. Those Sichuan mala peanuts are pretty good too. You donāt need to tell anyone that it isnāt really Taiwanese.
Most people seem to like indigenous millet wine. Not sure if it can get through customs or stay fresh long enough though.
1 Like
Itās a bit odd to have gifts critiqued to such an extent.
2 Likes
Luckily for us, the creative and cultural enterprises are producing very original trinkets and actual cute stuff for gifts that actually scream Taiwan.
Stationary is always a hit. For example, there are post itās cut with Taiwan images. Useful and pretty.
There are these cute DIY paper scooters or trains or Taiwan beer cans to put together. Mini scenes like Jiufen or CKS. Entertaining and st the end you get a pretty unique product.
Dunno in your country but in mine the bead bracelets are in full fashion, like jade or crystal. I found some that had butterfly and dragon designs in metal intertwined.
This time face masks -of the moisturizing and detoxing kind- were great hit, too. MIT.
Shopping sites go from the usual tourist spots like the jade market next to the Jianguo Flower Market -they have lovely paintings of iconic places around Taiwan too-, Yongkang Street and Huashan, to neighborhood stationary stores or museum stores. Actually, Ximending did not have a very impressive nor cute selection, unless you count the Red Theater stores or Pop Mart.
And I have totally given up on foodstuffs. I recently saw some Taiwanese chocolate wrapped in designs of sika deer, Formosan bear and leopard cat, but Iād rather buy something more lasting.
If the person you are giving it to us not Asian, or a tea connoisseur, do not give them local tea. Maybe a DIY boba set or the bags that become flowers or birds in a hot cup.
2 Likes
This time face masks -of the moisturizing and detoxing kind- were great hit, too. MIT.
I second this! If the present is for a western person, face, hand, and foot masks, and other skin care are always welcome.
Regarding food: I give out Kuai-Kuai, after explaining to my friends why we place them on top of machines. People seem to love the superstition around them. 
Itās a phytosanitary issue, not always a narcotic/fda one (the bags/boxes donāt display intent for human consumption).
A gift I ever tire of giving are nice, fairly well shaped half hard wooden penis ash trays. Not because they are ash trays given to smokers with a convenient handle. Not because itās a silly cock gag. More just because it embraces the idea primitive social idea that females are inferior to males and we should stress out [also females] during time of pregnancy to hope for a boy and have a better elder life. that is insanely funny to me that some people are still that monkey brained. I give them to people that are more or less morally retarded, and not tell them why. Itās like a planted seed waiting for the right drunken moment to spring some truth pineapple cakes are OK too, if I donāt have love for the person. But, usually wooden cocks or tea.
Note, the bottle opener versionsā metal is weak, after 3 or 4 bottles they just go soft.
It was okay. Tasted bland to me and was kind of a let down. I wasnāt even disgusted by it, which would at least have been something to talk about.
Quintessentially Taiwanese food 
Thereās different levels to stinky tofu. And thereās always a level that could make you gag.
Tofu is always a carrier. Like rice or noodles. What accompanies the filler is the important bit. Taiwanese do tofu good in the sense of fresh, varied options etc. Itās up the to restaraunt to make it with other suff, marinate it, make good sauces etc. I love a good non stinky-stinky tofu, fried, with a garlic and/or hot sauce and the sweet Taiwanese ākimchiā. The kimchi helps balance the fried nature. The part I enjoy most about fried tofu is the lack of batter, like chicken and such. Which is truly the definition of an organ failure in food form haha
3 Likes
If you guys like to take local kimchi or preserved vegetables, there are several local enterprises that have well decorated jars filled with these goodies. I personally like the preserved cherry tomatoes in sweet and vinegary juice, very Taiwanese, especially with preserved dried plum. Those are exotic enough to be cool but also familiar.
4 Likes
Peeled chili are pretty damn amazing as well!
1 Like
Iād recommend:
- Someone mentioned Kuai-Kuai: Iām building on that by recommending the green bags, specifically
- P.Seven perfume or cologne: The same company has smaller and cheaper pillow spray bottles that have scents of different areas (e.g., Tamsui)
- NT$20 or half-dollar coins: Go to a coin shop and ask them, I just exchanged x2 NT$10 coins for the NT$20 and the one I went to gave me the half dollars for free.
- Someone recommended Kavalan: I recommend getting the mini bottles from Taipei 101 or the Kavalan store in Ximending. Theyāre NT$180 and you donāt have to commit to a full bottle in case yāall donāt like it.
- The small meat rocks from the National Palace Museum: Theyāre cheap and you can fit a lot of them in your luggage.
Iād recommend a stinky tofu candle if those existed 
2 Likes
I got bored giving pineapple cake, so I was happy to get great feedback on the nougat. Carol Bakery on Tonghua St in Taipei is my go to because the Xinyi Anhe MRT is nearby, but there are others that are similar (maybe check your nearest Carrefour)
During CNY season, I got bags of seaweed from the convenient stores with the goofy Crayon Shin-chan cartoon character on it. When people who arenāt familiar with it realize they can eat it straight or with white rice (onigiri rice-ball style), they seem to feel doubly blessed.
2 Likes
My relatives would say we have Torrone at home.
3 Likes
my grandma loves the TW nougat, very similar indeed to our soft torrone (a bit less sweet maybe).
2 Likes
We call this as Turkish honey.
It is perfect to attract wasps and such buggers.