The "Dirty Area"Created by the Rest and Recuperation Program
In 1965, the U.S. Army established the Rest and Recuperation Program (R&R), selecting places like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Manila, and Taiwan to set up as vacation destinations for American soldiers who were on leave from the Vietnam War.
A few decades ago, met a Taiwanese girl of another Taiwanese friend who probably has a similar story.
Clearly has African bloodline with frizzy hair and other distinct features, and even the other Taiwanese friend would quietly wonder, too, but nothing ever discussed openly.
It was not from the U.S. army years, though.
That Taiwanese girl went to the U.S. on her own and now has a very successful career sheās made for herself there. A really classy (and beautiful) girl.
Tainan is still pretty dirty. Be it prostitution, drugs, garbage, unhygienic food, very unhealthy food (famously, even for taiwan standards) and rampant pollution. Nevermjnd housing, traffic and health care issues.
Those tainan folks, lol. They get a few factories, and tech injections, and all of a sudden they think their shit donāt stink no more. Classic example of trailer park mentality
I was skeptical too, but I went to Tainan a couple weekends ago, and had the best damn hotpot Iāve had on this island. Name is ę¾å¤§ę²č¶ē. Nothing in Kaohsiung compares. The street food is really good there too. Look, I canāt say it was healthy or even if it was clean, but it tasted much better than the street fare in Kaohsiung. For the best variety of international food, you definitely still want to go to Taipei. But for Taiwanese/Chinese staples, Tainan definitely earned its rep from what I saw. Kaohsiung is the absolute pits. Food here is garbage. We even get roaches in our HSR bento boxes.
Thatās bullshit. But maybe Canadians and Americans might think so from what ive read on this forum? Loads of sodium, loads of sugar and loads of other flavor enhancing BS If you still think taiwanese food sucks, just understand that all of Taiwan makes fun of Tainan food for exactly this reason: excessive amiunts of flavor enhancers (especially sugar and salt). I cna confirm this as wellā¦just a heads up.
Iām so traumatized now that even when I leave the city I donāt really want to eat anywhere I donāt know. I bring food with me, or go to 711 or McDonaldās
Doubt those places are much cleaner. Iāve seen roaches in Subway, McDonalds, 7/11 over the years. If you see them on the floor, theyāve been in the food.
There are clean places in Kaohsiung. But definitely have to check out the interior first. Dim lighting, cluttered with boxes or other crap, bad or stuffy smell, low customer turnover, surly or dirty looking employees⦠usually means ārun away.ā
Nah, itās all about the quality of the placeās brown sauce (shacha) imo. And the broth base. Come on, I agree this place is no food Mecca, but letās be fair. Thereās more to good hotpot than just cleaning and throwing a bunch of veggies into a pot.