I doubt it. Taiwan food is dreadful. I can’t see how anyone can enjoy soggy gristly meat served with dry rice.
Right because that’s the only Taiwanese dish, and you obviously speak for everyone.
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Yuli has that stinky tofu place that you have to wait four hours for.
Yes!
No. There are plenty of people with damaged taste buds who actually think the food tastes good.
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But it comes in a stone pot!
Don’t forget all the gourmands flocking from across the entire breadth of Asia to experience Taiwanese cuisine. I hear that’s the other reason attracting all the migrant workers here.
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If I had a nickel for every time a Southeast Asian has complained to me about how bad Taiwanese food is…
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I think Taiwan has some rep, but what country around here doesn’t? I think Taiwan has somewhat less to offer than other countries in terms of destinations, but perhaps somewhat more than that in terms of interesting food for Asians, so the food ends up taking center stage a bit.
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That’s an interesting data point. I’d read somewhere that they all love it…
To be fair, I’m not sure Filipinos would have much to complain about there. Probably @finley can elaborate haha
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They do like the bubble tea. The food, not so much.
I’ve noticed most (not all) of them prefer to eat Filipino food in Taiwan. Ever seen Filipinos in mainstream restaurants? There are thousands of them here, and (under normal circumstances) they are allowed out. But they’re really not into Taiwanese food. It’s not that they dislike it exactly. They just have a very narrow range of personal favourites. I guess it’s a bit like those Americans who fret over their inability to find some obscure processed abomination in City Super.
Those who are comfortable stepping outside of their comfort zone rave about the food here.
At the risk of going on and on about the Philippines … I’ve noticed it’s the one place where McD’s is dramatically different to anywhere else. I’m not a McD fan, but you can order a double cheeseburger pretty much anywhere on the planet and know precisely what you’re going to get. Except (so far, in my experience) there. I’m not sure what the reason is. My suspicion is that it’s a combination of local taste/budget requirements, and punitive taxes which make it next-to-impossible to give the customer value for money.
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Yeah, you might be right. My dad has visited me in most of the places I’ve lived, and Taiwan was probably the hardest to find entertaining things to do (especially since he’d already visited me in China, which at least has the advantage of being weird and annoying). Maybe that pushes food a bit more toward the center.
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I think the Filipinos don’t mind it.
Guy
Probably the exception that proves the rule. I was trying to think of a Southeast Asian country with a cuisine as bad, or nearly as bad, as Taiwan’s, and the Philippines was the only country that came to mind.
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Look let’s be fair here.
If you’re in Hakkaland and eating some of the signature stir fries prepared at high heat and consumed with rice in an old farmhouse (as you can do in Beipu), it’s damn fine country cooking.
If you’re in Kaohsiung and enjoy seafood, there are places doing wonderful fish ball / squid ball / seafood ball / Taiwanese tempura—great stuff.
In Taipei, the range of mainland dishes available is impressive.
If however you just stay in the capital and eat what is known as “Taiwanese food,” yeah it will underwhelm. Many of my students from around the island think this stuff sucks too. 
Guy
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There are a couple of Hakka dishes that are edible, I’ll give you that.
Now you’re speaking my language. Chinese food rocks!
I’ve had Taiwanese food all over the island, and it all tastes like gym socks boiled with dried shrimp (the Tainan version with a metric fuckton of sugar added).
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I think you’re eating in the wrong places.
In Kaohsiung: 國民市場魚丸料理 serves wonderful coastal Fujianese food.
Guy
Yes. It’s called “Taiwan.”
Fish balls are disgusting. It’s been scientifically proven. 
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You should just ignore him. Some people are just so egotistical that they think everyone’s taste buds are the same as theirs.
Wrong. If that were the case, Taiwanese food would be much better. 