There is just such a thread here somewhere on pizza and bagels and the difference between NY and anywhere else.
We can organise a bus tour from Taipei and take everybody who wants to eat native animals with head.
I’m not interested. I’m unashamedly saying that in my 5th year here I’ve lost interest in adventures with local food. When I came into Taiwan some 40 or so times as a buyer I’d be the one going to local hole in the wall spots while the rest of my group would eat at McDonalds. I was the adventurous one looking to try everything including the rooster balls Bodo mentions.
I’m over it.
If you have any Chinese/Taiwanese/Aboriginal restuarants that can do western food like the donner kebab place in Longtan that does western food by accident then yes, it would be great, thanks for offering.
Friday lunch. You, me, Mingshah, MJB, and any other forumosans we can rouse up for a food adventure with a western twist.
And you’re still posting here? No offense (OK, that’s an obvious lie, I’m having fun at your expense) but all of a sudden I feel a lot better about myself.
Mingshah can’t make the lunch, I am afraid.
when it comes to the adventures, then I will get youto try some - remember that the accidential western restaurant is every bit as Chinese as the NT$80 a pan slop shop around the corner.
Undoubtably there is some good local food, but its far from prevalent. I think that in terms of Taiwanese cuisine, I can’t think of one thats worse although I’ve never lived in Korea.
Australian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysia, Indian, Thai, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch food outstrip Taiwanese cuisine by a long way.
Most of the people that I’ve met that really like the food here are British and whilst I haven’t been to the UK, the food is famously bland there.
For those that have said the food here is healthier than American food, I don’t believe you. Whilst I’ve never been to the US, I’m sure you can pick up health fruit and Vegetables, far leaner meats and cereals that are less refined. All packaged foods in the West have detailed nutritional information, higher regulartory standards and far less contaminants (Heavy metals, pesticides).
On a positive note, what I do like in Taiwan is the sheer variety within walking distance and the fact that they close late. This is the kind of conveniece we really miss going back home. As some other posters mentioned, the night market food is great! There is something there for every taste.
The best food in my opinion though (in Taiwan) is from Carnegies…
Famous among the ignorant perhaps. 
It’s not 40 years ago any more. British food has come a LONG way. You should try it sometime. You might like it.
I love the Indian food in London. I’ll be there again in April and plan on doing some more damage to my taste buds.
And you’re still posting here? No offense (OK, that’s an obvious lie, I’m having fun at your expense) but all of a sudden I feel a lot better about myself.[/quote]
Yeah - I was “homesick” for Taiwan last May 2005. Kept dreaming about the time I lived there. Missed good friends and good times. Found Forumosa on a google search, and then kinda got hooked on it. I enjoy the banter, and exchange of ideas and opinions on the forum, so I’ve continued to come back to it over and over again this whole year. It’s kind of embarassing, but I’m sort of addicted to it. No offense taken - I can usually laugh at myself along with others when it’s done in a friendly way as you have. 
Bodo
[quote=“Tyc00n”]Undoubtably there is some good local food, but its far from prevalent. I think that in terms of Taiwanese cuisine, I can’t think of one thats worse although I’ve never lived in Korea.
Australian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Malaysia, Indian, Thai, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch food outstrip Taiwanese cuisine by a long way.
Most of the people that I’ve met that really like the food here are British and whilst I haven’t been to the UK, the food is famously bland there.
For those that have said the food here is healthier than American food, I don’t believe you. Whilst I’ve never been to the US, I’m sure you can pick up health fruit and Vegetables, far leaner meats and cereals that are less refined. All packaged foods in the West have detailed nutritional information, higher regulartory standards and far less contaminants (Heavy metals, pesticides).
On a positive note, what I do like in Taiwan is the sheer variety within walking distance and the fact that they close late. This is the kind of conveniece we really miss going back home. As some other posters mentioned, the night market food is great! There is something there for every taste.
The best food in my opinion though (in Taiwan) is from Carnegies…[/quote]
But the produce in supermarkets and groceries in the U.S. are stocked with food that is not locally grown, is not fresh as in unloaded that morning straight from the farm, and is genetically engineered - I’d argue that the outdoor markets in Taiwan offer much fresher, and hence healthier and potentially tastier food than supermarkets in the USA.
Bodo
[quote=“Bodo”]But the produce in supermarkets and groceries in the U.S. are stocked with food that is not locally grown, is not fresh as in unloaded that morning straight from the farm, and is genetically engineered - I’d argue that the outdoor markets in Taiwan offer much fresher, and hence healthier and potentially tastier food than supermarkets in the USA.
Bodo[/quote]
You’re not going to do well with that one. Check the stickie in Health and Fitness. Mucha Man blows that out of the water.
Fresher yes, probably, but possibly loaded with heavy metals and likely whatever chemicals the farmers sprinkle on it to get rid of pests.
The best part is the way they save a little plot of land to grow their own food on and don’t give it chemical hell.
Busing in from the airport to Taipei last week my girlfriend noticed those weird rice plots scattered next to the freeway and bordered by old factories. She couldn’t believe it. I had to agree, it’s pretty grim.
Travelling throughout Taiwan this is a very common scene and I started to wonder just how much of Taiwan’s rice is grown like this. I very much like the taste of Taiwanese rice and this is an awful realisation.
HG
And in the US, you have many options for buying organic, and while they may try to pass some foods as being organic here in Taiwan, we know that most of it is BS. I trust the labels at home because companies are actually held accountable for false info on packaging, while here, they are not. The Taiwanese will try and get away with anything as long as they can make a mighty buck off of it.
[quote=“mod lang”]
This is the standard reply to anyone who dares complain about bad Taiwanese food, music, culture, insert _____. I’m sure if we were living in Inner Uzbekistan subsiding on congealed goat entrails the same people would pipe up, “There’s lots of good food here, you just haven’t found it. There are lots of goat herders into Stravinsky ballet and enjoy discussing the finer points of post-structuralist language aquisition theory, you just haven’t found them.” Look, if you have actually seek high and low for things you could find right outside your doorstep back home, that suggests to me that maybe Taiwan doesn’t have them in abundance.[/quote]
You hit the nail on the head.
[quote=“mod lang”][quote=“Dragonbones”]I disagree. There’s lots of good ____ here – you just haven’t found it.
[/quote]
This is the standard reply to anyone who dares complain about bad Taiwanese food, music, culture, insert _____. I’m sure if we were living in Inner Uzbekistan subsiding on congealed goat entrails the same people would pipe up, “There’s lots of good food here, you just haven’t found it. There are lots of goat herders into Stravinsky ballet and enjoy discussing the finer points of post-structuralist language aquisition theory, you just haven’t found them.” [/quote]
HAHAHA! 
When I heard that I immediately thought of the “all British food is crap” line you hear non-stop from people who have never been to the UK, or went when their budget was