Questioning the logic, not judging…
Don’t worry, I didn’t decide to move to Taiwan based on the desserts.
But since I’m already here . . . 
Guy
Best desserts in uk?
Rasmalai
Gulab Jaman
Kulfi
Oh and scones with clotted cream…
The dessert thing is funny. I mentioned this discussion to my wife, and we both agreed we prefer Taiwan’s desserts because they are not as heavy and sweet as western desserts - especially th cheesecakes and the custard style cakes with fruit on top.
But, each to their own tastes, I suppose.
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Wallet - purse - wallet. Best dessert in Taiwan. Followed by thigh napkin.
The “when in rome” logic is rock solid…
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In theory, it makes complete sense to me that Taiwanese people would prefer their local desserts and sweets because they find UK desserts and sweets too sweet. But Taiwanese people are no strangers to excess sweetness, whether in their diabetes-inducing drinks like bubble tea or the extra sugar they throw in just about everything else…
Now THAT stuff is truly terrible.
And along with semiconductors, it’s probably the best-known Taiwan export to the world.
Guy
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Exactly. A lot of Taiwanese desserts like soy bean jelly and grass jelly can be refreshing in summer and heartwarming in winter. And there’s a lot of tea-flavoured (green, black, oolong … you name it) options, which tends to tone down the excessive sweetness and provides mellower and layered textures. There’s also a much larger diversity of fruits in desserts.
I can understand not loving Taiwanese pastries, which can be really, really bad, but a lot of Japanese-style cakes in Taiwan are brilliant. Much, much better than cakes in the West which are almost always horrifyingly sweet.
You can say you don’t want any sugar in it. Everyone orders 30% sugar or no sugar at all. Besides, all the bubble tea shops offer a ton of options. I never order bubble tea. I always have other kinds of tea.
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Indeed. 無糖 and 半糖 were two of the very first things I learnt to say in Chinese. Not just because for the bubble tea, but because they throw insane amounts of sugar into all their drinks, and a lot of other things besides. Hence why I’m often puzzled when Taiwanese people claim that British desserts are too sweet…
For me it was reading! I’ll never forget the first evening I spent in Taiwan, grabbing a bottle of Oolong tea from the 7-11 fridge, swinging back and . . . feeling disgusted that some fool thought this would taste better with sugar!
I did not make that mistake twice.
Guy
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I thought this was already well understood. Taiwanese food, generally is FAR less sweet than western foods that are intended to be sweet. But almost everythin.in taiwan is sweet. Thats the difference.
West = less often, more extreme.
Taiwan = more often, less extreme.
I prefer taiwanese desserts as described above because they dont give me diabetes or cavities the first bite. Western desserts are all in short lifespan.
But many foods here add a shit load of sugar ( and other flavor enhancers) into nearly everything, which the west does less often or in lesser quantities.
Interestingly, better eateries in taiwan are going more old style western in that they are going furher raw and healthy while western eateries are continually adding more flavorings. Eating out sucks in the west, its gettin good here though. Case in point. Pearl milk tea going to the west compared to western salads coming here. Theres a lot of this kind of migration of cultural foods
The issue in taiwan, it seems, is that less is more. More expensive that is. Taiwan, the land of middlemen, marketers and consultants, jack that shit up beyond common sense because its fashionable. Cooking at home, as much as i hate it, is the best way.
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Don’t count out the Brits, the British variant is one of them strongest variants.
It’s the dominant strain that’s causing havoc now in Taiwan.
Guy
I’m in Taiwan, but I’ve felt this in Seattle. I’ll be in a bar over there, watching a game or whatever, and then I’ll turn around and see people reading novels. In a bar. Not always the easiest place to meet people.
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Taiwan is sucking really bad right now and most of us haven’t been able to get off the island since last Jan.
I’m dying to get the hell off this rock. 
.
Did the ladies not fit into the top 10 list 
?
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I can’t really categorise that as something I can experience in TW but not in England. I’m equally useless when it comes to that particular topic in both countries. 
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I left Asia for the same reason and also spent longer than expected in boring cold Canada. I’m happy to be back and we’re waiting for your return!
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You can always experience TW women in the UK.
Just need to BYOW.
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