( CULTURAL BRIEFING N^O 14 )

The missing Taiwanese cuisine restaurant

_EN

            One evening, while on the lookout for a food establishment along 南京西路 to have dinner with my wife and in-laws, it dawned on me that a proper Taiwanese cuisine restaurant seemed to be missing from Taipei’s urban vernacular.

            Japanese cuisine is well-represented in the city — too well, in fact — along with a small, but growing appreciation for Korean. But Taiwanese food seems to segregate into specific archetypes.

            There’s the breakfast outlets serving fare like porridge, onigiri, wraps, and sandwiches. Then we have the night market stall varietals like sweet potato balls, chicken cutlets, crêpes, pork pepper buns, etc. Basically, takeaway food that can be eaten quickly or on the go.

            Seat-down eateries such as Western food on hotplates, beef noodles, or local classics — 滷肉飯、貢丸湯、蚵仔麵線 — tend to operate at locations adjacent to night markets and temples. Let’s not forget the railway bento diners at major transport arteries.

            Hotpot restaurants on the other hand seem to stray from this formula a little. They are also the only type of local food establishment that is fully air-conditioned.

            But none of these are truly representative of the country. Unlike how chilli crab from a zi char restaurant is distinctively Singaporean. Or the homely dishes at 建国328 that are unmistakably Shanghainese.

            It made me cognisant of how easy it is to take one’s culinary heritage for granted. And how a culture’s relationship with food shapes life. The era is ripe for Taiwan to claim its national cuisine, and through it, anchor a vital piece of its identity.

Notes from Ben:
This Cultural Briefing was first observed in Jan 2024, and written in Apr 2026.

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