Anyone who has eaten authentic Chinese style dumplings will tell you that they are awesome! So much better than what you can get in American Chinese restaurants.
But what are you supposed to do if you live in America? Easy! Make your own.
It may sound like a daunting task, and it can be a little tricky, but once you get the hang of it it'll be a piece of cake (and a ton of fun too!).
First, there are a few things that you will need. So head on down to your local Asian supermarket. I'm sure you have one in town, just google it.
Here's your shopping list:
1. Ground pork
2. Cabbage
3. Green onions
4. Dumpling skins(they'll be in the frozen section)
5. Soy sauce
6. Minced garlic
7. White pepper
It also helps if you have a food processor, but you don't need to buy one just for dumplings.
Now that you have everything that you need, let's get cooking!
Here's how you do it:
1. Thoroughly wash all of the vegetables.
2. Finely dice cabbage and creep onions.
3. Put your ground pork in a mixing bowl, and mix in the vegetables.
4. Set out a tray to put your finished dumplings on, and a bowl of water to the side.
5. Grab a dumpling skin, slap on a spoon of your pork/veggie mix.
6. Dip your spoon in the water and wet the edges of your dumpling skin.
7. Fold it together and fold along the sides to keep it shut.
8. Repeat about a hundred or so times!
Cooking dumplings is easy, but you have a choice to make. There are two different ways to prepare them. Steamed, or pan fried. To steam them, it works best if you have a pot with a steamer attachment on top. If you want to pan-fry them, oil up a hot pan, set your dumplings in, mix a cup with flour and water and pour it over the dumplings. This makes them nice and crispy!
To eat them, you can prepare a small bowl of soy sauce, mix in some garlic and pour it over your dumplings, or just dip them and eat.
However you choose to make them, you can be sure that you will have an awesome meal!
I hope you enjoyed the article and are ready to try out your own homemade dumplings! Let me know how they turn out!
Also, I'd like to take a moment to tell you guys to hop on over to my new friend Yang Yang's site. They recently interviewed a lot of Chinese language learners(myself included) about their top Chinese learning resources. Check out what they (and I!) had to say here!
Like always, comment below and let's get a discussion going!
The topic of today's post is one that is, and always has been close to my heart. Any guesses what that could be?….FOOD!
In the past I have written extensively about various Chinese dishes and delicacies, ranging from the humble dumpling, to the stomach twisting stinky tofu(stomach twisting for most foreigners, that is). But I haven't written much about specific places for you to go eat. I have done a few reviews of night market stands, but not much besides that. I also have written next to nothing about all of the amazing Western influenced food you can get in Taipei.
Today, we rectify this. Because, chances are, if you stay in Taiwan as long as I did, you're going to start to feel a little homesick for some good ol' Western cooking! Without further ado, I give you my top 10 places to eat Western food in Taipei!
1. NY Bagels
This place is just great. Located in Taipei's 東區(other places in Taiepei as well, such as City Hall station), this is my top destination for a midnight Western style breakfast after I've read my fill over at the 24 hour ESLITE bookstore just down the road. French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs, they do it all! Granted, there are some pretty awesome mom and pop western style diners in Taiwan, but I like the food here the best. Give them a try, you won't be dissapointed!
2. Evan's Burger
With several locations around Taipei, and two in the vicinity of Shida Night Market, this so one of the best places to go for a burger in town. The style is very authentic, and besides burgers you can get all kinds of other great American foods, and their shakes are awesome! Another reason I love eating at Evan's Burger is that they have my all time favorite soda imported from back home…DR PEPPER BABY! You would not believe hard difficult the stuff can be to get in Taiwan!
3. Bongos
This place has great burgers, and quesadillas and loads of other stuff as well, but the real fun about going here for me is the books. I'm a nerd, what can I say? The dining are here is surrounded by bookshelves just jam-packed full of English novels, and if you dig through them, you'll not be surprised to find some awesome reading material(scifi, fantasy, general fiction, whatever, they've hot it all!). The books are all second hand(though I'll wager they've seen more than just a pair of hands!) and you can trade in your old books too! Check them out in the NTU area! tons of other great restaurants around there too!
4. Amy's Kitchen(La Casita)
This place has the best Mexican food you can get in Taiwan, period. It's all very authentic, not as good as what you'd get back here in Texas, but as close as you can reasonably expect considering where you are(and it's worlds better than the Chinese-style Mexican food you can get at other places in Taipei that just don't get it right).They've also got great margaritas(I don't drink anymore, but I'm sure they can make a virgin one as well). They also allow you to write on the wall with a permanent marker, offering some interesting atmosphere to the restaurant and a time you'll never forget! They're a little tough to find, your best bet is to google the Chinese address and show it to a cab driver.
5. Macho Tacos
When I went to college in Austin, Freebirds and Chipotle style gigantic burritos were a staple of my diet(maybe one of the reasons I was so fat when I graduated and moved to Taiwan in the first place!). While Macho Tacos isn't a carbon copy of either major American chain, they do offer a pretty similar dining experience, and have by far, the best burritos in Taiwan. Too bad this joint didn't pop up sooner, I was always on the lookout for Mexican food during my early days on Taiwan, Check them out in the Shida night market area.
6. Alley Cats
Best pizza in Taiwan, seriously, just try them and I'm sure you'll be a believer too! Located on the back side of Ximen Ding's famous Red House, Alley Cats has been serving up awesome pizza to Taipei's night owls for a long time, which is pretty easy, considering they're surrounded by bars! Their pizza is Chicago style, thin-crusted and delicious! They're also affordable, considering how much good Western food can cost in Taipei, not cheap, but affordable.
7. West-15 Diner(西十五牛仔很忙)
This place has all of the essentials, and lots of them! The menu consists of burgers, fries, pasta, salad, soups, wings, and much more! Oh, and it's buffet style, so the staff will keep bringing you dishes to your table until you burst! It's a little pricey, but you can get your money's worth, for sure, especially us guys. Besides the great food, another reason this place is so popular is because the owner dresses like a sexy cowgirl, and so do the rest of the waitresses, none of which are hard on the eyes. The place is within walking distanced Liuzhangli station, and google can get you the rest of the way from there.
8. Mary's Hamburger(茉莉漢堡)
This one is a little out there if you are located in the heart of Taipei, but if you are in the neighborhood, it's a good place to stop for dinner. Located in Tienmu, just by the American school, it shouldn't be hard to find. They have great burgers and fries and I would recommend checking them out next time you're in the area to peruse the flea market, take a bus to Yangming Mountain to hit up the hotspring resorts, or whatever it is that brings you there.
9. Casa Della Pasta
I love spaghetti and lasagna, but it can be super difficult to find a really good pasta place in Taiwan. Taiwanese spaghetti is generally served with a pretty watery sauce, not the meaty kind that Westerners love, and never has enough Parmesan cheese. Enter Casa Della Pasta. With several locations around Taipei, This place has great Italian food, and you can get as much parmesan as you want to go with your pasta, just expect to pay a little more than you would at other spaghetti places around town. Remember you get what you pay for.
10. Hooters
I know what your thinking, and stop it, okay! This fine establishment made it on the list because of the great American style good, right?…Awww, who am I kidding, we all know why Hooters is popular with the guys, pretty obvious. The foods great, and they have a hula-hoop show, and some of the girls can swing 10+ hula-hoops at a time! Now that's something you've just got to see! Check them out, they're conveniently located by the Nanjing E. Rd. station.
That's my list. It's not all inclusive, there are tons of other places to get great Western food in Taipei, so feel free to share your favorties below!
Also, remember to join my mail list for updates on all the happening on eazychinese.com!
The most popular articles I have ever written are… and…. So today, I'm going to keep the food theme, but add a bit of a twist, so keep reading and find out about some of the most unique(and disgusting!) Chinese foods!
1. 皮蛋 pídàn- Thousand year-old eggs
The rumor is these bad boys were marinated in horse piss to give them their distinctive flavor and smell way back in the day. This just shows you the reputation they have! These days they are soaked in salt, and a mixture of chemicals to give them their distinctive salty, ammonium flavor.
2. 臭豆腐 chòudòufu- Stinky tofu
I've written about this dish before, but I'm going to include it in this article as well, because foreigners really do think it's Disgusting(I capitalized and bolted the D for emphasis!), but come on! It's not that bad, especially compared to one of the other items on this list!
3. 豬腳 zhūjiǎo- Pigs feet
I can't tell you how much I love these! My mother in law makes the BEST marinated pigs feet in the world! The meat is so tender, it melt in your mouth! Just goes to show, that great food ain't always pretty!
Pigs blood cake and duck blood are often served with other dishes or in hotpot to compliment the other flavors, as they absorb the flavor of soups, sauces, etc. It's really not that bad, though the idea of it is kinda gross, you might think Chinese people are vampires!
5. 烤章魚腳 kǎozhāngyújiǎo- Grilled octopus tentacle
What's better than a delicious, rubbery octopus tentacle on a stick? A GIANT delicious, rubbery octopus tentacle on a stick, that's what! When I first moved to Taiwan, I remember thinking to myself "What the heck I that?" as I strolled through the night market one night. Little did I know that I would come to love this weird food, and so will you!
6. 豬肝 zhūgān- Pigs liver
Not usually eaten on their own, pig livers are adding in to many dishes to make for a hearty meal! They are eaten, because in traditional thought, they are believed to increase the blood count in your body.
7. 雞腳 jījiǎo- Chicken feet
Chicken feet are especially popular with Chinese women, as they are thought(because of traditional Chinese medicine) to be good for the skin. These are pretty good, but I'd take pigs feet any day, because chicken feet have barely any meat on them! They're great if you like cartilage, skin and tons of tiny bones though!
8. 魚下巴 yúxiàba- Fish jaw
This dish is pretty scary looking when the waiter brings it to your table, I mean, come on! Do people actually eat that! As a matter of fact, they do! The meat tastes pretty good, though it can be difficult to get at all the good parts. Hey, try it before you judge!
9. 魚卵 yúluǎn- Fish eggs
In Taiwan, when you order a fish at a restaurant, you get a fish, head and all. In America, you get a fillet! In Taiwan, when you get a fish with a belly full of eggs, you consider yourself lucky as you chow down on your bonus. In America, you yell at the waiter, send the fish back and mot likely empty the contents of your stomach. It really is amazing how different our taste buds can be!
10. 豬舌頭 zhūshétou- Pigs tongue
Last but not least, is pigs tongue! We've eaten pretty much every other part of the animal, so why leave the tongue alone? These are shaved into thin slices and grilled, and both look, and taste like pepperoni! They are awesome, so make sure you try this one before dropping the hammer!
That's our list, and I had to cut it short because my hands are getting tired from typing. I could easily go on! It just goes to show how much of the animals we eat in the West go to waste! I hope you enjoyed this article, and if you did, please join my mail-list! Until next time….
Due to the popularity of my last post on Taiwanese food, 10 Foods You Must Try in Taiwan, I have decided to write an article detailing 10 more of the best foods to try while you are in Taiwan. So, without further ado…
1. Oyster pancakes蚵仔煎
Sorry Aunt Jemima, we won't be needing any syrup up on these pancakes! Made with eggs and fresh oysters, these are one night market snack you have to try!
2. Bolo bread 菠蘿麵包
Best when fresh out of the oven and filled with butter, this warm, tasty treat is just what the doctor ordered…on second though, don't mention it to your doctor, what he doesn't know won't hurt you!
3. Saweima 沙威瑪
Hailing from the middle east, Saweima is another food that is not ethnically Tawanese, though you can find it in night markets all over the island. This simple, yet elegant dish is prepared by slicing slivers of chicken from a spit, adding onions, lettuce and several other possible toppings like pepper, ketchup and mayonnaise and then scorching the bread until its nice and crispy. Many stands also have the option to add cheese or an egg for an extra charge. You can usually get them for 40 NT, and some places have special prices for buying three at a time.
4. Grilled squid 炭烤魷魚
Most Westerners are slightly taken aback when they first see this dish, but trust me, it's delicious! Grilled squid can sometimes be a little pricey, but it's worth it.
5. Digua Qiu 地瓜球
Holy chewy, fried balls Batman! These sweet potato balls are awesome. Just make sure that you don't forget to sprinkle (pour in my case) on some sour plum powder. It makes for a great contrast of flavors!
6. Wild-boar sausage 山豬烤香腸
How's it shakin bacon? This ain't your run of the mill sausages. Boar meat is a lot leaner than regular old pork, and has a unique flavor that you you really must try, especially glazed in Taiwanese BBQ sauce, yum!
7. Kao digua 烤地瓜
There was a time when Chinese families ate rice only as a luxury, and survived off of the humble sweet potato as a major staple of their diet. Well, nowadays people still eat it, because its both delicious and nutritious, and especially good to eat during the winter! The price will vary depending on the weight, but rest assured, you'll get a full belly with change to spare!
8. Oyster noodles 蚵仔麵線
Oh a mi swa is the name for this dish in Taiwanese, and that is what you will hear people call it, even if they don't speak Taiwanese well! The dish consists of oysters and mian xian, a thin, clear kind of noodle. It is commonly served with pigs blood cake and pig intestines, so not for the feint of heart!
9. Luogen mian 牛肉麵
My namesake, this is one tasty dish! It consists of pork that is mixed with flour into log-like shapes, noodles and a thick, sticky soup. It's delicious and will only run you around 45 NT.
10. Tianbula甜不辣
Fried, grilled or boiled, get it however you can! This delicious dish is made from fish and flour and it is not to be missed!
＃picture from : some from google some from myself.
…So I had to go get my fix, and it was FANTASTIC! In fact, I decided to film the experience and let you all take a glimpse at every-day life in Taiwan. Now I do love me a nice, hot cup of traditional, loose-leaf tea, but the stuff is expensive and much better to enjoy with family and friends. I decided to go the cheap and anti-social route today, so I headed over to the neighborhood Coco (dōu kĕ 都可 in Chinese, but everyone just calls it Coco).
(I need my tea!)
They are located near the Welcome dĭng hăo 頂好 down the street from the Puxin train station pŭ xīn huŏ chē zhàn 埔心火車站. Coco is my favorite of the millions of teashops chá diàn 茶店 you can find crowding the streets in Taipei, Kaoshiung, and pretty much everywhere else in Taiwan. The reasons are as follows:
1. The staff diàn yuán 店員 at the stores that I frequent have excellent attitudes and are friendly and very helpful.
2. Their prices are affordable, and they don't short you on tea by overfilling your cup with ice like they do at qīng xīn 清心, another popular chain of tea-stores from the south of Taiwan.
3. I prefer the way their sugar-free tea tastes over what they server at other stores. It has a bitter sè 澀 flavor to it and I love bitter tea, though I guess this may be an acquired taste. Don't worry though, because they have plenty of sweetened drinks for you to try!
4. Did I mention that it's cheap? This is seriously a driving factor for me, as I am currently a jobless bum living on savings!
So there you have it, try them out if you have a chance. And if you already have, what's your favorite drink to get there? Personally, I am a big fan of the yoghurt green tea yăng lè duō lù chá 養樂多錄茶!
(Thanks again to the awesome staff for being so helpful and putting up with my insanity!)
Please watch my video and comment on it if you have the time! The guy in the video was really nice to let me take this video. At one point he was surprised that I spoke a little Taiwanese, and I was too! Here I am, supposed to be teaching you guys Mandarin! I hope you enjoyed this article, and see you here next time!
I love Taiwanese food, that's why I've stayed in Taiwan so long! Oh, and my lovely fiancé, Ruby, played a part in that too! As much as I love Taiwanese food, it is often difficult to talk about in English, and many of the English names below are just made-up approximations or descriptions. The following list is not in any particular order, and is by no-means complete. Taiwanese cuisine is incredibly diverse, and there is so much more out there for you to try! So, to start off, we have…
1. Marinated food lŭ wèi 滷味– I love this stuff, the sauce is amazing and you have tons of choices to choose from and create your own dish, so each time you can eat a new combination of foods. You pick everything out your self(usually) with a pair of tongs and place it in a basket for the cook, and they boil it all in a wonderfully flavored soup.
2. Sausage with rice sausage wrap dà cháng bāo xiăo cháng 大腸包小腸– The English name I gave it sounds kinda weird, but a true translation would be stranger. "A big sausage wrapping a small sausage" sounds great in Chinese, but just weird in English, therefore I have jokingly dubbed these "Chinese hotdogs". Many stands offer lots of favors, such as wasabi, black pepper, garlic, and others. They are awesome, so go get one!
3. Green-onion pancakes cōng zhuā bĭng 蔥抓餅– This was one of my go-to snacks when I first moved to Taiwan. They are great by themselves, but I personally always add an egg and usually corn, but other great toppings are cheese and bacon, even tuna!
4. Red-bean popsicles hóng dòu bīng bàng 紅豆冰棒– Have I mentioned that Taiwanese people love red beans, and they are a big feature in their desserts? Try one and see if it's for you!
5. Dumplings and fried-dumplings shuĭ jiăo 水餃 and guō tiē 鍋貼– I've eaten these regularly since I've been here, and I still love them! They are much better than anything you can get back home. An interesting side-note, fried-dumplings, which are usually called pot stickers, probably got this English name because in Chinese, 鍋 means pot and 貼 means stick, go figure!
6. Tofu pudding dòu huā 豆花– 豆花, which literally means "bean flower" is a great traditional dessert. Tofu is healthy, nutritious, and CHEAP, and that is why it is a big player in Chinese cuisine. I am constantly impressed with the ingenuity it took to make so many different dishes from one base ingredient! Bottom line, try it!
7. Stinky tofu chòu dòu fŭ 臭豆腐– I hesitated to add this one, as I feel it's the most discussed Taiwanese food out there, but at the same time no list of Taiwanese culinary creations would be complete without it. 臭豆腐 is aged tofu and it stinks, literally! It comes in two forms, fried with a side of cabbage, or boiled with soup (my personal favorite), but they are both worth a try. So next time you are wandering through a night market and you venture into a pocket of stink, look around and find the stand responsible and steel your stomach!
8. Hotpot huŏ guō 火鍋– This is my fiancé's personal favorite. The general idea is you take a ton of vegetables, and huŏ guō liào 火鍋料, ingredients especially made for hotpot, and you toss the, in boiling water and eat until you're about to explode! Served with fish, chicken, lamb, beef (meat is dipped into the boiling soup until it is cooked, then it is dipped into shā chá jiàng 沙茶醬 and eaten) and a variety of seafood fare, or even just vegetarian, served with your choice of rice, noodles, or dōng fĕn 冬粉 a type of thin noodle made from beans, hotpot makes for a great, and filling meal! Also, many restaurants include an nice selection of all you can eat ice cream!
9. Seafood hăi xiān 海鮮– This should be a no-brainer. Taiwan is an island, and as such, you have access to higher quality, and cheaper priced seafood than you can get in the states, and it is awesome!
10. Bubble milk tea zhēn zhū năi chá 珍珠奶茶– Also Translated more literally as "pearl milk tea", this is a Taiwanese invention that is so popular that it's hard to walk five feet down the street without passing half-a-dozen tea shops that sell the stuff. Some brands have even opened up stores in the USA, such as Come Buy. A word of warning though, it's really sweet and incredibly bad for you, so don't drink it every day!
And, just because I'm nice, I've added an 11th food…..
*11. Mochi ma jí 嘛吉！ This is probably my favorite food that I have discovered since I have lived in Taiwan, and it is definitely my favorite form of rice! 嘛吉 pronounced moa ji in Taiwanese, is a snack traditionally made by painstakingly squishing sticky rice in a big bowl with a wooden stick…it's a great form of exercise, I should know, I've done it! But nowadays, it is most-often machine-mashed. After the rice is smashed into a thick, sticky paste, it is rolled into balls and rolled around in peanut powder. There are lots of other modern flavors and styles (filling, no filling, served in a bamboo shoot, ice cream) but I love anything peanut flavored, and 嘛吉 is at the top of my list!
So the you have it, eleven more reasons to make Taiwan your next travel destination. Enjoy!
Now I'm not a big coffe drinker, but another great thing about 7-11 is the City Café. Don't get me wrong, I like Starbuck's and the fancy cafés you can find all over the place (especially if they have a view, like the ones by the ocean in Sanzhi near Dansui where I recently volunteered at the animal shelter), but for a guy who isn't a gourmet coffee enthusiast, the prices at these places are just a little too high(though if you save your promotional stickers you get when you spend your cash at 7-11, Starbuck's often has a buy-one-get-one-free deal măi yī sòng yī 買一送一 which is awesome if you love their frappuccinos like me!).
They have a good menu, you can order a late ná tiĕ 拿鐵，American coffee mĕi shì kā fēi 美式咖啡，Japanese style green tea latte mŏ chá ná tiĕ 抹茶拿鐵，hot-chocolate rè qiăo kè lì 熱巧克力 and more, but I almost always get the English milk tea yīng shì năi chá 英式奶茶. It's awesome!
Drinks come in two sizes. They don't have a small , but it is still useful vocabulary to know so I have included it, and some of their drinks only come in one size. Here are the sizes: small xiăo bēi 小杯, medium zhōng bēi 中杯, large dà bēi 大杯.
You can order your beverage either hot rè de 熱的 or iced bīng de 冰的 drink, and if you don't like your coffee very sweet, you can tell the staff that you want half a serving of sugar bàn táng 半糖 a little sugar shăo táng 少糖，very little sugar wéi táng 微糖 or no sugar wú táng 無糖.
That's it for now, go enjoy your fresh cup' o Jo…not the person, I mean a coffee, yuck!
買一送一= buy one get one free 拿鐵= latte 美式咖啡= American coffee 抹茶拿鐵= Japanese style green tea latte 熱巧克力= hot-chocolate 英式奶茶= English milk tea 小杯= small(cup/drink size) 中杯= medium(cup/drink size) 大杯= large(cup/drink size) 熱的= hot 冰的= iced 半糖= half sugar 少糖= little sugar 微糖= very little sugar 無糖= no sugar
If you spend even just a few days or a week in Taiwan, there are a few things that you will probably do. If you are in Taipei, you will most likely visit Taipei 101, even of you don't make it to the top. And wherever you go in Taiwan, I'd be surprised if you don't visit a night market. But the one thing I can guarantee is that you WILL visit at least one 7-11 during your stay.
7-11 practically runs the island, and there are so many services offered at each one of their bazillion locations that really set the chain aside from the other big players in the convenience store biàn lì shāng diàn 便利商店 biz, such as Family Mart quán jiā 全家, Hi-LIfe lái ĕr fù 萊爾富, and OK Mart. You can pay your bills, taxes, order items online or mail packages, print, scan and fax your documents, drop off your dry-cleaning, book an HSR(high-speed rail) ticket or even a domestic flight. Heck, they even have a phone and internet service! Just try doing any of that in your local 7-11 back in the states! Though you can't gas-up your car like you could in the states, but I won't hold it against them, will you?
There are often special promotions and discount prices on items in the store, and you can collect stickers when you make a purchase of a certain value and save them towards half-priced, or even free items! But I feel that a lot of foreigners will miss out on these deals, so today I wanted to bring one of them to your attention.
(Beverages with a certain price sticker pair up with food items, like bread or sandwiches with the same sticker. It's cheaper to buy them together as a set.)
This is just one example of a possible deal you could take advantage of. Another common one are discounts when you buy two of the same type of drink. The staff may ask you to pull a number out of a box to get your discount price (the largest discount is 1NT!), or the discount could be automatically deducted.
Another useful thing to know is that discount percentages are written opposite from the way we write them in English. Where we say "20% off" they say "8 zhé 折", but they are the same thing. The difference is while we advertise the percentage that you get discounted, they advertise the percentage you pay after the discount. So if you ever see a sign that says "79折", for example, it means that the item is 21% off, not 79% off!
I hope you found this article useful, now go and get your money's worth!
If you spend even just a few days or a week in Taiwan, there are a few things that you will probably do. If you are in Taipei, you will most likely visit Taipei 101, even of you don't make it to the top. And wherever you go in Taiwan, I'd be surprised if you don't visit a night market. But the one thing I can guarantee is that you WILL visit at least one 7-11 during your stay.
7-11 practically runs the island, and there are so many services offered at each one of their bazillion locations that really set the chain aside from the other big players in the convenience store biàn lì shāng diàn 便利商店 biz, such as Family Mart quán jiā 全家, Hi-LIfe lái ĕr fù 萊爾富, and OK Mart. You can pay your bills, taxes, order items online or mail packages, print, scan and fax your documents, drop off your dry-cleaning, book an HSR(high-speed rail) ticket or even a domestic flight. Heck, they even have a phone and internet service! Just try doing any of that in your local 7-11 back in the states! Though you can't gas-up your car like you could in the states, but I won't hold it against them, will you?
There are often special promotions and discount prices on items in the store, and you can collect stickers when you make a purchase of a certain value and save them towards half-priced, or even free items! But I feel that a lot of foreigners will miss out on these deals, so today I wanted to bring one of them to your attention.
(Beverages with a certain price sticker pair up with food items, like bread or sandwiches with the same sticker. It's cheaper to buy them together as a set.)
This is just one example of a possible deal you could take advantage of. Another common one are discounts when you buy two of the same type of drink. The staff may ask you to pull a number out of a box to get your discount price (the largest discount is 1NT!), or the discount could be automatically deducted.
Another useful thing to know is that discount percentages are written opposite from the way we write them in English. Where we say "20% off" they say "8 zhé 折", but they are the same thing. The difference is while we advertise the percentage that you get discounted, they advertise the percentage you pay after the discount. So if you ever see a sign that says "79折", for example, it means that the item is 21% off, not 79% off!
I hope you found this article useful, now go and get your money's worth!
One of the things I love the most about living in Taiwan is the food. It may not be what you expect if you have never tried it though. It's not quite the same as the Chinese food we eat back home(except for the fried rice chăo fàn 炒飯, that's a pretty universally similar dish). Today we had a big family lunch, and my fiancé's mother spent the morning preparing lots of tasty dishes.
(This is where the magic happens, my fiance's mother is a great cook!)
Meals are traditionally eaten at a round table with the various dishes placed in the middle. Unlike most Western style dining scenarios, where you have your own plate of food, what typically happens in a Chinese family is everyone fills a bowl with rice and then takes what they want to eat, serving themselves. Of course, there is etiquette that you should be aware of, such as older people get the first pick, and you shouldn't grab the biggest and best pieces of meat or other dishes, and leave the lesser quality for everyone else(that's just rude!). And you all know about sticking your chopsticks end-up in your rice bowl, right? If not, go check out my article on taboos in Chinese culture.
![\"照片](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/照片-4.jpg\")
![\"照片](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/照片-5.jpg\")
![\"照片](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/照片-1.jpg\")
![\"照片](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/照片-2.jpg\")
![\"照片](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/照片-3.jpg\")
![\"Ny](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Ny-bagel.jpg\")
![\"Evans-Burger-2\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Evans-Burger-2.png\")
![\"bongos\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/bongos.jpg\")
![\"amys](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/amys-kitchen.jpg\")
![\"macho](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/macho-tacos.jpg\")
![\"alleycats-huashan-arts\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/alleycats-huashan-arts.jpg\")
![\"west15\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/west15.jpg\")
![\"20091105-maryshamburger\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/20091105-maryshamburger.jpg\")
![\"casa](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/casa-della-pasta.jpg\")
![\"hooters\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/hooters.jpg\")
![\"pidan-1\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/pidan-1.jpg\")
![\"Stinky](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Stinky-Tofu-2.jpg\")
![\"IMG_0872_20101224_Taipei_ShowShanti\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/IMG_0872_20101224_Taipei_ShowShanti.jpg\")
![\"Zhu_xie_Gao\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Zhu_xie_Gao.jpg\")
![\"4266107978_e0e9273612_z\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/4266107978_e0e9273612_z.jpg\")
![\"6a00c225259fe3604a00e398cddd860004\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/6a00c225259fe3604a00e398cddd860004-e1410378147415.jpg\")
![\"OLYMPUS](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/p3040069.jpg\")
![\"images](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/images-1.jpeg\")
![\"下載\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/下載.jpeg\")
![\"images\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/images.jpeg\")
![\"DSCN4404-740587\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DSCN4404-740587.jpg\")
![\"下載\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/下載1-150x150.jpeg\")
![\"下載\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/下載-150x150.jpeg\")
island. This simple, yet elegant dish is prepared by slicing slivers of chicken from a spit, adding onions, lettuce and several other possible toppings like pepper, ketchup and mayonnaise and then scorching the bread until its nice and crispy. Many stands also have the option to add cheese or an egg for an extra charge. You can usually get them for 40 NT, and some places have special prices for buying three at a time.![\"4b1f96728ba31\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/4b1f96728ba31.jpg\")
![\"images\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/images.jpeg\")
![\"下載](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/下載-2.jpeg\")
![\"OLYMPUS](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/4b250a833a5c8.jpg\")
![\"0\"](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/01.jpg\")
![\"下載](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/下載-1.jpeg\")
![\"images](\"https://eazychinese.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/images-2.jpeg\")
![\"IMG_7252\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/img_7252.jpg\")
![\"IMG_7254\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/img_7254.jpg\")
![\"1376475_10201506305553809_1574255394_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1376475_10201506305553809_1574255394_n.jpg\")
![\"1234311_10201506305913818_1048795737_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1234311_10201506305913818_1048795737_n.jpg\")
![\"531965_10201506304873792_1757324370_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/531965_10201506304873792_1757324370_n.jpg\")
![\"1394055_10201550210611408_563052271_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1394055_10201550210611408_563052271_n.jpg\")
![\"1383168_10201550209291375_303029623_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1383168_10201550209291375_303029623_n.jpg\")
![\"556825_10201550212851464_152896735_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/556825_10201550212851464_152896735_n.jpg\")
![\"1375187_10201506413916518_525168872_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1375187_10201506413916518_525168872_n.jpg\")
![\"1377376_10201506413396505_1300287583_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1377376_10201506413396505_1300287583_n.jpg\")
![\"1376347_10201506411956469_32617093_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1376347_10201506411956469_32617093_n.jpg\")
![\"1382984_10201506411036446_1180127806_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1382984_10201506411036446_1180127806_n.jpg\")
![\"IMG_6969\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/img_6969.jpg\")
![\"IMG_6975\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/img_6975.jpg\")
![\"IMG_6971\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/img_6971.jpg\")
![\"新鮮內陷\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/e696b0e9aeaee585a7e999b7.jpg\")
![\"DSC0749322\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dsc0749322.jpg\")
![\"Q嫩外皮\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/qe5aba9e5a496e79aae.jpg\")
![\"1\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1.jpg\")
![\"12\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/12.jpg\")
![\"7\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/7.jpg\")
![\"2012-01-14](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-01-14-16-37-45.jpg\")
![\"1380107_10201550212491455_737542039_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1380107_10201550212491455_737542039_n.jpg\")
![\"575693_10201550211211423_2007411009_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/575693_10201550211211423_2007411009_n.jpg\")
![\"1391474_10201550210171397_1858415243_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/1391474_10201550210171397_1858415243_n.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image15.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image16.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image17.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-21](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-08-21-21-39-32.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-21](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-08-21-21-40-14.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-21](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-08-21-21-40-25.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-14](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-08-14-16-30-39.jpg\")
![\"972347_10201212827137032_962193015_n\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/972347_10201212827137032_962193015_n.jpg\")
![\"DSC08586\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dsc08586.jpg\")
![\"DSC08578\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dsc08578.jpg\")
![\"DSC08582\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/dsc08582.jpg\")
![\"2012-10-01](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-10-01-15-42-19.jpg\")
![\"2012-10-01](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-10-01-15-42-23.jpg\")
![\"2012-10-01](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/2012-10-01-15-42-26.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image18.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image22.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image25.jpg\")
![\"image\"](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/image28.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-32-40.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-38-02.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-38-15.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-39-23.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-28-23.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-28-46.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-30-55.jpg\")
![\"2012-08-07](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/2012-08-07-11-31-38.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-11-34-41.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-11-34-32.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-10-23.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-10-36.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-10-43.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-10-52.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-11-04.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-11-16.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-11-26.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-11-35.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-11-47.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-18-07-25.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-38-22.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-12-38-10.jpg\")
![\"2013-09-15](\"http://lifeasaforeignerintaiwan.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/2013-09-15-18-04-47.jpg\")