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Complimentary meals on offer to couples

A man feeds his girlfriend sesame oil chicken noodle soup as they enjoy a pre-Valentine's Day meal at a Lung Hsian Chu outlet in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: CNA

Twelve Taipei restaurants will offer free sesame oil chicken meals to 500 couples today as part of the Taiwan MayoG Festival's Valentine's Day celebration, a government official said yesterday.

"The purpose of the event is to promote this traditional Taiwanese dish to the youth while boosting the domestic consumption of Taiwanese chickens," said Michael Lee (李春進), deputy director of the Council of Agriculture's department of animal industry.

Sponsored by the Poultry Association of the Republic of China, The MayoG Festival takes place until April 18.

Lung Hsian Chu (龍涎居), whose main branch is located on Longquan Street, is the biggest participant in the Valentine's Day promotion. Each of the chain's seven stores will offer free sesame oil chicken meals to 50 couples on a first come, first served basis from 5pm. The meal, which includes two bowls of noodles or rice, one pot of sesame oil chicken and an order of vegetables, normally costs NT$210.

"My decision to participate in this event is mainly to treat our customers, and also because of the COA's invitation. The event is estimated to add around NT$80,000 [US$2,500] to our operating costs," Lung Hsian Chu owner Lion Kao (高煌棋) said.

Apart from sesame oil chicken, the chain's other speciality is chicken with heshouwu, a mixture of Chinese medicinal herbs. Each Lung Hsian Chu store sells between 200 and 300 servings of chicken per day, Kao said.

Meanwhile, the government said it is determined to increase chicken exports to Japan.

"Taiwanese chickens, which are both good quality and free from bird flu, have great potential for export to Japan," said Chen Ruey-long (陳瑞榮), chief of the international marketing section at the COA's department of international affairs.

Chen said poor marketing was behind the fact that Taiwan accounted for only 1 percent of Japan's chicken imports last year.

To tap into the Japanese market, the council has invited a renowned Japanese chef to brainstorm with local chefs to develop chicken recipes for Japanese customers

Taiwan needs to cater to Japanese tastes, rather than exporting what is popular here, Chen said.
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