The oyster omelet was selected as the snack that best represents Taiwan, followed by pearl milk tea, according to the results of a recent survey released by Global Views Monthly magazine.
Pearl milk tea was followed by oyster vermicelli, stinky tofu and braised pork rice, according to the survey, which was conducted via telephone from May 4 to May 9 on 500 men and 500 women around the nation.
Other items to get a mention included rice meat balls, rice dumplings, dan-tsai noodles, beef noodles, small steamed buns, rice noodles and bowl cakes, the survey said.
The survey also suggested that almost 70 percent of Taiwanese adults eat out frequently, with a higher ratio of men doing so than women.
The magazine estimated that 3.3 million Taiwanese adults eat out everyday.
The trend is most common among those within the 20 to 29 age group, with more than 35 percent of people in this group not having meals at home everyday, the survey said.
Quoting figures from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the magazine said that each family on average spent NT$50,000 (US$1,515) eating out last year, meaning that the total expenditure by Taiwan's more than 7 million households on eating out amounted to NT$36 billion for the year.
The survey found that lunch was the meal that the largest percentage of respondents regularly enjoy outside the home, with 78.7 percent doing so, followed by breakfast, with 66.8 percent of respondents usually eating their morning meal outside.
As for the kind of places where people eat lunch, 59.6 percent of respondents mentioned lunch boxes, noodle eateries and snack bars.
Other popular choices for the hungry included cafeterias, restaurants and luncheonettes, as well as roadside food stands and food wagons.
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system