A store featuring Taiwan’s unique bubble tea was recently opened in Dublin and has won over the heart and mouths of the Irish in a mere two weeks.
The three founders of Bubblecity — Karl Mulvee, Ronan Murphy, and Ivano Cafolla — said they had never seen bubble tea before until they encountered it by chance in London.
The store said it prides itself on giving its customers the most authentic taste of bubble tea possible, importing everything from the tapioca, the straws and even the plastic coverings with “half sugar” and “no ice” on them.
Currently, Bubblecity is planning to expand across Ireland and let more Irish enjoy the beverage, adding the store also plans to set up in Germany.
The store owners added that they hoped to visit Taiwan one day to see the beverage at its original source.
The Taipei Representative Office in Ireland’s representative, Harry Tseng (曾厚仁), said after visiting the store that Taiwan’s tea has always been renowned, and it was due to the Taiwanese innovative spirit that tea, a beverage originally drunk hot, has now become a cold drink in many places.
Bubble tea not only represents the snack culture of Taiwan’s night markets, it now plays a role in promoting Taiwan’s fine cuisine in the international market, Tseng said.
The Taipei Representative Office in Ireland has written a special introduction on the origins of the drink in Taiwan and plans to put a copy in all future bubble tea stores so Irish people can become interested in Taiwan through bubble tea, Tseng said.
The office would also be passing out tourist flyers and information at Bubblecity in hopes to entice customers who come to enjoy their beverages to make a trip to Taiwan.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS