The Taichung Tourism and Travel Bureau on Monday launched its inaugural Taichung Pearl Milk Tea Festival at city hall, with events scheduled through next month.
The pearl milk tea industry generates NT$300 billion (US$9.64 billion) each year, said Taichung Deputy Mayor Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), who launched the festival with bureau Director Lin Hsiao-chi (林筱淇).
As the “birthplace” of pearl milk tea, sun cakes, pineapple cakes and other treats, Taichung has invited beverage companies and makers of boba-inspired dishes to join the festival and present the unique charm of Taichung’s afternoon tea, she said.
Photo: Chang Ching-ya, Taipei Times
From Wednesday next week to July 28, the public is invited to vote on their top 10 favorite bubble tea drinks or boba-inspired dishes — five in each category, Lin said.
People can cast their votes at participating shops, in the plaza in front of Taichung Railway Station and on the competition’s official Web site, officials said.
A total of 24 stores have signed up for the competition, including Chun Shui Tang, TP Tea, 50 Lan and Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea, they said.
HWC Roasters would also enter a latte with brown sugar-flavored boba it debuted at the launch event, they added.
The winners are to be announced on Aug. 3 outside the Kuang San Sogo department store, where actress Kimi Hsia (夏于喬) and other guests have been invited to select the bubble tea drink and boba-inspired dish of the year via a blind test, Lin said, adding that the audience would have the opportunity to taste the drinks and dishes.
In related news, Taichung has made the theme of this year’s Taichung Fun-In Movie Festival animated movies.
From Friday to Sept. 14, 15 films — including Incredibles 2, Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse — are to be screened free of charge throughout the city’s 29 districts.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
RSS