Pictures of wheel cakes (車輪餅), a popular pastry in Taiwan, have been plastered on French social media accounts for the past few months, including posts by Paris-based influencers.
Wheel cakes evolved from imagawayaki, a Japanese pastry, during 50 years of colonization and have taken on a unique Taiwanese identity.
French daily Le Monde led reporting on the rising popularity of the snacks in France, following in the wake of bubble tea as the next Taiwanese snack fad.
Photo: CNA
“Wheel cakes are a tradition after classes are over in elementary school in Taiwan,” Paris resident Chang Chiao-wei (張巧薇) said. “The practice is probably true for most Taiwanese.”
Chang is the Taiwanese owner of Parisian wheel cake boutique Ciao Roue, which Le Monde reported on after it began offering the Taiwanese snacks, which are a filled dessert made from a waffle-like batter cooked in cast iron pans.
Chang said that she loves wheel cakes and often introduces the “childhood snack for Taiwanese” to customers.
Photo: Taipei Times
She opened her shop in March last year because she wanted to build a place that would inspire childhood memories in her customers, one that brings back an aromatic sense of warmth and comfort, she said.
“My customers often say they want to visit Taiwan, which makes me proud to think that I helped with diplomatic outreach,” she said.
The Le Monde article that featured Ciao Rue invigorated influencers to visit the eatery, likely because the shape, size and fillings of wheel cakes are picture-perfect for social media.
The first wheel cakes in France were from Simplify, a shop opened by Taiwanese entrepreneur Lu Shu-yu (呂叔優) in May 2021.
Lu said she made the switch from working in tech to opening an eatery in the suburbs of Paris because she heard that French believed Taiwan does not have its own signature desserts.
There are many Taiwanese expats living in Paris who aim to promote Taiwanese cuisine across the country, she said.
“We wanted to feature something different so they [French] learn a little more about Taiwan’s food culture,” Lu said. “No one was making wheel cakes then, so we thought we’d cultivate the market first.”
Lu opened a second location, called Simplify Plus, in Paris in February.
“We can establish a new Taiwan specialty,” Lu said. “The reason we decided to open a branch in Paris is because we think it will lead to a new wave of fads.”
There are two or three new wheel cake shops in the works, Lu said.
Julie Van Dang, a Vietnamese who has lived in France for 20 years, backed up Lu’s comment.
Dang manages bubble tea franchise Ding Tea in Paris and started selling wheel cakes after patrons inquired about snacks that could be paired with bubble tea.
“More and more people are now familiar with Taiwanese culture,” Dang said.
“Taiwanese shops, restaurants and bubble tea houses keep popping up, which highlight both the market potential and the interest the French have for Taiwanese products,” she added.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS