** PASSPORT TO CUISINES OF THE WORLD (COTW) EVENT ** - #2 - TAIWAN
Passports will be available, if this is your first cuisine of the world event and visa stamps to Taiwan will be issued.
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Date: Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Time: 4:30pm to 6:30pm (you can arrive anytime in that time slot and we may stay to about 7pm)
Place: PRON (Peoples Republic of Noodles), 69 Seventh Street Linden
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You do not need to purchase anything to attend this event, but if you do, it will be for your own account.
Please do let me know of the number of people attending this event when you log your intention to attend!
Welcome to Taiwan!
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, also known as Formosa, lies between the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
(Adapted from: https://www.taiwanobsessed.com/taiwan-facts/):
Did you know, countless people around the world think Taiwan is Thailand. When I mention that I live in Taiwan, the first sign that they have no idea is when they start asking about the white-sand beaches or ladyboys…
In fact, so many Taiwan-bound letters are incorrectly mailed to Thailand that Taiwan even has a stamp labelled “incorrectly mailed to Thailand”, which you’ll see once you eventually receive your mail.
Interesting Facts about Taiwan
(adapted from https://biglittleisland.com/taiwan-facts/)
1. Taiwan is also known as the “Butterfly Kingdom.”
Calling all butterfly lovers. Taiwan exports about 10 million butterflies every year. Most of them went to nearby countries, such as Japan.
The country even has a national butterfly – the Papilio Maraho.
In addition, about 700,000 butterflies migrate south to the Miaolin Country every winter. To see this magnificent natural event taking place, head on over to Miaoli National Scenic Area between the months of December and February.
2. Mandarin is Taiwan’s national language, but many speak a different Taiwanese language.
Speaking the Taiwanese dialect isn’t as common as it once used to be, even on the island of Taiwan. Unfortunately, it’s considered a dying language that only the older generations use today.
Less kids these days are learning the native language. It’s quite a shame because the Taiwanese language is often regarded as one of the most beautiful languages in Asia.
Even if your’e not familiar with Mandarin Chinese, you may be able to pick out a person speaking Taiwanese in this country. Generally, there are less Taiwanese speakers in big cities and more in rural regions of the country.
3. Garbage trucks are like ice cream trucks. They play a song to let everyone know to bring out their rubbish.
The garbage trucks in Taiwan play the same tune as you’d expect from an ice cream truck. They’ll stop a few times a week in a designated area at a specific time.
All the nearby residents will then bring their rubbish to these trucks to throw away. Some residents need to walk a few blocks to get to the nearest garbage truck stop.
But according to Global Citizen, Taiwan has one of the most efficient recycling systems with a 55% recycling rate.
4. Taiwan convenience stores are literally the most convenient stores in the world.
The multi-purpose convenience store in Taiwan can really do it all. You can send your mail packages there, buy concert/event tickets, pay your electricity bill, add money into your Easy card and so much more.
To top that off, you aren’t ever more than a couple blocks away from a convenience store. According to Forbes, Taiwan has the second highest density of convenience stores in the world (2017).
5. Taiwan is a mountainous island with the largest number and density of mountains in the world.
With that many mountains, it’s no surprise that hiking and mountaineering are popular pastimes here in Taiwan. It’s so accessible to even residents of big metropolitan cities like Taipei!
There are over 200 mountains soaring up to 2,900 meters high with Yushan (Jade Mountain). As a result, Yushan takes the cake for tallest mountain in both Taiwan and East Asia.
And for the record, the 200 mountains doesn’t even include popular mountains like Yang Ming Shan and Xiang Shan because they aren’t high enough.
6. There are 14 recognized native tribes located in Taiwan. They make up fewer than 2% of Taiwan’s population.
The 14 tribes are: the Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Kavalan, Paiwan, Puyuma, Rukai, Saisiyat, Tao, Thao, Tsou, Truku, Sakizaya and Seediq.
It’s amazing that there were that many different tribes located on such a small island before the mass immigration by the Chinese or colonization by various countries. In fact, they lived on this island for over 15,000 years before the Han settlers arrived!
Many descendants of native Taiwanese now live in modern society and can usually be differentiated by their look (i.e. natural darker skin).
7. Almost 700 thousand “stolen” ancient Chinese artifacts are kept at the National Palace Museum in Taipei.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei has all the best artifacts from China’s long history. How did this happen?
In 1925, the artifacts were displayed at Beijing’s Palace Museum in the Forbidden City. However, when the Japanese invaded China, General Chiang Kai-Shek ordered the artifacts to be moved to various cities down south to keep safe.
Shortly after, when the Chinese Nationalists fought with the Communists, Chiang Kai-Shek sent 3,000 crates of high quality Chinese artifacts to Taiwan. They were never returned.
8. Some people in Taiwan choose not to eat beef out of respect to cows and not because of religion.
The Taiwanese people are very grateful to cows because they help with farming, and agriculture is important to Taiwan. Therefore, they see cows more like companions and friends (think: dogs and cats).
This mindset and choice is not exclusive to just farmers, but can be found in people living near farmlands.
However, beef is still very popular in Taiwan. There’s a reason why restaurants like Lawry’s Prime Rib and Ruth’s Chris have survived in Taipei.
9. Taiwan is also known as the Kingdom of Fruits.
Taiwan is home to one of the largest variety of species of fruits in the world.
Taiwan’s climate and rich soils allow it to grow even the most difficult non-native fruits from around the globe. This is the reason why you see fruits selling everywhere on the streets, left and right. It really is a fruit paradise.
Some Taiwan specialty fruits include the: wax apple, starfruit, sugar apple, dragon fruit, mango, pomelo, papaya, lychee and longan.
10. Baseball is Taiwan’s National Sport
The Taiwanese people love to play baseball. In fact, Taiwan holds the record for most little league world series titles with 17 championships. The last championship Taiwan has won was back in 2013.
Many people believe their love for the sport was because of heavy influence by the Japanese when they colonized Taiwan.
11. Taiwan is home to a friendly indigenous mountain dog you can find everywhere.
These awesome dogs are called Formosan Mountain Dogs (also called Taiwan dogs), but you can find them on the streets of Taipei, mountains of Hualien or beaches of Kenting. They are everywhere!
For the most part, they’re quite friendly dogs. Just be careful and not go too close. At least in Taipei, they’re desensitized to humans but they are still wild dogs after all.
