A few months ago now I was at a function when in the blistering heat of summer I began to feel my throat tickle. Realising I’d have to excuse myself, I wandered outside in search of a drink. Usually in this circumstance I’d simply head outside and walk a few minutes to the nearest 7-11 [...]

When it comes to hotpot in Taiwan there’s three things I always look forward to. The first is unlimited Coke refills on tap and the second, a really strong soup base that infuses itself with the hotpot ingredients and third, the making of my own custom Chinese barbecue sauce. After I’d finished climbing the stairs, [...]

Coming to the land of cheap food, cheap clothes, cheap petrol and well… cheap almost anything really… you wouldn’t think a little card from McDonalds would rank too highly on my list of ‘must-purchase’ items from Taiwan. Yet undoubtedly, on pure purchasing power alone this little card has saved me thousands since I bought it [...]

A few months ago I had a conversation with the girlfriend that went something like this… ‘hey, you busy?’ ‘Writing… what’s up?’ ‘This weekend my friend is having an engagement party, wanna go?’ ‘Sure sounds good. What time?’ ‘Around 10′ish’. ‘That’s a bit late to start the party isn’t it?’ ’10am in the morning’. ‘…’ ‘that [...]

Taiwan’s Nightmarket vendors might not serve up the healthiest of cuisine, but dear god it has to be some of the tastiest chow on the island. One of my favourites thus far has proven to be a Japanese dish called Takoyaki (Chinese: 章魚燒). Literally translated as fried or grilled octopus, Takoyaki in Taiwan is essentially [...]

I always thought Taiwanese kids had it tough. With an education system that favours memorisation of creativity, parents screaming at them to finish their 30 hours of set homework a night, teachers beating the shit out them (yes it’s illegal, but nobody cares) and bullying - it’s amazing that anyone gets through Taiwan’s education system unscathed. [...]

Sometimes, no matter how much planning or foresight you put into something, mother nature has other plans for you. A few months ago now my girlfriend thought it’d be a nice romantic change to enjoy a mid afternoon lunch buffet at Chin-Chin Garden Restaurant. Situated in Taipei’s Shihlin District, Chin-Chin Garden Restaurant boasts some wonderfully [...]

Escherichia coli, better known as E. coli, are ‘rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms). Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls.’ Food recalls you say? Well… not here in Taiwan.

Ever since I was a kid and had my first taste, I’ve always been a huge fan of icecream sodas (also known as ‘floats’ or ‘spiders’). I love icecream and I love soda – so combining the two seems to me like a no-brainer. I find the icecream takes an edge of the cola and [...]

Earlier this year on the recommendation of one of my girlfriend’s friends I set out in search of the much famed Mary Jane Pizza of Shida Nightmarket. Finding that Mary Jane was closed for a staff function on that particular night, we wandered around Shida Nightmarket looking for an alternative. After running into the irritatingly [...]