The Chinese, never at a loss for vivid description, refer to their cuisine as an ’ancient art of ultimate harmony: pleasing to the eye; mouth-watering; and a delight to the palate’. Culinary styles come from all over China including Canton, Hunan, Mongolia, Peking, Shanghai, Szechuan and Taiwan. Most hotels have restaurants offering both Western and Chinese cuisine and some of the larger hotels offer several styles of Chinese cooking (the Chinese word for hotel, fan-dien, means ’eating place’).

Things to know: Restaurants almost always have table service although some hotels have buffet/barbecue lunches. Most bars have counter service. There are no set licensing hours and alcohol is widely available.

National specialities:
• Cantonese food: Fried shrimp with cashews and deep-fried spring rolls and tarts.
• Pekinese food: Peking duck, steamed prawns, eels with pepper sauce and ham marrow sauce.
• Szechuan food: Mother Ma’s bean curd, aubergine with garlic sauce, fried prawns with pepper sauce, minced chicken with Gingko nuts and fried breads.
• Shanghai food: Shark’s fin in chicken, mushroom with crab meat, ningpo (fried eel), shark’s fin soup and West Lake fish.
• Taiwanese food: Spring rolls with peanut butter, sweet-and-sour spare ribs, bean curd in red sauce, oyster omelette and numerous excellent seafoods.

Tipping: Tipping is not an established custom, although it is on the increase. Taipei hotels and restaurants add 10% service charge and extra tipping is not expected.

Nightlife

Taiwan has an abundance of nightlife, and Taipei in particular is lively at night. Western-style entertainment can be found in hotels, and in the many discos, clubs, restaurants and cinemas in Taipei. Popular amongst local people are KTVs, a type of sing-along club modelled on Japanese karaoke bars; and beer houses, which sell draught beer and snacks. The northern district of Tienmu contains a street of open-air beer houses.

The visitor can also sample both traditional and modern tea houses, open all day and in the evening. In the tea-growing countryside around Mucha, it is possible to visit all-night tea houses and sip locally produced teas such as ’iron Buddha’ tiehkuanyin tea. High-quality meals and snacks are also provided. These tea houses are popular with local families, particularly on special occasions.

Back in Taipei, there are night markets selling a variety of items, both modern and traditional. These are bustling with browsers and bargain hunters, whose persistence can be spectacularly rewarded. It is advisable to take a pen and paper to assist in the bargaining process, as most vendors speak only Chinese. Taipei’s largest night market is probably Shihlin Night Market, famous for its good-value clothing and food. Many shops are open at night.

Shopping

One of the best ways to shop is to visit the night markets (see above). Purchases include Formosan sea-grass mats, hats, handbags and slippers, bamboo items, Chinese musical instruments, various dolls in costume, handpainted palace lanterns made from silk, lacquerware, ceramics, teak furniture, coral, veinstone and jade items, ramie fibre rugs, brassware, handmade shoes, fabrics and chopsticks (decorated, personalised sticks of wood or marble).

Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 1000-2200. Some convenience stores are open 24 hours per day.

© 2006 Columbus Travel Publishing Ltd. Disclaimer

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