By June
1. Bubble milk tea 珍珠奶茶
Did you know Bubble milk tea originated from Taiwan? Bubble tea, pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, or boba milk tea 波霸奶茶, whatever you called it, is a Taiwanese tea-based beverage founded in Tainan and Taichung in the 1980s. The recipes basically contain tea of some kind, cow’s milk or alternative milk, and sugar (optional). For toppings, which are the "pearls", a variety of selections can be found in just a budget-friendly boba milk tea shop, such as chewy tapioca balls, popping boba, fruit jelly, grass jelly, agar jelly, aloe vera jelly, sago and puddings. Besides, ice-blended or smoothie versions are great for summer or hot days, its slushy consistency is an adaptation of shaved ice. There are many varieties of the drink with a wide range of flavors that are customizable according to personal preference.
Fun facts about naming
This popular drink was named after the nickname for a Hong Kong actress and sex symbol Amy Yip’s breasts during 1980s when she was famous. Meanwhile in the United States, “boba” is mostly used in the west coast, the east coast referring to the drink as “bubble tea” due to geographic split.
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2. Taiwanese silky tofu dessert 豆花 and soy milk 豆漿
One of the must-try desserts in Taiwan is the tofu dessert/tofu pudding/soybean curd, you can simply look for a traditional or modern tofu dessert shop or cafe in Taipei to savour the deliciousness of the smooth and silky pudding-like consistency dessert with different colourful and mouth-watering toppings as snack. Besides, if you are seeking a quintessential and authentic Taiwanese breakfast, you must not miss out on soy milk or soya. Normally, the traditional breakfast restaurants serve both original unsweetened and sweetened soy milk. Another mind-blowing variation is savoury soy milk which is a hot beverage with soy milk-based and a little creative twist with either slight addition of small dried shrimp, dried radish or sichuan mustard, sesame oil, fried shallots and green onion to boost the aroma, and sprinkle few dashes of pepper and topped with few pieces of fried dough for final touch. For additional taste, you can request for spicy and egg as well.
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3. Taiwanese pineapple cake 鳳梨酥
Pineapple cake is a sweet traditional Taiwanese pastry made of butter, flour, egg, sugar, and pineapple jam or slices. During the Japanese era, pineapple was one of the critical components of Taiwan's economy, in which a substantial number of pineapple cultivars and numerous processing plants were introduced by Japanese industrialists. Taiwan was the third-largest pineapples exporter worldwide by the late 1930s. However, when the use of fresh pineapple took over the domestic pineapple market, local bakeries sought to use this surplus in pastries. Moreover, Taiwanese pineapple cakes had been produced as a ceremonial food throughout history, yet the pineapple cakes were popularized under Taiwan governmental promotion and globalization, therefore have become one of the top-selling souvenirs in Taiwan.
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