Culinary tour of Taiwan Cuisine – 08Nights/09Days

Welcome to Taipei! Upbeat, profoundly liveable and superbly located, Taiwan’s capital is a thrill to explore on foot. If you arrive early, be sure to get out and about. Your adventure begins with a welcome meeting at 6 pm in the hotel lobby where you’ll meet your tour leader and fellow travellers. Afterwards, it’s off to the Ningxia Night Market for dinner. Here you can eat like a local, sampling world-class street food – perhaps some fried yam, an oyster omelette or Hakka-style mochi balls. Bitter tea (not for the faint hearted) and papaya milk are also known to be available here. Whatever’s on the menu, the market is great way to kick off your food adventure, allowing you to sample a multitude of dishes. This excursion is also a chance to experience the city’s impeccable metro system, which could give Tokyo a run for its money in efficiency and cleanliness.

Travel by high-speed rail to Tainan. It’s a 2-hour journey to the island’s oldest city, widely regarded as the food capital of the South. Begin your day with a tasting walk along the ancient and famed Anping Old Street. This narrow and winding adventure will lead you to food vendors serving up a variety of street-side delicacies, from fresh fruit and Taiwanese meatballs to the ubiquitous sweet or savory ‘coffin bread’ (fried toast). From there, get a dose of history and culture at Anping Fort. Built in 1624 by the Dutch, the edifice – which was originally called Fort Zeelandia – served as a Dutch trading hub. After the Dutch were ousted in 1661, the sprawling grounds were renamed Anping Fort. Afterwards, discover the unusual Anping Tree House, once an old storage warehouse, the structure has since been taken over by a far-reaching Banyan tree, whose branches and roots now completely engulfed it – the result is a strange marriage of history, architecture and power of nature. Dinner tonight is a truly special experience – a menu-less meal served at a 100-year-old house built during the Qing dynasty. The current owner is an antique-lover who has filled the home with fascinating pieces that surround you as you enjoy whatever Taiwanese delicacies are on offer that night, which could include braised pork belly, homemade sausages, steamed milkfish and all manner of seasonal vegetables, not to mention a host of fried snacks accompanied by endless pots of tea.

Your day begins with a visit to Chikan Lou, also known as Chikan Tower or Fort Provintia, one of the most important historic sites in Taiwan. Chinese-style towers sit atop a foundation initially built by Dutch colonials, creating a unique hybrid structure surrounded by elegant lawns and the koi ponds. After this peaceful and contemplative visit, change gears as you enter the Hayashi Department Store – a beloved multi-story shopping centre. Opened in 1932 during Japanese rule, it was bombed by the U.S. in World War II. Beautifully restored and reopened in 2013, it now features museum-style exhibitions on local farming and handicrafts, as well as cutting-edge fashion, tech, a traditional tea shop, food court and observation deck. Having accomplished some sightseeing, head out to Cigu Lagoon for an opportunity to stand on a bamboo raft and sample some of the fisherman’s freshly harvested grilled oysters’ lagoon-side, you might even get the chance to harvest some yourself! After lunch, hit the road and travel about 1.5 hours north to Taichung. Here, you’ll pay a visit to the Confucian Temple complex to gain some insight into Confucian philosophy. In the evening, enjoy a delicious meal at a local Nantou fresh fish restaurant.

After breakfast at the guesthouse, make tracks for Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan’s only natural lagoon. It’s an excellent backdrop for some cycling, so today you’ll set out on a 1.5-hour bike ride around Sun Moon Lake, taking in the full beauty of the lake and its surrounding green hills, followed by a picnic lunch made with quality, local produce. After lunch, continue to Taichung and the Wufeng Lin Family Mansion and Garden, Taiwan’s finest traditional compound (approximately 2 hours). Enjoy plenty of time to explore the stately mansion and gardens, before a free evening to explore on your own. Be sure to ask your leader for dinner recommendations at Fengchia night market!

Head out of town this morning to a restaurant in Taoyuan. Here, you’ll learn to make xiao long bao (steam soup dumplings) in a DIY class. Originating in the Jiangnan region of China, these little flavour bombs can be tricky to create but are well-worth the effort. Under the guidance an expert cook, create the filling (usually gelatinised ground pork) and learn the delicate art of shaping their thin shells, before steaming these small morsels in bamboo baskets. Then sit down and enjoy your creations for a satisfying lunch. After lunch, head to Yilan, where you’ll get the chance to try the renowned jar-roasted chicken for dinner. In a legendary but unassuming eatery, 130 to 150-day-old free range hens are marinated in herbs, garlic, cumin and a medley of other spices, and then cooked in earthen jar ovens until smoky and beautifully tender. Depending on when you arrive at your hotel in Yilan, there may also be time to enjoy a relaxing soak in the attached hot springs.

Get ready for a full day of behind-the-scenes food experiences in and around Yilan and Taipei. Begin in Yilan with a tea picking and tasting experience. Head to a nearby restaurant for a seasonal lunch, then continue to a spring onion farm. Here, you’ll learn the important role this ingredient plays in Taiwanese cuisine as you do some picking and help to make spring onion cake. Finally, wrap up an illuminating day with a tour and taste at a local whisky distillery. Though Taiwan may not be the first place you associate with whisky, it’s actually among the world’s top up-and-coming whisky producers alongside Tasmania (Australia), Japan and Sweden. In fact, it made a single malt that was rated as the world’s best a couple of years back.

Travel by public transit to a genuine Taiwanese farmer’s market and marvel at the vast array of foods on offer, before learning about the local Sweet Potato Mama project in the late morning. As you’ll discover, the sweet potato is an important symbol in Taiwanese culture and a dietary staple. That’s why these women, or local mamas, roast them daily and serve them to a lunchtime crowd in order to support their families. You’ll get to taste some of the sweet potato, and roll up your sleeves and lend a hand, serving potatoes to locals. All proceeds from the excursion going to the Genesis Social Welfare Foundation’s Sweet Potato Mama Program to support single mothers. The remainder of your day is free for you to spend as you please. Consider a trip to some nearby hot springs for a soothing soak after all your culinary adventures.

Today you’ll experience Taipei’s ‘Make My Day Cooking Lab’, an amazing local cooking class operation that attracts people from all over the world. Join a master local chef and try your hand at some classic Taiwanese dishes in this fun, yet homely setting. The excursion includes a market tour and wraps up in the early afternoon. Afterwards, set out on street food crawl through Jiufen Village, tasting local dishes such as tea eggs, taro balls peanut ice cream balls, 14-year-old aged tea and grilled snails (if you haven’t tried grilled snails before, you’ll find the texture is more agreeable than you might expect). In the evening, join your fellow travellers for a farewell dinner at Shin Yeh, a Taipei institution since the ’70s, that specialises in traditional Taiwanese cuisine.

Your Real Food Adventure comes to an end after breakfast. There are no planned activities today.