Souvenirs

    Aside from enjoying all kinds of snacks in Taiwan, you also should not miss the special delicacies of each area. Although Taiwan is small, there is a wide variety of products which it has made uniquely its own. These not only make fine gifts for friends and relatives, but they also allow you to take home a true piece of Taiwan.

Ø   鳳梨酥Pineapple cake

    This iconic Taiwanese pastry is one of the best souvenir options. These mini pineapple pies are filled with candied pineapple.

Ø   太陽餅Sun cakes

    Originating in Taichung, the sun cake is simply a flakey pastry filled with maltose.

Ø   茶Tea

    With a reputation of being a tea empire, Taiwan has topography and climate that are perfect for growing tea plants. There are many varieties of tea available in Taiwan; among these, Wenshan Baozhong Tea, Dongding Oolong Tea, Pekoe Oolong (Baihao) Tea, and Tie Guanyin are the four mainstream teas.

    You can pick up virtually any type of teapot in department stores or tea stores. Yingge, the ceramics capital of Taiwan, provides various types of porcelain products. Major department stores and supermarkets have special stalls that sell tea, which makes this national beverage readily available.

Ø   高粱酒Gaoliang Wines

    Kinmen, with its hot, dry weather and unpolluted environment, is the best place to make Gaoliang spirit. Thanks to excellent water quality, the Gaoliang produced here is superior in quality and fine in taste.

Ø   麻糬Mochi

    Mochi (sticky rice cake) is one of the representative delicacies of Taiwan's aboriginal and Hakka cultures. The Amis "dulun" is a chewy, corn-based version of this treat made without filling, while Hakka mochi has come into the spotlight in recent years in large part, which is made by the traditional way, by hand-grinding the glutinous rice, pressing it dry, and then repeatedly kneading the dough into a dense soft texture that is chewy but not sticky. The fillings have a solid and rich taste that has made the cakes a local favorite.

Ø   米Rice

    Taitung features the green massif of the Hualien-Taitung Longitudinal Valley,
blue sky and green field, criss-cross footpaths between fields and thrilling atmosphere. It is the origional rice township of Chihshang rice.

Back in the age of Japanese colonization, Chihshang rice was the tribute to offer to the Japanese Emperor, thus being called the "Tribute Rice"

Ø   柿餅dried persimmon cake

    Shinpu, Hsinchu is famous in Taiwan for its aromatic dried persimmon cake. Meanwhile, the processing of "dried persimmon cake" is an age old famous business at Shinpu. From September to December of the Lunar Calendar, the Chiushiang Feng (the Northeasterly monsoon), whose wind speed is as fast as that of a typhoon, can blow as fast as 20 m per second. In addition, it blows for 10 days and sometimes for half a month. As it begins to blow after Chungyang Festival, it offers a good drying effect for the persimmon cake.