Drawing on extensive field research and linguistic investigation, these essays are much more than an homage to the local ingredients, flavors, and foods that make Taiwanese cuisine “great”. They examine how each iconic dish is prepared and explore their ineluctable place in Taiwan’s culture, history, and palate.

With two decades of culinary exploration under his belt, author Tēnn Sūn-Tshong weaves linguistic whimsy, in-depth observations, and honest passion into his latest exploration of traditional Taiwan snacks, food and beverage watering holes, interpersonal relationships, and cultural pillars. By transforming the sights and smells of favorite foodie destinations into compelling text, these essays dissect the flavors of spotlight dishes and decipher the unique character and lasting appeal of each.

The book is organized into four easily digestible sections. The first offers a master-class-level dive into the culinary highlights of Chiayi, with special emphasis on the city’s widely lauded turkey rice. The second takes readers to some of the author’s favorite restaurants and food vendors in four cities – Kaohsiung and Tainan in the south, and Taipei and Keelung in the north. The third delivers in-depth breakdowns of classic Taiwanese eats, including scallion pancakes, cold noodles, and stuffed, leaf-wrapped sticky-rice dumplings. In the fourth and final section, the author offers answers to questions he and countless foodies have about Taiwanese culinary quirks. Why, for example, are Taiwanese so particular about their food having just the right balance of firmness (chew) and crispness (bite)? This gastronomic idiosyncrasy even has its own descriptor, “Q”, and featured write-up in the New York Times.

Food culture has always been an important facet of Taiwan literature. For Tēnn, Taiwan’s culinary landscape is the product of both irreverent inventiveness and warm generosity. While deceptively simple in appearance, iconic dishes stand or fall on the perfect execution of every meticulous step in their recipes. Deftly mixing personal passion, literary aplomb, and a deep knowledge of culinary history and culture, the author has created in Eating Taiwanese a page-turning dive into why Taiwanese cuisine is so uniquely and deliciously special.