How has Taiwan changed in the last 20 years regarding its cooking styles and service?
In general, many international people agree that Taiwan has a quite unique food culture, comparing with other countries’ cuisines. This comes from its geographic location, colonized history, and industrial revolution. Geographically, Taiwan is richly endowed by nature. There is an abundance of agriculture, forestry, fishing, and animal husbandry in this small island. In addition, the colonized history, including Portugal, Holland, Japan, and China, affected its eating and drinking habits. Not to mention that with economic development in the past decades, Taiwanese people have noticeably changed their cooking styles and service.
Many people argue about the identity of Taiwanese culture. It could be seen from its food culture and cooking styles. Because of its historical colonization, Taiwanese people are recognized for their mix-and-match eating palates and the development of its unique fusion cuisines. Take a side dish for example, the mashed potato is simply fused with ingredients of butter, salt, and pepper. Yet, when it appears in Taiwan night markets, corn, ham, bacon, tuna, or broccoli has been added to increase the variety of selections. Hence, Taiwan doesn’t have a single country cuisine, such as France and Japan. Furthermore, overseas tourism escalates the fusion style, not only in restaurants, but also for eating at home. The Taiwanese people love to imitate and mix-and-match what they see in other countries. It also shows that so many items are on the menu in breakfast shops around street corners.
This is especially true with the rise of globalization and industrial revolution. Due to globalization, fast-food chain restaurants had been launched in Taiwan for business expansion, such as Mc Donald’s, KFC, and Mos Burger. It seemed to be a fad in the very beginning. Nowadays, it has already become part of a common daily palate. Next, 24-7 convenience stores were open almost on every street corner. To raise the time and expense of their target customers, the service has gradually expanded, such as oden (stewed vegetables), and baked sweet potatoes. It is very convenient for people to grab a bite. In addition to changing lifestyles, working hours have been extended and women tend to focus more on work. Thus, in comparison with the old days, people used to cook and eat at home more regularly. In recent times, more people choose to purchase meals in convenience stores, night markets, or small restaurants. Gathering with friends or colleagues is also a social benefit that helps in the growth of diverse restaurants, such as: bars, bistros, fine-dining, and hot-fry restaurants. It seems to me that eating at home, especially for people living in big cities, has become a rare chance for family gatherings.In conclusion, the cause of globalization brought the dramatic changes in cooking styles and service in Taiwan. There is a tendency that people follow the variety TV programs, movies, or even now, the influencers like Youtubers, rather than traditional ways of enjoying food. Some argue that the younger generation prefer noodles rather than rice, drink more coffee than tea, and eat out more than at home. In this case, the family relationships become alienated. The effect of nourishment is also serious, such as obesity and malnutrition. It seems difficult to pay attention to sufficient nutrition while grabbing a bite in night markets or in convenience stores. Due to current pandemic situation, staying home and working from home would definitely rehabilitate the conventional style of cooking at home and all family member gathering together.
