A bottle of water from a convenience store in Taiwan can cost between 20 and 35 NTD$, which is roughly less than one U.S. dollar! It's been interesting comparing prices in Taiwan with those in the U.S. For example, in the U.S., eating out or ordering Uber Eats every day can be quite expensive. However, in Taiwan, the cost of grocery shopping and eating out can be about the same.
Last weekend, I had some family friends visiting, and I took them to one of my favorite restaurants. The restaurant San Yuan Hao Braised Pork Rice, open since the early 1920s, is famous for its Lu Rou Fan (Taiwanese braised pork rice bowl). This dish is simple yet incredibly delicious, made from pork belly, shallots (or red onion), Shiitake mushrooms, garlic, rock sugar (or regular sugar), light and dark soy sauce and Taiwanese five-spice powder. They also have great vegetarian side dishes like cabbage or water spinach.
For all my Spotify users, this week I've been enjoying the Top 50 Taiwan playlist! I love discovering new songs from the country in which I'm living. This playlist has introduced me to many great tunes and helps me connect with my students by knowing what's trending! If you're curious, here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/37i9dQZEVXbMnZEatlMSiu?si=9ea6006b6807447e. You might be surprised to find songs not only in Mandarin but also in English, Korean and Japanese.
