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Stepping out of the tourist’s routine of queueing, today we take you straight to where things are grown, to read the land, the sunshine and the wind of Tainan with your palate, and to begin a true journey in search of terroir.
Chapter One: The Sweetness of the Hills — A Sweet Offering From the Badlands ⛰️
Yujing｜The Golden Temple of the Mango
In summer the air in Yujing is sweet. Forget the supermarket: come to the orchards and pick an Irwin mango ripened red on the tree yourself. That happiness of being flooded with the utmost sweetness is a privilege belonging only to the place where it grows.
Dongshan｜The Ripe Depth of Coffee and Longan
On Coffee Highway 175, sip a cup of local coffee carrying the smoky scent of longan wood, then have a bowl of dried longan smoked over wood by traditional methods. This is a grown-up Tainan flavour, with depth to it.
Chapter Two: The Abundance of the Plain — What Sunshine and Soil Make Together ☀️
Guanmiao｜The Passionate Sonata of the Pineapple
Guanmiao’s Golden Diamond pineapples and sun-dried Guanmiao noodles are a perfect transformation of the energy of sunlight. The sweet-sharp bite of a pineapple and the springiness of a bowl of noodles
are both the most direct of gifts from the land.
Xinhua｜Golden Treasure Beneath the Soil
The sweet potatoes here are soft and fine-textured, with an elegant sweetness. Whether roasted whole or made into sweet potato balls, that plain sweetness wins people over without effort.
Madou｜An Elegant Poem Belonging to Autumn
At the Mid-Autumn Festival, palates all over Taiwan call for Madou pomelo. That fresh citrus fragrance and delicate flesh are the most elegant flavour of autumn.
Chapter Three: The Freshness of the Sea — What the Lagoon and Sea Wind Give Us 🌊
Qigu｜The Ultimate Freshness of the Oyster
When you reach Qigu, have a plate of oysters grilled on the spot beside the oyster racks. They need no seasoning at all: that ultimate taste of the sea at the moment it enters your mouth will make you redefine what “fresh” means.
[Revealed From Inside the Lanes] — The Hidden Flavours in Grandmother’s Refrigerator 🤫
Now for the real treasures. These two flavours are old-school delicacies that even young locals may not know.
Hidden Gem No.1｜A sweet treasure of the postpartum month: “pengbing with fried egg in sesame oil”
An old Tainan pengbing is fried fragrant with sesame oil and sliced ginger and laid over a half-cooked egg. The pastry drinks in the fragrance, the brown sugar at the bottom melts, and savoury and sweet interweave into something gentle and nourishing — the warmest memory of an older era.
Hidden Gem No.2｜Turning the humble into the marvellous: “pickled watermelon rind fish soup”
Pickled rind made from small unripe watermelons is simmered with fresh fish. Its sour fragrance draws out the ultimate sweetness of the fish to perfection; the broth is mellow and whets the appetite. This is the hidden essence on the family tables of Tainan.
