Food Culture Quirks and Customs
Several aspects of Taiwan’s food culture initially puzzle Western visitors but make perfect sense once you understand the underlying logic.
The Ubiquity of Convenience Stores
Taiwan possesses one of the world’s highest densities of convenience stores, with major chains like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart appearing every few blocks in urban areas. These aren’t merely shops selling packaged snacks; they function as critical infrastructure for Taiwanese daily life.
Beyond standard retail, convenience stores offer hot meals (tea eggs, steamed buns, bento boxes, pasta, etc.), beverage preparation areas with proper seating, bill payment services, package pickup, and even concert ticket purchases. Many Taiwanese people eat convenience store food regularly without stigma; the quality exceeds what Western visitors expect from similar establishments.
For travellers, convenience stores provide reliable fallback options when restaurants are closed, language barriers feel overwhelming, or you simply want something familiar and predictable. The stores also sell bottled tea drinks (far superior to most Western bottled teas), snacks worth trying (pineapple cakes, mochi, various chips and crackers), and provide clean toilets.
Soup with Everything
Taiwanese meals typically include soup, even when Westerners wouldn’t expect it. Noodle soups, of course, but also rice meals sometimes come with a small bowl of soup on the side. Self-service buffets typically include soup as part of the selection. This practice reflects traditional Chinese beliefs about digestive health and balanced meals—soup provides hydration and aids digestion.
The soups accompanying meals are usually simple, light broths rather than heavy cream-based preparations. Don’t feel obligated to finish soup if you’re full; leaving some is acceptable. The soup typically arrives with the meal rather than as a separate course.
Plastic Bag Culture
Taiwan’s relationship with single-use plastics is complex and changing. Whilst plastic bag bans exist for certain retailers, takeaway food vendors still commonly package everything in multiple plastic bags. Hand-shaken drinks come in plastic bags for carrying multiple cups. This extensive plastic use strikes environmentally conscious Western visitors as problematic, and it is: Taiwan is working to reduce single-use plastics, but the transition remains incomplete.
If you want to reduce plastic waste, bringing your own containers for takeaway food and reusable cups for drinks helps. Sometimes you will get a discount when doing that, especially at hand-shaken drink shops.
The Importance of Freshness Dating
Taiwanese consumers obsess over production dates and freshness in ways that exceed most Western practices. At convenience stores and supermarkets, you’ll see people checking dates on every product, sometimes reaching behind front items to find products made more recently. This isn’t paranoia but cultural practice reflecting the freshness emphasis discussed earlier.
Sharing Food as Social Glue
Sharing food carries enormous social significance in Taiwan. Bringing snacks or drinks to friends, sharing dishes at restaurants, and gifting food items express care and maintain relationships. You’ll notice this constantly: people buying extra portions to share, workers bringing snacks to share with colleagues, friends buying rounds of hand-shaken drinks.
Participating in this sharing culture helps you connect with Taiwanese people. Bringing small food gifts when visiting someone’s home (fruit, bakery items, or specialty snacks from your home country) shows courtesy.
Noise Levels
Taiwanese restaurants, particularly casual ones and stir-fried establishments, operate at noise levels that can overwhelm visitors from quieter food cultures. Kitchens aren’t hidden; you hear woks clanging, orders being shouted, and exhaust fans roaring. Diners converse at volumes that might seem inappropriately loud in Western restaurants. This energetic atmosphere represents normal, not rudeness or poor restaurant management.
If you prefer quiet dining, choose upscale restaurants, which typically maintain calmer atmospheres. But don’t avoid casual restaurants due to noise: you’ll miss essential Taiwan food experiences.
Shared Eating Customs
Family-style sharing dominates traditional Taiwanese eating culture. At restaurants with round tables, dishes arrive in the centre and everyone serves themselves using communal spoons or chopsticks.
When serving yourself from shared dishes, take reasonable portions that leave enough for others. Don’t dig through dishes searching for premium pieces; take what’s accessible. If you’re eating with Taiwanese hosts, they’ll often serve you directly, particularly choice pieces: accept graciously rather than protesting, as this gesture expresses hospitality.
Chopstick Etiquette
Basic chopstick rules apply: never stick chopsticks vertically in rice (resembles funeral incense), don’t use chopsticks to point at people, and don’t pass food directly chopstick-to-chopstick (resembles funeral customs). Beyond these taboos, Taiwanese chopstick etiquette is fairly relaxed. If you struggle with chopsticks, most establishments can provide forks without judgment.
Resting chopsticks across your bowl or plate between bites is acceptable. Some restaurants provide chopstick rests; use them when available. After finishing, place chopsticks together on the table or plate rather than leaving them in bowls.
Drinking Etiquette
Tea or water appears automatically at most restaurants; this is standard service rather than a charge in most cases (though some finer establishments may charge).
When drinking alcohol socially, particularly in business or formal contexts, observe that Taiwanese drinking culture involves toasting and the concept of gan bei (乾杯, literally “dry glass,” meaning to drain your drink). However, the actual practice is less extreme than in some East Asian countries; token sips often suffice. If you don’t drink alcohol, simply declining is increasingly acceptable, particularly among younger Taiwanese.
Paying the Bill
Traditional Taiwanese custom involves one person paying the entire bill rather than splitting, with implicit reciprocity (I’ll pay this time, you’ll pay next time). When eating with Taiwanese acquaintances, expect potential disagreement or even mild “fighting” over who pays: this ritual demonstrates generosity and hospitality. Foreign visitors shouldn’t feel obligated to participate in this custom, but understanding it prevents confusion. But in everyday life, splitting the bill is very common.
For splitting bills among foreigners, casual restaurants usually accommodate separated payments if you ask. Self-service buffets and some chains explicitly allow individual payment. Tipping doesn’t exist in Taiwan; prices are final and service charges (usually 10%) are included in prices at restaurants that charge them (typically indicated on menus).
Table Manners
Taiwanese table manners are relatively casual. Making noise whilst eating noodle soup is acceptable and natural. Using provided napkins or tissues to wipe your mouth is normal. Reaching across the table for items is fine in casual settings, though in formal contexts, asking someone to pass items shows better manners.
Mobile phone use at tables has become ubiquitous, particularly photographing food. This behaviour is completely normalised; don’t feel self-conscious about taking photos. However, photographing other diners without permission remains intrusive.