Treat Yourself: Meet the Powerhouse Women of Twrl Milk Tea

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It seems like nearly every day, a new food & beverage takes on the diasporic niche, bringing long-missed-but-not-forgotten flavors to pockets of Asian Americana. From supply chain innovations making old-school, local products more accessible to the masses, to nostalgic takes on trendy seltzers, there are ever-growing ways to experience the evolution and joy of eating well. We asked Taiwanese American food blogger Carol Lee (@hungrycarol, @nycmunchkin) to profile powerhouse Olivia Chen, whose…

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Annie’s T Cakes: Vegan East Asian snacks from your childhood

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If you’ve been around town in the Bay Area, you may have noticed these cute packages of pineapple cakes (in compostable packaging!), that say Annie T’s Cakes. These vegan gluten-free spin offs of the traditional Taiwanese pineapple cake have been making a splash with nods from the SF Chronicle and other East Bay periodicals.   Longtime TaiwaneseAmerican.org fan, Tammy Chang, a holistic nutritionist based in Oakland, had the chance to sit down with founder/owner, Annie Wang, to discuss…

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All Hail the ‘BNS’: Meet Wil Chung of Impromptu Spices

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In the spring of 2020, a small group of Taiwanese Americans started the Taiwanese Home Cooking Facebook group in order to have a place for the Taiwanese diaspora and others to share and learn about Taiwanese food that was more focused than other groups we had been a part of.  It was through this group that I first met Wil Chung, the creator of Impromptu Spices and its signature Beef Noodle Soup spice mix. How did you come up with the name Impromptu Spices? Trader Joe's "Everything but…

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Chewing on Home: Boba, Authenticity, and Identity

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FEATURE PHOTOS PROVIDED BY AUTHOR In 2019, Domino’s rolled out a limited-edition pizza in Taiwan topped with sweet tapioca balls and honey, drawing mixed reactions. While some adventurous foodies vowed to try it, others expressed complete and utter disgust. I fell more in the latter camp. How could Domino’s take a sweet and integral part of my childhood and sprinkle it on a cheese pizza? I rolled my eyes at what seemed to me a publicity stunt by an American corporation. But upon further…

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2020 Taiwanese American Holiday Gift Guide: Shop small, shop early!

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TAIWANESEAMERICAN.ORG DISCOUNT CODES & AFFILIATE LINKS: Save 10% at The Formosa Coffee with code "TAORG" Save 10% on Formosa Chocolates with code "TAORG" + 'Formosa' cooler as free gift with purchase on all orders with a dozen or more bonbons Shop Miss Modi's "Taiwan Street Food Collection" (10% of net proceeds benefit TaiwaneseAmerican.org at no additional cost to you) Support independent bookstores and TaiwaneseAmerican.org by purchasing print books from Bookshop. COZY DRINKS:…

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The Formosa Coffee Brings Taiwan-grown Beans to US

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During the past decade, Taiwan's burgeoning coffee scene has gained more attention, but the stories from news articles have tended towards the creative cafes and talented baristas who import quality beans from other major producers in the world. Rarely told is the story of Taiwan's own home-grown coffee bean. For connoisseurs of fine coffee, many do know that some of the best beans are grown in the high mountain regions around Yunlin county--a perfect altitude for production. In fact, if one visits…

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These Youtubers are vlogging their mandatory quarantine in Taiwan

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"Some people suggested [that I] not eat on the plane... but I just love food." Highly relatable and informative content from Taiwanese Americans and diasporic Taiwanese who have returned to Taiwan during the pandemic. Taiwan requires all arrivals who have traveled to certain countries and territories affected by COVID-19 pandemic to undergo 14-day home or hotel quarantine. | Featuring videos from Jimmy Wang (@jimmywang17), Jolie Chi (@joliechi), Alexander Tseng, Lisin Chen (@chenskiii.lisin),…

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Being in Taiwan During COVID-19: A Taiwanese American Student Perspective

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    Editor's Note: Joyce was already living in Taiwan when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. If you are fleeing the states and traveling to Taiwan, or have recently done so, please practice self-isolation for at least 14 days - no matter how much you want to go out! Tricky Taipei has a great guide on life in Taipei during COVID-19, as well as an archive of coronavirus home quarantine stories. As I write this on April 28, Taiwan has announced its third day in a row of no reported new…

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From Ilha Formosa to Passport to Taiwan: Comparing the 2006 and 2018 Taiwanese Tourism Bureau Campaigns

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Editor’s Note: There are so many ways to advocate for Taiwan: on the streets with Keep Taiwan Free, in DC with organizations like the Formosan Association for Public Affairs, and, like Washington University in St. Louis freshman Vivienne Chang shows, in the classroom by incorporating thoughtful research and analysis on Taiwan into open-topic schoolwork. We were so moved by her decision to, in her words, “write every optional paper I get for each class about something that is related to Taiwan.”…

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Summer Language Camps in Taiwan: Five Firsthand Accounts

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Thinking of bringing your children to Taiwan for the summer to improve their Mandarin Chinese? A refresh of our article from two years ago, “Summer Language Camps in Taiwan: Five Firsthand Accounts,” this time we profile five Taiwanese American families* who enrolled in camps, some a little off the main path, to assist in their children’s Mandarin Chinese learning. Information current as of July 2019. *Some names have been changed Seeking A Cultural Experience - Karen Karen was…

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