0:00 Hello!
1:05 Introduction
1:36 Taiwan service fees
2:42 Question
2:50 Places where you can enjoy authentic Taiwanese food
4:06 Checking reviews 6:09 What does British student John think about Taiwanese food
7:17 Wok hei
8:06 Three elements of a good dish
8:45 Taiwanese local expressions
9:18 Check my website for Chinese and English transcribed annotations
逐字稿
Hello, long time no see! Recently, I’ve gained some new friends on Spotify, and I warmly welcome your joining.
大家好，好久不見！最近在Spotify多了一些新朋友，非常歡迎你們的加入。
For my old friends, thank you for your patience!
至於老朋友們，謝謝你們的耐心！
This year has been particularly different for me as I completed my research, published a journal, and graduated from the graduate school!
今年對我來說是特別不一樣的一年，因為我完成了研究，出版了期刊，從研究所畢業了！
As for whether to pursue a Ph.D., it’s a commitment of at least 3 to 5 years, a significant decision. I’ve been actively discussing it with my Ph.D. friends lately, so I’m still contemplating.
至於要不要讀博士，因為這是一個至少3到5年的承諾，是一個很重大的決定，我最近很積極地跟身邊的博士們討論，所以我還在思考當中。
I think I’ve talked too much about myself.
我想我說太多關於我的話題了。
Anyway, Spotify tells me that the most liked episode this year is “5 Love Languages,” and 86% of the listeners are discovering Mandarin with Local for the first time this year!
總之，spotify告訴我今年大家最喜歡的一集是「愛的語言」，而且有百分之86的聽眾是今年第一次聽Mandarin with Local!!
Thank you!
謝謝你們！
Today, let’s talk about Taiwanese snacks!
今天我們來聊聊台灣的小吃吧！
Recently, I talked with students about Taiwanese snack shops. Later, you can hear what my British student, John, thinks about Taiwanese snacks! He has been to Taiwan more than 20 times!
最近跟學生聊到台灣的小吃店，待會你可以聽到，我的英國學生John對台灣小吃的看法！他來過台灣20幾次！
[Music]
[音樂]
Last weekend, I went to a Bib Gournand Taiwanese restaurant in Taichung to celebrate my mom’s birthday. Bib Gournand restaurants are found in many places worldwide. Have you all heard of Michelin-starred restaurants? Compared to Michelin restaurants, Bib Gournand is more affordable. In Bib Gournand restaurants in Taiwan, the average spending per person is around NT$1,000 or less.
上個週末，我到台中的一家必比登台灣餐廳慶祝我媽媽的生日。必比登餐廳在世界上很多地方都有。大家應該都聽過米其林餐廳吧？跟米其林餐廳比起來，必比登餐廳會比較便宜。在台灣的必比登餐廳，每個人的平均消費大概是一千台幣以下。
How do you find places to eat when you visit a new location?
你去一個新的地方，你會如何找吃東西的地方呢？
In Taiwan, there are plenty of choices for eating besides convenience stores. You can go to restaurants, breakfast shops, brunch places, snack shops, lunchbox shops, and roadside stalls at night markets, among others.
在台灣要吃東西有非常多選擇，除了便利商店以外，可以去餐廳、早餐店、早午餐店、小吃店、便當店、夜市的路邊攤等。
Besides convenience stores, distinguishing between these places is straightforward. Restaurants or brunch places usually have doors. I know it sounds funny, but these two places usually provide a better dining environment. Most of them charge a service fee. Although tipping is not customary in Taiwan, if you go to a restaurant, there’s a 10% service fee (spoken as “shi2 pa1” in colloquial terms). Restaurants without a service fee are also common in Taiwan. In those places, you need to get your own utensils, and after eating, you have to collect your utensils yourself. This self-service behavior is called “self-help,” meaning helping yourself.
除了便利商店以外，要區分這幾個地方很簡單，餐廳或早午餐店通常有門。我知道聽起來很好笑，但是這兩個地方通常是吃東西環境比較好的地方。這些地方，大多會收服務費。雖然台灣沒有給小費的文化，但是如果你去餐廳，會有10％的服務費（台灣人在口語上也會說10趴）。沒有服務費的餐廳在台灣也很常見，通常在沒有服務費的地方，你需要自己去拿餐具，用完餐也要自己把餐具收好，這個行為叫「自助」，也就是自己幫助自己。
If you’ve been to Taiwan, are you accustomed to the practice in some restaurants where you need to retrieve your cutlery from the counter yourself rather than having it brought to you by waiters?
如果你來過台灣，你習慣台灣有一些餐廳需要自己拿餐具嗎？
Welcome to share your thoughts with me.
歡迎跟我分享你的想法。
In Taiwan, there’s a type of restaurant called a self-serve restaurant. In self-serve restaurants, you can enjoy many common Taiwanese dishes. People typically take a disposable (><) lunchbox and pick the dishes they want. Self-serve restaurants are usually affordable, and Taiwanese people often go to budget self-serve restaurants for lunch or dinner. In these places, you have a wide range of choices, and you may get to taste many locally grown vegetables you haven’t tried before. The pricing is based on the weight of the food you pick, so you can choose how much of each dish you want.
在台灣有一種店叫自助餐店，在自助餐店你可以吃到很多台灣的家常菜，台灣人通常會拿著便當盒，自己夾自己想吃的菜。自助餐店大多是平價的，台灣人會到平價的自助餐店吃午餐或晚餐，在自助餐店裡有非常多選擇，你也有機會吃到很多以前沒吃過的在地蔬菜，這種店的計價方式，是以你夾多少菜的重量來計算，所以每道菜你想吃多少，你都可以自己選擇。
More upscale self-service restaurants, similar to what you call buffets, are usually found in high-end hotels or restaurants within hotels. The higher cost is due to the generally higher quality of ingredients. These places typically offer an “all you can eat” experience within a specified time, and Taiwanese people call them “eat until you’re full” restaurants. There are many all-you-can-eat restaurants in Taiwan, so your Taiwanese friend might suggest, “Shall we go for an ‘eat until you’re full’ meal?”
比較高級的自助餐店，很像你們說的buffet，通常是在高級的飯店或旅館裡的餐廳，比較貴的原因是因為食材通常比較高級一點，這種地方通常是在限定的時間裡all you can eat，台灣人會叫這種地方「吃到飽」。吃到飽餐廳在台灣有很多，所以你的台灣朋友可能會說：我們要不要去吃「吃到飽」？
He’s referring to these kinds of all-you-can-eat restaurants.
他指的就是這種all you can eat的餐廳。
Coming back to the topic, regardless of whether you’re looking for a restaurant, a snack shop, or any place to eat in Taiwan, you can check Google reviews or Instagram posts. Taiwanese businesses pay a lot of attention to Google reviews, and because of this, if Taiwanese customers have a bad experience in a restaurant, they tend to give the restaurant a lower Google rating.
那麼要怎麼找餐廳呢？
As a Taiwanese, when I’m looking for a restaurant, I usually choose those with four stars or above. However, I also check their lowest ratings to decide whether I want to go to that restaurant.
身為台灣人，我在找餐廳時，通常會找四顆星以上的店家，但是我會去看他最低的評價是什麼？決定自己要不要去這家餐廳。
Sometimes, I come across funny reviews. For example, when I visited Kenting, a customer gave a one-star rating to a snack shop because he had just broken up with his girlfriend, and the shop owner asked him why he didn’t come with his girlfriend. (This is a typical Taiwanese elder’s behavior—sometimes they can be very concerned about strangers, inadvertently causing pressure.)
有時候，我會看到一些很好笑的評價，例如，我去墾丁玩的時候，有一家小吃店被一位客人評了一顆星，原因是因為那位客人剛跟女朋友分手，老闆娘問他怎麼沒有跟女朋友一起來。（這真的是典型的台灣長輩，有時候他們會非常關心陌生人，無形之中會造成壓力）
Or, I see customers evaluating the restaurant’s environment. I remember a customer writing, “The restroom is dirty, I suggest holding it in.” Meaning the restroom here is dirty, and it’s recommended not to use it.
又或是我看到，客人會對餐廳的環境評價，我記得那位客人寫：廁所很髒，建議憋尿。也就是這裡的廁所很髒，建議不要在這邊上廁所。
[Music]
[音樂]
Just now, we mentioned various places to eat in Taiwan, such as restaurants, breakfast shops, brunch places, snack shops, and bento shops.
剛才我們提到了台灣各種不同吃飯的地方，有餐廳、早餐店、早午餐店、小吃店、便當店等。
I think among them, small eateries might be more challenging for foreigners. The reason is, in my opinion, other places usually have English menus, but small eateries usually don’t. The prices at small eateries are generally lower. When we say a place or an item is priced lower, it means it’s more affordable.
我想其中對外國人來說會比較有挑戰性的是小吃店。原因是我認為其他地方通常有英文菜單，但是小吃店通常不會有。小吃店的價位通常比較低，當我們說一家店或一個東西價位比較低，代表比較便宜。
Let’s listen to John’s experiences in Taiwan after visiting more than 20 times. From a British perspective, what foods does he find more acceptable:
我們一起來聽聽看John來台灣二十幾次的經驗，以英國人的口味來說，他覺得什麼食物對他來說接受度比較高：
[Recording]:
[錄音]：
I think the best ones for my more western taste are fried rice. Braised pork rice and meatball soup are also easy-to-eat dishes. Egg drop soup is probably light, so it’s also easy to order. Among these dishes, I think the most challenging to make at home is fried rice from a restaurant because the fried rice made in a restaurant has wok hei (breath of the wok), but it’s not easy to achieve that with a regular home stove.
我覺得對我的比較西方的口味最好的是炒飯。滷肉飯跟貢丸湯都也是很容易吃的菜。蛋花湯應該是很輕的所以也很好點的。我說的這幾個菜我覺得最難在家做的可能是飯館的炒飯因為飯館做的炒飯有鑊氣可是用普通的家的爐不容易做出來鑊氣。
Here, we mentioned “wok hei.” Do you know what “wok hei” is? “Wok hei” is the smoky flavor formed by quickly stir-frying food at high temperatures. It’s the combination of ingredients and the oil on the wok that creates a smoky taste, making the food have “wok hei.” Usually, it’s challenging to cook dishes with “wok hei” at home because restaurant stoves heat up quickly, and restaurant chefs have excellent wok-tossing skills. So, dishes with “wok hei” are usually found in restaurants.
在這裡提到了鑊氣。你們知道鑊氣是什麼嗎？鑊氣是在高溫下，非常快的翻炒食物，食材跟鍋子上的油脂因為高溫所形成的一種煙燻味，所以食物嘗起來有鑊氣。通常家裡面是很難煮出有鑊氣的料理，因為餐廳的爐子加溫很快，加上餐廳的廚師都有很棒的甩鍋技術，所以有鑊氣的菜通常在餐廳才吃得到。
We can say John is a true foodie. A foodie refers to someone who really knows about food, understands it well.
我們可以說John真是一位老饕，老饕指的是很懂吃的人，很了解食物的人。
In Chinese culture, there’s an emphasis on having dishes that are visually appealing, flavorful, and aromatic. The aroma usually comes from the ingredients and seasonings. However, for stir-fried dishes, whether they have “wok hei” depends on the chef’s skills.
在華人文化裡，強調料理要色香味俱全。也就是看起來要很吸引人，味道要好吃，香，大多代表的是食材及調味的香氣，但有時，在快炒的料理上，有沒有鑊氣，取決於廚師的能力了。
Since John has a western palate, even though he often eats Asian cuisine, his taste is still different from Taiwanese people. My taste is more in line with Taiwanese preferences; I like things that most Taiwanese people like.
因為John有西方人的胃口，雖然他常吃亞洲菜，但胃口跟台灣人還是不一樣。像我的胃口就是比較台灣人的胃口，我喜歡吃的東西跟大多數台灣人的習慣比較像。
When we eat something and find it delicious, we can say, “This dish suits my taste x2.” When we encounter something not tasty, unless it’s really awful, we usually express it more tactfully: “This dish doesn’t quite suit my taste x2.” When you can’t eat or don’t feel like eating, we say, “I have no appetite.”
當我們吃到一個東西，覺得很好吃，我們可以說，這道菜很合我胃口x2當我們吃到不好吃的東西時，除非真的很難吃，我們通常會比較委婉的表達：這道菜不合我胃口x2當你吃不下東西，或沒有想吃東西的感覺，我們會說：我沒胃口。
So, that’s it for today. I hope you enjoyed today’s topic. I don’t usually talk much about food, but during class, I found John not only being a foodie but also having a lot of travel experiences in Taiwan, so I thought it was interesting. If you liked the content of this episode, feel free to subscribe. You can find the transcript of this episode on my website, and I welcome you to share your thoughts with me through voice messages or emails. That’s it for today. Bye-bye!
那我們今天就到這邊，希望你喜歡今天的話題。其實我比較少談論到食物的話題，但是在上課時，我發現John不僅是老饕，也有非常多在台灣旅遊的經驗，所以我覺得非常有趣。如果你喜歡這集的內容，歡迎訂閱。你可以在我的網站裡找到這集的逐字稿，歡迎你用語音留言寄email分享給我你的想法。那我們今天就到這邊，byebye
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