About

When I arrived in Taiwan, the first thing I wanted to learn was what was available to eat. Most guidebooks have a section on food, but they’re restricted by page limits so cannot possibly contain more than an overview. It was frustrating going to restaurants and only being able to recognise a few dishes of the many that were on the menu.

It’s with this in mind that I started trying to translate menus from my local eateries. I also saw it as a tool for studying Chinese, and for this reason there are doubtless many mistakes, especially in tones, in my translations. I welcome all feedback and corrections and will incorporate them into the menus.

But this blog is not just about me and my study of Chinese. I realised this could be a tool for everyone. After presenting the translations to my local restaurants for use with non-Chinese speakers, I thought it might be useful to make them available for others via the internet. Please feel free to print or copy these menus. But, more importantly, please contribute to them. If you have menus you’ve translated or even just a single dish you know of that is not included here, please send them in and I’ll include them on the website with acknowledgments to anyone who spends their time and effort on this. Local mom-and-pop shops to island-wide chains, it’s all useful information.

I hope through participation and contribution we can build this into a useful resource for tourists, expats and even Chinese speakers learning English. Please get involved and help us to develop Taiwanese Menu.

e-mail:  taiwanesemenu at gmail dot com