Taiwan is full of delicious food (just take one look at this video and you’ll never doubt that again), but if you don’t speak Chinese, you could be in danger of never getting a taste! So here are some useful words to start you off…the essential guide to reading menus in Taiwan.
- 燒: shao1, fried/cooked
- 湯: tang1, soup
- 飯: fan4, rice
- 麵: mian4, noodles
- 雞: ji1, chicken
- 牛: niu2, beef
- 豬: zhu1, pork
- 魚: yu2, fish
- 蝦: xia1, shrimp
- 蔬菜: shu1cai4, vegetable
- 素: su4, vegetarian
- 肉: rou4, meat
- 酸: suan1, sour
- 辣: la4, spicy (This one’s important!)
So can you guess what 牛肉湯麵, a famous and popular Taiwanese dish, is?
That’s right–beef soup with noodles! With these vocab words, you should be able to order like a pro. Quick tip: print out this list and carry it in your wallet– it’ll help you read a menu whether you speak Chinese or not! Good luck!