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January 2019 | Vol. 49 | Issue 1 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN TAIPEI IN OF COMMERCE THE AMERICAN CHAMBER TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS TAIWAN WINE & DINE 2019 January 2019 | Vol. 49 | Issue 1 Vol. January 2019 | 中 華 郵 政 北 台 字 第 5000 號 執 照 登 記 為 雜 誌 交 寄 ISSUE SPONSOR Published by the American Chamber Of Read TOPICS Online at topics.amcham.com.tw NT$150 Commerce In Taipei 1_2019_Cover.indd 1 2019/1/2 上午12:05 CONTENTS 7 President’s View By William Foreman JANUARY 2019 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 1 一○八年一月號 8 Suffering for Taiwan’s Sublime Cuisine What it’s like to dine out with Publisher 發行人 celebrities on delectable, rich William Foreman 傅維廉 Michelin-starred food – gout be 總編輯 Editor-in-Chief damned. Don Shapiro 沙蕩 By Joshua Samuel Brown Art Director/ 美術主任/ Production Coordinator 後製統籌 12 Pursuing the Offbeat Dining Katia Chen 陳國梅 Experience 廣告行銷經理 Manager, Publications Sales & Marketing Once in a while, try something Caroline Lee 李佳紋 out of the ordinary, or even down- right bizarre. By Joshua Samuel Brown American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei 129 MinSheng East Road, Section 3, 7F, Suite 706, Taipei 10596, Taiwan 16 Why and How we Wrote A P.O. Box 17-277, Taipei, 10419 Taiwan Tel: 2718-8226 Fax: 2718-8182 Culinary History of Taipei e-mail: [email protected] website: http://www.amcham.com.tw Katy Hui-wen Hung and Steven 名稱:台北市美國商會工商雜誌 發行所:台北市美國商會 Crook discuss their newly pub- 臺北市10596民生東路三段129號七樓706室 lished book. 電話:2718-8226 傳真:2718-8182 Taiwan Business TOPICS is a publication of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC. Contents are 22 The Sweet Potato’s Rise and independent of and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Officers, Board of Governors, Supervisors or members. Fall – and Rise Again © Copyright 2019 by the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, ROC. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint original material must be requested in writing from AmCham. By Steven Crook and Katy Hui- Production done in-house, Printing by Farn Mei Printing Co., Wen Hung Ltd. 登記字號:台誌第一零九六九號 印刷所:帆美印刷股份有限公司 經銷商:台灣英文雜誌社 台北市108台北市萬華區長沙街二段66號 26 The Biandang from 發行日期:中華民國一○八年一月 中華郵政北台字第5000號執照登記為雜誌交寄 Japanese Days to the ISSN 1818-1961 Present By Steven Crook and Katy Hui- Chairman: Leo Seewald Wen Hung Vice Chairmen: C.W. Chin, Petra Jumpers Secretary: Fupei Wang Treasurer: Al Chang 2018-2019 Governors: Anita Chen, C.W. Chin, Petra 30 Kavalan Finds Further Jumpers, Leo Seewald, Daniel Tseng, Fupei Wang. “Ginspiration” 2019-2020 Governors: Al Chang, Albert Chang, Seraphim Ma, Jan-Hendrik A food conglomerate that makes Meidinger, Paulus Mok. acclaimed whisky has intro- 2019 Supervisors: Vincent Shih, Terry Tsao, Dylan Tyson. duced a Taiwan-flavored craft COMMITTEES: gin that is set to make a splash Agro-Chemical/ Melody Wang; Asset Management/ on the rocks or in cocktails. Christine Jih, Derek Yung; Banking/ Paulus Mok; Capital Markets/ Nadia Chen, Mandy Huang, C.P. By Jules Quartly Liu; Chemical Manufacturers/ Charles Liang, Michael Wong; Cosmetics/ Shirley Chen, Julien Jacquet, Abigail Lin; CSR/ Lume Liao, Fupei Wang; Energy/ Randy Tsai; Human Resources/ Vickie Chen, Richard Lin, Monica Han, Seraphim Ma; Infrastructure/ Wayne Chin, Paul Lee; Insurance/ Dan Ting, Linda Tsou, Dylan Tyson; Intellectual Property & Licensing/ Jason Chen, Peter Dernbach, Vincent Shih; Marketing & Distribution/ Wei Hsiang; Medical Devices/ Raghavendra Shenoy, Joanne Yao; Pharmaceutical/ Petra Jumpers, Wendy Lin; Public Health/ Joyce Lee, Sophia Lee, Tim Shields; Real Estate/ Tony Chao; Retail/ Ceasar Chen, Mark Chen, Prudence Jang; Sustainable Development/ Kenny Jeng, Cosmas Lu, Kernel Wang; Tax/ Stella Lai, Cheli Liaw, Josephine Peng; Technology/ Cynthia Chyn, Revital Golan, Hans Huang; Telecommunications & Media/ Thomas Ee, Joanne Tsai; Transportation & Logistics/ (tba); Travel & Tourism/ Pauline Leung, Achim v. Hake. COVER PHOTO: COURTESY OF UBER EATS 4 TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • JANUARY 2019 1_19 Contents.indd 4 2019/1/2 下午3:52 JANUARY 2019 • VOLUME 49 NUMBER 1 COVER SPONSOR 34 The Food Bots Have Arrived Food delivery is changing rapidly and growing exponentially due to the online-to-offline revolution, which offers easy online ordering, customized offerings and speed. By Jules Quartly Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei’s mission is to build an international hotel that provides luxurious accommodations and a fine dining environment. Since opening in 2016, the hotel has been proudly honored with awards, including the 2016 World Luxury Hotel 38 Meatlesss Dining – for Awards, the 2017 World Travel Awards and the 2018 Michelin Guide Religion or Lifestyle Commendation for the top three luxurious hotels in Taipei city. As more people embrace new fla- vors and healthy living, vegetarian Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei offers 146 deluxe rooms, 5 carefully cuisine is no longer confined to crafted restaurants, poolside bar, bakery café, and an exquisite traditional Buddhist dishes. banquet service. For guests with membership, Grand Mayfull Hotel By Matthew Fulco Taipei offers a VIP club with private space and customized services located on the 9th floor. Finally, completing Grand Mayfull Hotel Taipei is its range of leisure facilities, such as heated outdoor swim- ming pool, fitness center and wellness center. 43 Thai Food Catches on in Taipei Authentic Thai food is no longer scarce in Taipei thanks to changing tastes and more outbound tourism. By Matthew Fulco TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • JANUARY 2019 5 1_19 Contents.indd 5 2019/1/2 上午1:34 PRESIDENT'S VIEW Food is a Serious Business spent nearly 20 years of my career in the news business. Sometimes people ask me: What was your most popular story? Which one attracted the most attention? My Ianswer is a bit embarrassing, though it probably shouldn’t be. As a foreign correspondent, I got to cover a lot of big breaking news -- presiden- tial elections, Olympics in Beijing, global summits, riots, suicide bombings, earthquakes, plane crashes, and economic booms and busts. But the story that got the most feedback from readers was a travel feature I wrote in 2004 about what’s for breakfast in Taipei. I began the piece by pointing out that most people around the world have a good idea of what’s on the menu for lunch and dinner at a Chinese restaurant. But few might be aware there’s an entirely different menu for breakfast. And it’s absolutely delicious. My story described with great detail and enthusiasm tasty morning delights such as egg pancakes (danbing, ), twisted crullers (youtiao, ), soybean milk (doujiang, ), rice wraps (fantuan, ) and – my all-time favorite – baked wheat cakes with egg (shaobing jia dan, ). I was working for The Associated Press wire service at the time, so my story was sent to newspapers all over the world. The company likes to say that more than half the world’s population sees its content every day. And it seemed like half the world really did read my story. For nearly a year, I received clippings in the mail every week from papers that printed the story. Readers sent me plenty of letters and e-mails about how much they love eating breakfast in Taiwan or how they were intrigued by the unfamiliar morning cuisine. I guess I shouldn’t feel embarrassed – or surprised – that my most popular story was about what’s for breakfast in Taiwan. Food is a serious business. And it’s a big busi- ness. It also tells you a lot about a country’s history, culture, and character. Appreciating the food of a place brings you closer to understanding the people – and that’s crucial for commerce. I’m sure TOPICS readers are already well aware of this connection, and that helps explain why our annual Wine and Dine issue is so popular. Food is best when shared, so I encourage our readers to share these stories with their friends. William Foreman President, American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • JANUARY 2019 7 Foreman.indd 7 2019/1/2 下午3:38 MICHELIN GUIDE ORCHID PHOTO: JOSHUA SAMUEL BROWN SUFFERING FOR TAIWAN’S SUBLIME CUISINE What it’s like to dine out with celebrities on delectable, rich Michelin- starred food – gout be damned. BY JOSHUA SAMUEL BROWN 8 TAIWAN BUSINESS TOPICS • JANUARY 2019 Michelin.indd 8 2019/1/2 上午12:24 MICHELIN GUIDE ublication last year of the first arrived. The meal could begin. stewed pork. Zimmern said they were Taipei Michelin Guide launched Detractors of the Palais de Chine say among the best he’d ever tasted. After- P Taipei into the rarefied ranks of that its menu doesn’t really reflect “Tai- ward came steamed shrimp shumai ( cities like San Francisco, New York, wanese” cuisine, as its dishes are by and ), followed by whole shrimp wrapped and Shanghai that can boast their own large more associated with Hong Kong in delicate rice paper. Michelin guides. Of the total of 20 res- and Canton than those developed on this We hadn’t even gone through the taurants in the city to receive Michelin side of the Taiwan Strait. To that argu- appetizers and I was already way over stars, 17 were recognized with one ment I respond with a bit of history. what should have been my day’s “sen- Michelin star, two obtained two stars, As China’s civil war slogged on to sible” limit of purine (the stuff that sets and only one – Le Palais restaurant in the its inevitable conclusion in the 1940s, off gout attacks). Downing several shots Palais de Chine hotel – was honored with chefs from all corners of the country of drinking vinegar (known for blood- three stars. held moistened fingers to quickly shifting cleansing properties), I hoped for the best. Of course, in-the-know travelers long political winds and sensed a coming As more dishes came, Zimmern ago spotted Taipei as a foodie’s para- downturn in opportunity for those offered his opinion that while the dise, though for the most part the reputa- mainly serving haute cuisine to the rich Michelin guide represented acknowledg- tion was built on hole-in-the-wall noodle and privileged.