Taiwan’s Sweetest City: Tainan, Part 1
The southern city of Tainan is known as the gastronomic capital of Taiwan. It’s a foodie’s paradise that veers in the direction of sweet. Andrew Ryan kicks off the first of a five-part series of “Where is the Mayor Taking Us?” by sampling tomatoes with a Tainan twist.
[Taiwan’s Mayors and County Chiefs]
Taiwan is home to 13 county chiefs, six mayors of special municipalities (New Taipei, Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung) and three mayors of provincial cities. These elected officials serve a maximum four-year term, and can be re-elected for one additional term. The first episodes of the series aired prior to the local elections in 2022.
[Taiwan’s Mayors and County Chiefs]
Taiwan is home to 13 county chiefs, six mayors of special municipalities (New Taipei, Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung) and three mayors of provincial cities. These elected officials serve a maximum four-year term, and can be re-elected for one additional term. The first episodes of the series aired prior to the local elections in 2022.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Old barbershops turned into slow travel destinations,
00:05 Taiwan's only remaining salt fields,
00:08 and a gastronomic capital with a decidedly sweet tooth.
00:12 These are just some of the things you'll find in Tainan.
00:26 Everywhere you turn in Tainan, there are traces of history.
00:30 It is, after all, the oldest city on the main island of Taiwan.
00:35 Now I assumed that my tour would begin with a historic spot,
00:39 but my host has something else in mind.
00:42 For the first stop in our trip to Tainan,
00:44 the mayor has arranged for us to meet at a fruit store.
00:47 But apparently it's not just a place to buy fruit,
00:49 it's also been a popular local hangout for more than 70 years.
00:53 What is this place that you've brought us to today?
00:55 This is a place where we can learn a lot about the culture of Tainan.
00:59 And the best part is that we can eat the best food here,
01:01 which is the Lili Bingguo.
01:03 Many of the fruits they sell at the store are grown right here in Tainan.
01:07 The city is home to some of the nation's biggest fruit exports,
01:11 like pineapples, mangoes, and avocados.
01:14 They also grow more pomelos here than any other place in Taiwan.
01:20 We Tainanese love to eat, so we'll give you all of these.
01:23 Thank you, mayor.
01:24 We eat this on Mid-Autumn Festival.
01:26 We eat this pomelo.
01:27 There are two kinds.
01:28 You can eat the red one first.
01:30 Because the white one is sweeter.
01:33 How is it?
01:35 It's a bit sour and sweet.
01:38 It's really good.
01:39 Tainan is known as the gastronomic capital of Taiwan.
01:44 Many of the local dishes, even the savory ones,
01:47 are sweeter here than in other parts of the country.
01:50 And there's a reason for that.
01:52 Tainan was once a big producer of sugar cane,
01:55 and people came to associate sweet foods with wealth.
01:59 But imagine my surprise to learn that they even dip their tomatoes in sugar.
02:04 There are many sauces in Tainan.
02:06 What's in this sauce?
02:09 Sugar.
02:10 Sugar, sugar, and ginger.
02:13 It also has plum powder, right?
02:15 Yes, you can also dip it in plum powder.
02:18 You can also add water and sugar.
02:20 And there's also ginger paste.
02:22 Wow, it's really good.
02:24 It's really special.
02:25 It's really different from what we eat in Taipei.
02:27 The fruit shop's owner, Li Wenshong,
02:31 says they've been eating tomatoes like this for as long as he can remember.
02:35 Li has been collecting interesting facts about fruit for years,
02:39 publishing his own monthly brochure full of pictures, stories, and local history.
02:45 Back in the day, he says, the fruit shop was a popular hangout.
02:49 People would even come here on blind dates.
02:52 Fruit stores like this one still play an important role in the lives of the Tainan people.
03:08 They may no longer come here to find love,
03:10 but after 70 years, they still come here for their shared love of fruit.
03:16 Justin Wu, Scott Huang, Pichi Zhuang, and Andrew Ryan for Taiwan Plus.
03:21 Coming up in Part 2, Tainan is home to more roundabouts and more barber shops
03:27 than any other place in Taiwan.
03:29 We'll show you their connection to slow travel, plus, further ahead in the series,
03:34 you want to see some historic sites?
03:36 Don't worry, we've got plenty of those, too.
03:39 [music ends]
03:41 [BLANK_AUDIO]