If caviar is the international face of Russian food and pasta unmistakably Italian,
then what food best represents Taiwan is to what? While lauded at home,
Taiwanese food is little known outside the region.
As part of an effort to market Taiwanese food to the rest of the world,
the government has invited food critics and restauranteurs from around the world to share their thoughts. Michella Jade Weng reports.##

Tasting food and jotting down notes, these food critics,
chefs and TV personalities from throughout Europe and Asia have been asked to share their thoughts on Taiwanese food.

(English bite)
Regine Smith-Thyme
Food Magazine Editor-in-Chief
I've never been to Taiwan before, neither have I tasted Taiwanese cuisine in Germany,
because I think there is none. We just know Chinese.

Michella Jade Weng
FTV Reporter
This is rice steamed in bamboo.
It belongs to a category of food called "xiao chi,"
which literally means "small eats," kind of like tapas,
if you will. They're quite tasty,
but they're probably one of the best kept secrets in Taiwan.

If sushi represents Japanese cuisine and steak and hamburgers instantly recognizable as American,
then what represents Taiwanese cuisine?
This question has been a problem for tourism officials.

Janice Lai
Tourism Bureau Director General
In the future, we hope to be able to tell visitors that these are ten,
or these are five dishes you must have when you come.
This kind of focused marketing should be very helpful in promoting tourism.

If the saying "the fastest way to someone's heart is through their stomach,
" is really true,
then the government may be onto something with marketing foods that represent Taiwan.