Taiwan: Night Markets, Bubble Tea and the Island That Invented Tomorrow's Food
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Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s — the specific origin is disputed between two Tainan teahouses, but the country of origin is not. The drink of cold sweetened tea with chewy tapioca pearls has spread to every continent and become one of the most recognisable beverages in the world in forty years. It began as a Taiwanese street drink, specific to the night market culture that defines Taiwanese urban food life, and its global spread is a direct consequence of the Taiwanese diaspora carrying the taste of home.
Night markets — yèshì — are the social and culinary heart of Taiwanese culture. Open from late afternoon until the early hours, the markets combine food stalls, games, clothes, accessories, and a density of social activity that functions as the living room of the city. The Shilin Night Market in Taipei, the Liuhe in Kaohsiung, the Fengjia in Taichung — each city has its version, and the comparison of their offerings is a reliable source of national conversation. The food is cheap, abundant, creative, and eaten standing or on plastic stools.
Taiwan's democratic transition — from authoritarian single-party rule to full liberal democracy between 1986 and 1996 — is one of the most successful in Asia and a model studied by political scientists. The country holds regular competitive elections, maintains a free press, and has consistently high scores on democracy indices despite its complicated international status. That a Chinese-speaking society built a stable, prosperous democracy is a fact with implications that the people of Taiwan, and their neighbours, think about every day.
