Taipei Travel

On August 10, Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the award ceremony for the “Taipei Souvenir Life Fest” organized by Taipei Bakery Association. Noting that pineapple cakes have dominated the scene of Taipei’s pastry souvenir market for a long time, the mayor lauded Taipei Bakery Association’s effort to promote a new snack -- “Taipei Sweetheart” – for foreign visitors who’d like to bring home some of Taiwan’s most iconic confectionery specialties. Ko tried his hands at making the “new sweetheart” -- cracker-wrapped nougat – before presenting awards to the gold prize winners in traditional souvenir and creative souvenir groups.According to the mayor, souvenirs are representative of local cultures and traits, the best thing to showcase the hospitality of Taiwanese. As a mayor, who has many opportunities to conduct oversea trips or receive foreign dignitaries, he often ponders which souvenirs to best describe the capital’s and the island’s distinctive character.He reckoned that the City plans to introduce the “Double Happiness” gift sets in the souvenir market, which will contain the popular pineapple cakes and the Taipei Sweetheart. With the Summer Universiade to open on August 19, he hopes to seize the opportunity and promote the double-happiness pastry set to arriving guests, as a way to enhance the reputation of Taipei’s bakery industry.