Taipei Travel

Mayor Ko Wen-je attended the press conference announcing the Taipei Gourmet Month on August 20.

According to Ko, the activity seeks to integrate good food with e-payment. He hopes that in the future, Taipei residents will be able to leave home without their wallet and can enjoy all the great cuisines out there with only a card (or a cell phone).

During his address, the mayor remarked that Taipei became the 30th city to be covered by the Michelin Guide in 2018. While this important event provided a significant boost to Taipei’s portfolio in the global cuisine scene, many people noted that only two Taiwanese cuisine restaurants made it onto the list.

Attributing this result to judgements based heavily upon western perspective, the city government invited gourmets to introduce the eight Taiwanese cuisine restaurants participating in the press conference. In addition to raising young people’s awareness about these eateries, the activity also seeks to serve as a warmup to next year’s Michelin’s Guide to Taipei.

The mayor also highlighted the city government’s push to create a cash-free society. While he admitted that it is impossible to eliminate all cash, his administration has invested much effort into the promotion of cashless transactions. Having visited a marketplace in Wanhua District a few days ago, he considers that the policy has achieved new grounds, noting the presence of EasyCard readers at every stall. Meanwhile, the number of companies dealing with third party payments has grown from 2 in 2016 to 13 today.