And this week they will be dishing up the best in typical Taiwanese food as part of a food event organized by two hotels in Taiwan and Beijing.

The Taiwanese food event started on March 1 and will run until March 21 at the Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing, in cooperation with the Ambassador Hotel in Taiwan.

A 10-plus Taiwanese team of cooks has brought with them not only materials from Taiwan, but their cooking skills and dishes from different counties on the island. As well as famous snacks and local specialities, the chefs have arranged three set menus. The formosa set menu comprises traditional Taiwanese dishes infused with native flavors. The paradise set menu includes many local seafood dishes that are freshly cooked, light and tasty. The Kataran set menu features delicate Taiwanese dishes, as well as local snacks.

Taiwanese cuisine is based on south Fujian foods, but with influences from other Chinese provinces, as well as from countries like Japan. There is a great variety of seafood. Many dishes have traditional Chinese herbs in them. The majority of Taiwanese dishes are so-called home-style dishes, which are simple and popular.

Some foods are unique to Taiwan. For example, garlic mullet roe comes from mullet that swims against the current to produce eggs in the Taiwan Straits, and can only be caught there. The fish roe is dried in sunlight and then baked before being served in small slices. It is a must for a formal Taiwanese banquet. Small cherry blossom shrimps can only be found in the Pingtung county of Taiwan. Chicken in sesame oil is another typical Taiwanese dish. It not only includes sesame oil, but also rice wine, which gives the dish a particular fragrant smell.

A good appetizer is papaya preserved in passion fruit sauce , which is crisp and has a light passion fruit smell and taste. Another must is the five spices small abalone , which is a fresh abalone sashimi with special sauce. Salted pork has a bit of white fat, but does not taste too greasy.

The Hsinchu meat ball soup contains pork meat balls especially cooked to produce a pleasant, chewy sensation. The deep-fried small fish with melon seeds tastes crisp. The sauted pork liver is smooth and has a pleasant flavor.

Set up in 1953, the Ambassador Hotel was the first five-star hotel in Taiwan. The hotel has three outlets in Taipei, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung. It is an important gourmet's stop for many of Taiwan's celebrities and politicians.

Finally, a bowl of egg noodles is a good staple food and the pineapple shortcake a wonderful dessert.

The three set menus come in at 580 yuan, 780 yuan and 1,180 yuan per person (only for groups of more than eight people). A la carte can work out cheaper. The menu is in both Chinese and English.

Address: 3/F Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing, 6 Shouti Nanlu, Haidian District.
Tel: 010-6849-2001 Ext 81.