Taiwan is an up-and-coming destination for tourists and foodies alike. With influences deep-rooted in Chinese and Japanese cuisine and a fair sprinkling of the modern Western flair, it’s no argument that this humble little island country is becoming a big force in the international food scene. But of course, before we head into the rich culture that is Taiwanese food, we must first present our findings on their snacks.

With 4 weeks in Taiwan and a lot of spare change, we went on a sizeable rampage that includes hitting up most of the convenience stores and supermarkets on the hunt for weird snacks. Some were great. Others, not so much. But we ate them all anyway.

7-Eleven 3-Cheese Sandwich NTD39

Sandwiches are a thing of interest to us, partly because the bread in Asia is so much fluffier and softer than Western breads, and a lot of their fillings are based on nothing but their hedonic desire to fulfil fantasies. This one is much the same case. Slices of bread seasoned with tomato sauce, layered with what appears to be cream cheese, cheddar, and who even knows what else.

We’re aware that this is supposed to be three different sandwiches, but who really has time for that. We’re here for horking, and that’s what we did. And the outcome is basically what you’d expect. With the tomato and cheese, it tastes like a basic, trash-level pizza, the kind that you whack in the microwave when you’re hungry at 2 in the morning and your inner child takes over any rational reason. There’s no regrets for this one.

Koloko Mixed Berry Pea Crackers NTD25

It smells like granola, and tastes not too far off from it. With the wheaty flavour of the pea crackers and the tart-sweet fruity powder it’s similar to a cereal bar if it had a bitter undertone. Perhaps we wasted a few calories, but there’s otherwise nothing too bizarre about this one.

Koloko Coffee Cheese Pea Crackers NTD35

We had to do a little reading of the ingredients to figure out the flavour of this one. That was quickly followed up by a Google Translate search, because with our limited Chinese we weren’t sure if what we saw was right. Unfortunately, it was. It seems to be a collaboration with a drink brand, but of course that meant we had to get it.

And it did not bode well. In addition to the bitterness of the pea crackers was an amplified coffee flavour. It was not one of those sensory revelations. It had a bitter, savoury-sweet flavour that was probably not what it was supposed to be. There were many regrets with this one, though of course we were glad to have tried it.

Cadina Milk Tea Puffs NTD35

Another drink-snack collaboration between popular Cadina snack brand and a milk tea drink. We clearly hadn’t enjoyed the first one, but it seems that we do enjoy putting ourselves through the same punishments. The sweet black tea flavour was actually pretty accurate, but the texture of the puffs was closer to a rice cracker than the melt-in-the-mouth puff that we’d expected. Still, it wasn’t bad at all. Besides being a little dissatisfied with the texture, this one didn’t have too much to complain about.

Asparagus Juice

You can’t walk away from trying a plethora of unusual Taiwanese snacks without having tried their infamous asparagus juice. This drink can be found in pretty much all supermarkets and most convenience stores, as long as you’re looking out for it. We got ours off the shelf of a supermarket, which is probably not the best idea because temperature really does affect a drink.

And it tastes a lot like one might expect. Some sweetness, but strongly of vegetables, like the leftover water from boiling asparagus mixed with a bizarre sweet-and-sour sauce. Inevitably, this earned a full five regrets, at least for us.

Lay’s Beef Noodle Potato Chips NTD35

It does smell like beef. Besides being salty with a touch of five spice, it reminded us more of beef floss – dried, flaked, sweet beef jerky – rather than a beef noodle soup. We only regret the accuracy of flavour but otherwise it was tasty enough.

Koloko Grilled Sausage Pea Crackers NTD36

It is smoky, a little sweet, but very garlicky. Paired with the savoury flavour of the pea crackers itself it makes for a delicious snack, even if it is missing a little of the meatiness from the sausages. Again, besides a little inaccuracy, we highly enjoyed this one.

Cadina Spring Onion Pancake Potato Chips NTD35

Though it smelled a little pungent – perhaps where the onion is supposed to come in – it’s exceptionally salty and little else. There were a lot of regrets involved with this one, but it wasn’t that expensive for its size, so we can’t be too mad about that.

Cadina Matcha (Green Tea) Potato Chips NTD45

Cadina was pretty hit-and-miss for us, but we couldn’t pass up a green tea flavour. Right off the bat it smelled sweet, and the taste was even more bizarre. Missing any sign of the classic bitterness or any notes of tea, our immediate thought was that the chip tasted like oranges. Specifically, the orange crème you’d find in a sandwiched biscuit. Jos didn’t mind the taste, Noms was less forgiving. Overall, we regretted this one a fair bit.

Cadina Strawberry Mille Feuille Snack NTD35

Cadina doesn’t have the best texture, and this one was sort of like a harder rice puff that doesn’t fully dissolve in the mouth. It tasted of strawberry milk, which is not all that bizarre. We suspect that the twisty shape is supposed to mimic the layers of a mille feuille. In that respect we can’t fault it too much, so we left without any regrets.

Lay’s Fresh Salad Potato Chips NTD36

There’s nothing like a fresh salad to keep your metabolism running smoothly when you’re on holiday. Even if they’re in chip form. The chips smelled of cucumbers, which is already a flavour that exists. Besides the sort of crisp, fresh water flavour, it also tasted a little of tomatoes. There were no regrets with this one… except maybe we should eat a few more vegetables.

Kuai Kuai Coconut Puff Snack

This one smelled of stale coconuts, and tasted not too far off. Besides that, it was very reminiscent of cereal, but at least the melt-in-the-mouth texture was delicious. It could have been a little more satisfying.

Oat My God Toppoki Snack NTD39

We only ever found these in one convenience store, which was Hi Life. The outside is your typical extruded puffed wheat, but the inside has a pasty filling that is both sweet and spicy. It’s supposed to imitate Korean spicy rice cakes, which it mimicked surprisingly well especially with the flavour of red pepper and garlic. It was a small bag for a price like that, but other than that it was very tasty.