"What is this meat?" asked the Israeli woman.
"To-ni-ou," replied our Taiwanese guide, struggling for the English word.
"From Africa, long neck," he added.
"Giraffe!" she shrieked.
"No, no. Bird."
"Ostrich!" chorused the rest of our group.
The presence on the menu of stir-fried ostrich illustrates how, even in an apparently traditional restaurant, newer foods are likely to appear alongside the likes of standard delicacies such as pork tripe, soup with whole chicken (including the feet), crispy fish and balls of minced liver.
Add the country's fine fruit and some of the world's best teas and the visitor begins to appreciate why Taiwan has a reputation for fantastic food.
"History has a lot to do with it," says Konrad Hao, from the Government Information Office in the capital, Taipei.
The richness of Taiwanese food reflects its multicultural contact with Europeans and the Japanese and also the diversity of origin of the rag-tag army that followed Chiang Kai-shek into exile on the island, Mr Hao explains.
Settlement of Taiwan by people from Fujian province on the mainland began in the 15th century. They - and later Hakka Chinese - joined the original inhabitants, people whose DNA is close to that of New Zealand Maori.
In 1544 the Portuguese landed, bestowed the name Ilha Formosa (beautiful island) and were soon followed by the Dutch, who set up a trading post on one of the offshore islands, before being ousted by Chinese troops from the mainland.
Undeterred, the Dutch returned and established a trading route around Southeast Asia.
In 1626, Taiwan - still an outpost of the Chinese empire - was invaded again, this time by the Spanish, who withdrew a few years later. Back once more came the persistent Dutch, whose rule finally ended in 1662 when Admiral Cheng Cheng-Kung, also known as Koxinga, conquered the island.
His army of some 30,000 men settled in Taiwan.
Fast-forward 200 years to 1894 when, following the Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan. It was to remain under Japanese control until 1945, when it was returned to China. Then in 1949, harried by Mao Zedong's communist troops, an estimated 30,000 people, the remnants of China's nationalist party, the Kuomintang (KMT), retreated to Taiwan.
As each culture endeavoured to keep alive its culinary traditions, the result was a splendid array of fine foods and if the presence of American giants like McDonald's and Starbucks are not to every visitor's taste, they certainly have their following among younger locals.
When the KMT under Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, it didn't come empty-handed. It brought not only chefs from every part of the mainland, but the world's best collection of Chinese art and artefacts, tens of thousands of tonnes of them, now housed in Taipei's National Palace Museum. There are so many that only a tiny fraction of what is stored are on show.
Food is to the fore here, too.
Popular attractions include a life-sized Chinese cabbage carved from a single piece of green and white jade, and a piece of banded jasper like a piece of succulent baked pork.
Lunch in the museum's Silks restaurant serves the real thing: after appetizer and then minced seafood soup served in three-legged bowls modelled on museum exhibits, we are presented with braised pakchoi that looks just like thejade carving, then melt-in-the-mouth pork just like the banded jasper version.
For those on tight budgets, food halls and street stalls are great value, especially at the main railway station.
At Taipei 101, the city's tallest building, the price of ice cream on a warm evening was a bit of a shock, though, at about three times the price at home.
Going nuts
It is estimated that one in four men in Taiwan chews the nut of the Areca catechu palm, sometimes flavoured with spices before being wrapped in betel leaves. Related to kava, betel nuts are mildly stimulating, although the effect varies from one user to another.
Habitual users have stained mouths and teeth. Dried and powdered, the nut was once used to cure tapeworms and other intestinal parasites. Prices vary according to quality. I bought one (but was too timid to try it) in Taipei for about 20c.
Getting there
EVA Airlines is reported to be considering reinstating its direct Auckland-to-Taipei flights but until then, travellers from New Zealand to Taiwan usually go via Hong Kong. Other options include going through Brisbane, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, the latter on AsiaAir, which has fares from less than $400 - if you can get one of the handful available.
• Gillian Vine is a Dunedin journalist.
