Forget your pepperoni or other pizza toppings: Pizza Hut Taiwan has teamed up with Menya Musashi, a popular Japanese ramen restaurant chain, to serve up the world’s first ramen pizza, and it has attracted global interest after a CNN report about the new mashup was published on the front-page of its Japanese version.
The new pizza has the toppings of a Japanese-style barbecue pork ramen — complete with thick noodles, barbecue pork slices, fresh chilies and white sesame, as well as a half-boiled egg sitting in the middle. It is also garnished with green onions and bamboo shoots on the side.
Pizza Hut Taiwan told CNN that its creative pizzas are just a way to introduce some fun into the customer experience. “Taiwanese consumers live a high-pressure life with long working hours and a high cost of living. The food scene has become an exciting and creative escape,” said Lily Chou, the company’s marketing director, adding that it is definitely the first ramen to be served as a slice.
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times 照片︰台北時報張聖恩
The Taiwanese are known for their creativity in making special food and drinks: some of their previous mashups have included matcha green tea pizza, durian pizza, stinky tofu pizza, and even bubble tea pizza. Also known as “boba tea” or “pearl milk tea,” the famous tea of Taiwanese origin mixed with milk and small tapioca balls has become a global sensation in recent years. Domino’s Taiwan even caused a pizza war by launching its “bubble tea pizza” late last year.
“It might be the ultimate meeting of eastern and western cuisine — Taiwan’s famous bubble tea as a topping on a Domino’s pizza,” CNN reported. Domino’s Taiwan originally planned to offer the dessert pizza covered in brown sugar pearls, cheese and honey for a month, but the popularity of the bubble tea pizza secured its spot on the regular menu, and rivals have been trying to join this trend.
“In Taiwan everyone loves the texture ‘Q,’ which means chewy or bouncy in the way boba is, and this pizza was indeed very ‘Q,’” Lev Nachman, a US PhD candidate conducting research in Taiwan, told CNN.
Photo courtesy of Pizza Hut Taiwan 照片︰台灣必勝客提供
(Eddy Chang, Taipei Times)
忘掉你愛的臘腸或其它配料吧。台灣必勝客近日與熱門日本拉麵連鎖店麵屋武藏合作,共同推出全球首創的「拉麵披薩」!美國有線電視新聞網(CNN)對此混搭的相關報導,還衝上該媒體日本版網站首頁,並進而引發全球關注。
基本上,這款新口味披薩上有著日式叉燒拉麵的配料——包括粗麵條、叉燒肉片、一些辣椒末和白芝麻,中間還擺著一顆半熟的糖心蛋,旁邊則裝飾著一些青蔥及筍片。
台灣必勝客告訴CNN,它的各種創意披薩其實是想為顧客們帶來一些樂趣。行銷總監周佳麗指出︰「台灣消費者過著高工時、高生活成本的高壓生活,而令人興奮的創意美食已成為逃離壓力的出口,」她還說這絕對是第一款用手吃的拉麵。
台灣人向來以製作新奇飲食的創造力而聞名,之前推出的混搭還包括抹茶披薩、榴槤披薩、臭豆腐披薩,甚至珍珠奶茶披薩等。珍奶在英文中又被稱作波霸奶茶或泡沫奶茶,這種知名茶飲一般混合著牛奶,及樹薯粉製成的粉圓,近年逐漸在世界各地造成轟動。台灣達美樂去年底就因為推出黑糖珍珠披薩,而掀起一場披薩大戰。
CNN稍早報導說︰「台灣著名的珍奶化身達美樂披薩配料——這或許是東方和西方飲食的終極交會。」最初台灣達美樂僅計劃推出這款覆蓋著黑糖珍珠、起司、蜂蜜的甜點披薩一個月,不過因產品大受歡迎,最後被加入正式菜單,其它對手亦開始追逐這股風潮。
在台灣做研究的美籍博士候選人南樂對CNN說:「在台灣,每個人都愛『Q』、也就是有嚼勁、會彈牙的口感,就像珍珠粉圓,而這款珍奶披薩口感的確很『Q』。」
(台北時報張聖恩)
The Dutch introduced the Indian mango (Mangifera indica) to Taiwan in the 17th century. It is a green-skinned mango with thick fibers that get stuck in the teeth, but it boasts a rich aroma and a unique taste. In 1954, Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture introduced several mango cultivars from Florida, USA, including the Irwin, Haden, and Keitt varieties. After seven years of testing and domestication, the Irwin variety was chosen for promotion. Years later, the sample saplings started to bear fruit. These mangoes were large, with thin, vibrant red peels and golden pulp. The Irwin mangoes were mouth-wateringly sweet and
As the priest Antonius Hambroek stood in the dim chamber of Fort Zeelandia, his eldest daughter clung to him, her voice trembling. “Father, don’t go. They’ll kill you, and what will become of Mother and my sisters?” Outside, the sounds of Koxinga’s relentless canon siege boomed through the fortress. The defenders were on the brink of collapse. Starvation gnawed at their resolve, and the air carried the acrid stench of spent gunpowder and rotting flesh. Dutch reinforcements from Batavia had failed to arrive, leaving the garrison isolated and hopeless. Hambroek’s face was calm, though sorrow weighed heavily on his
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