As everyone knows, Canada is one of the most multicultural country in the world. As the result of the diversity, many restaurants with different cultures are established in Canada, specifically the Greater Toronto Area. Out of these variety of restaurants, I love Taiwanese restaurants the most as I am a Taiwanese myself!

Taiwanese Immigration History:

In 1947, the discriminatory legislation against Chinese immigrants was finally abolished. Since then, large amount of individuals emigrated from Taiwan, as well as Hong Kong and China. There are approximately 100,000 Taiwanese living in Canada right now.

Today I’m going to talk about Green Grotto, a Taiwanese restaurant that has 9 different locations within the Greater Toronto Area. It is a cafe style restaurant that serves a variety of bubble tea, desserts, noodles and rice dishes.

In 1993, Green Grotto started at Yonge and Sheppard, with a CD, a bookshop, an entertainment retail, and a tea shop. Gradually evolved into its second generation, Green Grotto now has seven tea shops and two restaurants in the Greater Toronto Area. Green Grotto has become the most distinguishable Taiwanese tea shop that originated in Canada.

Looking at Green Grotto’s menu, we could tell that it is heavily influenced by the Taiwanese food culture. Green Grotto is known for their variety of bubble teas and also other types of drinks ranging from price of $6 to $7 .

Before I immigrated to Canada, all of my friends in Taiwan would get at least one drink from the tea shops everyday. Tea shop drink is undeniably an essential part of the Taiwanese culture and this is displayed through Green Grotto’s menu.

Bubble tea, a cold drink made with sweetened milk, iced tea or other flavourings, usually mixed with “pearls” made from tapioca.

Bubble Tea origin:

In the 1980s, bubble tea began in Taichung, Taiwan, and has spread rapidly throughout the world since then. It is not clear who is the true founder of bubble tea since several tea companies claim to be the creator. During the 1990s, bubble tea became popular in Southeast and East Asia. Eventually, becomes a world wide known drink.

Speaking of food that represents Taiwanese culture, we can not forget about Salt & pepper chicken, also known as popcorn chicken (鹽酥雞).This dish is served by Green Grotto at a reasonable price of $7.99!

Popcorn chicken,a must eat dish when you go to night markets in Taiwan. They are often deep fried with basil to create a tantalizing aroma.

Another dish that represents Taiwanese culture is braised pork rice also known as Lu Rou Fan (滷肉飯).  This is the one of the most ordinary and down-to-earth dish for any Taiwanese. It is truly the one dish that Taiwanese people can not live without. This delicious dish is served by Green Grotto at the price of $9.99 which comes in a combo!

I strongly recommend you guys to check out this amazing restaurant for a deeper understanding of the Taiwanese food culture, you will not regret!

For more information about the restaurant, visit this website: http://en.greengrotto.ca/#/

Citations:

“40 Of the Best Taiwanese Foods and Drinks.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 July 2015, http://www.cnn.com/travel/article/40-taiwan-food/index.html.

Bartlett, James, and Megan Yang. “Green Grotto.” AccessTO, AccessTO, 26 Sept. 2018, http://www.accessto.ca/home/2018/9/25/green-grotto.

“Chinese Canadians.” Chinese Canadians | The Canadian Encyclopedia, http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chinese-canadians.

“GreenGrotto.” GreenGrotto, en.greengrotto.ca/#/.

Willard, Haley. “What Is Bubble Tea and Where Did It Come From?” The Daily Meal, 3 Dec. 2013, http://www.thedailymeal.com/what-bubble-tea-and-where-did-it-come/12/03/13.