Taiwanese Snacks Paired with “Wooden Tableware” — Elevated to French Cuisine

Reported by Zhou Youzheng / Comprehensive Report

Taiwanese snacks transformed into French cuisine? Most people’s impression of enjoying Taiwanese street food involves dining in crowded eateries or queuing up on the roadside. The Tainan Furniture Museum has specially introduced wooden tableware and collaborated with F&B vendors to offer Taiwanese street food cooked with Western techniques, jointly transforming these snacks into something “fashionable” and changing consumers’ perceptions of them.

▲ Using delicate wooden tableware to serve grilled mullet belly adds a refined touch to the dish. (Photo / Provided by Tainan Furniture Museum)

“Taiwanese snacks are very famous. We hope to elevate them to a higher level with exquisitely crafted tableware,” said Chiang Wen-yi, director of the Tainan Furniture Museum. Recently, the museum has been emphasizing the integration of traditional craftsmanship with local culture, particularly focusing on the world-renowned Taiwanese snacks. As a result, they have developed “wooden tableware,” using innovative concepts combined with traditional woodworking techniques to create utensils rich in artisanal aesthetics.

Chiang Wen-yi mentioned that he often discusses with Chef Wu Guan-sheng of a Western restaurant, “Are there new possibilities for Taiwanese snacks?” Chef Wu prepares local Taiwanese snacks using French molecular gastronomy techniques, blending East and West to create dishes such as grilled mullet belly, slow-cooked Dongpo pork with meat floss bubbles, floating fish ball soup, and crispy fried fresh oysters. Paired with delicate and elegant wooden tableware and served in the sequence of French cuisine — including cold appetizers, hot dishes, soups, starters, mains, and desserts — these dishes are instantly transformed into locally inspired French-style cuisine.

▲ Locally sourced ingredients, when cooked and served with wooden tableware, look even more delicious. (Photo / Provided by Tainan Furniture Museum)

Currently, this East-meets-West interpretation of Taiwanese snacks follows the concept of a private home-style dining experience and will later adopt an appointment-only system. Chiang Wen-yi pointed out that this approach not only helps promote local snacks internationally but also advances Taiwan’s traditional wooden craftsmanship. Just as the museum has long promoted woodworking skills and established the “Lu Ban Academy,” it hopes to preserve local wooden craftsmanship through educational heritage.

▲ A variety of differently shaped wooden tableware presenting dishes and desserts. (Photo / Provided by Tainan Furniture Museum)

[Tainan Furniture Industry Museum]
Address: No. 321, Section 1, Erren Road, Rende District, Tainan City
Business Hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM; guided tours start hourly from 11:00 AM (latest entry at 4:00 PM)
Reservation Hotline: 06-2661193
For meal reservations, please contact[Red Charcoal Restaurant]