Rechao
Rechao menu items are influenced by numerous cultures including Fujianese, Japanese, Korean, Sichuanese, Southeast Asian, and Taiwanese.
[10] Another reason for the popularity of rechao restaurants was that urban dwellers considered them to be a haven where they could vent their frustrations after facing constant stress from higher-ups at work.
[11] The rechao restaurants offered unlimited free white rice and clear pricing, making customers feel at ease when placing their order.
[4] The food writer Clarissa Wei stated that she spent 1.5 years delving into Taiwanese culinary traditions for her cookbook and found that typically infrequent attention is paid to rechao beyond a cursory reference.
[14] Chris Horton of The Nikkei compared rechao restaurants to Cantonese-style dim sum eateries and izakaya, a Japanese bar.
He said that whereas night markets embody Taiwanese culture's trendy side, rechao restaurants are their grittier, more rough-edged urban counterparts.
[6] According to the food writer Clarissa Wei, rechao eateries were like the pub in Great Britain and the izakaya in Japan in being a social spot for gathering and having drinks.
According to Wei, rechao restaurants give diners a night market's sensory pleasures while not having to maneuver past a sea of people.
[1] She frequented rechao eateries with her friends to unwind to avoid the discomfort of traversing a night market filled with tourists during warm temperatures.
[15] The Straits Times food critic Foong Woei Wan said Taiwanese rechao eateries reside in an "alternative universe" from comparable Singaporean establishments.
[17] Typically located next to bustling intersections or at street corners, the restaurants have vivid red and yellow latterns arranged similarly to Christmas lights.
[5] The Taipei Times's Ho Yi typically steered clear of rechao establishments owing to the unclean environment and uncertain sanitation protocols.
Wearing low-cut shirts and short skirts, they visit each table to market the beer brand, serve the beverage into tiny shot glasses, and top off the cups.
[6] Rechao establishments create settings for numerous Taiwanese to connect with each other, dining and conversing amid the sound of glasses clinking and woks sizzling.
[5] The rechao restaurant's open space lets diners relax, laugh, and converse and allow them to foster deep connections with each other.
Wei witnessed side-splitting laughter powerful enough to cause beer to spray from people's nostrils and intoxicated adult males falling face-first onto several tables.
Wei concluded that like just as in every culture, food and sufficient alcoholic beverages unites humans, and "the rechao experience in Taiwan—hot, noisy, and messy, in all its glory—remains my all-time favorite".
Food writer Clarissa Wei wrote that rechao dishes convey a unified narrative of "what it means to be Taiwanese, an identity that is multicultural and nuanced".
[3][5][6] Rechao menu items are inspired by the culinary traditions from numerous cultures including Fujianese, Japanese, Korean, Sichuanese, Southeast Asian, and Taiwanese.
[6] Japan's cultural impact on Taiwan is reflected through how rechao restaurants offer sashimi accompanied by a small amount of wasabi.
For instance, for several thousand years, Sichuanese people made poached pork belly coated in soy sauce and chili oil.
[5][6] Wei said this cost much more than a typical Taipei dinner outing but remained affordable in the context of being a "rare elongated social activity" where diners linger for several hours.
[6] At the Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County, the Red Resort Village Restaurant has a menu with items usually available in rechao eateries.
The food writer Clarissa Wei said that through his charismatic personality and his wife's exceptional culinary skills, Fat Man Eatery evolved into a rechao establishment.
[1] Lin Mei Ru Seafood Stir Fry Restaurant (Chinese: 林美如海鮮熱炒) is a fusion rechao and izakaya establishment in Taipei's Zhongshan District.
Diners sit on red stools at black tables with chrome finishes, matching the colors used at a typical rechao eatery.
Its menu in 2022 included the typical rechao dishes of bitter melon soup, fried noodles, green beans, mapo tofu, and Kung Pao "chicken".
[29] Ten Seafood Restaurant (Chinese: 田僑海鮮餐館) is a rechao eatery in the Hengchun township of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan.
[19] The rechao restaurant 886 was established in 2018 by Eric Sze and Andy Chuang and in the East Village neighborhood of New York City's Lower Manhattan.
Reflecting a typical Taiwanese eatery, the restaurant features vibrant neon lighting and a lively atmosphere and also imports beer glasses, plastic chairs, and metal folding tables from Taiwan.
