Soup comes near the end, not the start

In traditional Chinese dining, 湯汤 tāng often marks the final course before dessert rather than the first. It’s usually clear rather than creamy, meant to cleanse the palate after the richness of the main dishes before something sweet.

Why there’s no real “main course”

Chinese dining leans family-style — a handful of dishes land on the table together and get shared, rather than each person getting one centerpiece plate. Balance and variety across the dishes matter more than any single “main.”

小菜小菜 isn’t plated with the main

Unlike Western sides sharing a plate with the entrée, Taiwanese 小菜小菜 xiǎocài arrive on their own small dishes, ordered separately and often refillable.

Dessert usually isn’t cake

Traditional Chinese desserts lean toward fruit or warm sweet soups — glutinous rice balls in sweet syrup, white fungus soup, or osmanthus fermented rice soup — usually served at the very end of a meal or for special occasions.

Taiwan does its own thing with cocktails

Look out for local twists — vodka mixed with fragrant Tieguanyin tea and fresh milk, topped with tapioca pearls; Red Jade Tea Liquor blending Nantou’s Sun Moon Lake black tea with vodka; or bourbon with fresh passion fruit purée, garnished with gummy candy.

“Vegetarian” isn’t one thing here

• 全素全素 quánsù — strict Buddhist vegetarian. No meat anywhere in the kitchen, ever — pots, cutting boards, and knives have never touched it — and even the seasoning skips onion, garlic, and chili. If you’re vegan but fine with alliums, say “I eat 全素全素, but I can have onion, garlic, and chili.”
• 蛋奶素蛋奶素 dànnǎisù — ovo-lacto vegetarian, grouped as one category here rather than split in two. No meat or seafood, but eggs and dairy are fine.
• 鍋邊素锅边素 guōbiānsù — the flexible version: no meat eaten directly, but picking meat out of a shared dish (the peppers from pepper-and-pork stir-fry, say) is acceptable.