The magnificently colorful and successful Taipei International Flora Expo came to a close on April 25. It has been a feast for the eyes, with an incredible 30 million individual flowers and plants stepping up on stage for their moment in the sun. Yet while the sweet memories of the expo itself will live on in the memories of those who have visited, plans are well developed to keep the expo's 14 pavilions in place and serving the community, moving on to other duties with refits for their new roles. You'll be able to renew your friendship with these old friends as of July 1.
There will be a variety of function adjustments. In the Fine Arts Park Area, the EXPO Hall (舞蝶館) designed to look like a butterfly pupa, will serve as a space for arts and culture performances. The Pavilion of Aroma of Flowers (風味館), which was home for the expo's flagship souvenir store, will now be a retail destination displaying the unique products of Taiwan's indigenous peoples. In the Xinsheng Park Area, the Pavilion of Future (未來館) will be a venue for horticultural exhibitions staged on an irregular basis. The Pavilion of Angel Life (天使生活館) will continue to be run by Taipei's Angel Art Gallery (天使美術館) for another nine years, to serve in the future as a showcase for new technology. In the Yuanshan Park Area, the Pavilion of New Fashion (流行館), the world's first work of architecture made with bricks of recycled PET bottles, will continue to be showcased after the expo.
Two pavilions, the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (臺北市立美術館) and Taipei Story House (台北故事館), were in service before the expo and are continuing their service afterwards. A number of other sites in the Yuanshan Park Area—the EXPO Theater (真相館), Pavilion of Culture (文化館), and Celebrity's House (名人館)—along with the Palace of Floral Teas (花茶殿), the refurbished and expanded version of the original Lin An-tai Historic House (林安泰古厝) on the site, will have their Flora Expo display temporarily extended until July. The expo's most popular pavilion, the Pavilion of Dreams (夢想館), will undergo maintenance and then continue with its original exhibits for another year.
Top Chef Competition and Culinary Exhibition
During the Flora Expo, the EXPO Dome (爭艷館) in the Yuanshan Park Area was a venue for large-scale international horticultural competitions and special exhibitions. The Yuanshan Park Area facility will now switch hats for work as a premium Taipei site for exhibitions and events of many different types. In fact, it will immediately host the 2011 Taipei Food Festival & World Championship of Cookery (2011世界廚王臺北爭霸賽暨美食博覽會).
The city of Taipei has a well-deserved reputation as one of the world's great kitchens. All eight of China's great regional culinary traditions are well-represented here, and Taiwan's own superb range of snacking delicacies is constantly listed by international travelers as a prime reason for visiting the island. The 2011 Taipei Food Festival & World Championship of Cookery is being presented as a platform to introduce Taipei's great chefs and foods to travelers, and will run from May 26 through May 30. The EXPO Dome will host 29 of the country's great names from the world of Chinese food, these master chefs joined by peers from many other regions, this veritable army of kitchen kings vying for the right to sit atop the throne as culinary world champion and for NT$1 million in prize money.
You may not have the chance to witness the great Chinese food cook-off, but don't fret. The“Family Interactive Cooking Contest”is being staged on May 28; come see parents and their kids share a level of unspoken intuition that adds extra zest and flavor to their creations. Another option is to take in the fair on fine foods, where you'll be introduced to all kinds of food ingredients, organic food items, specialty foods from farmers' and fishermens' associations, cooking facilities, and much else besides, browsing and shopping to your heart's content.
In addition, the site will serve as a splendid buffet display, with countless food delicacies presented for your visual delectation by top Taipei chefs and restaurants. These are for your taste delectation as well, for samples are given and you can order full servings. And it gets even better—for full, sumptuous meals, head to the Taipei traditional snack foods area, and you can even reserve a full table for a premium feast online, to be served at a special on-site dining area, where you can enjoy Taiwan's pleasurable banquet-party culture with others. There are three different types of feast menus being served on May 27, 28, and 29: the classic wedding banquet, open-air temple fair banquet, and birthday“longevity”feast. This is the perfect way to dive right in to the tradition of outdoor cooking and dining, beloved by the people of Taiwan since pioneer days and always carried on with great gusto.
Come one, come all, to one of the great culinary shows on Earth! We've reserved a spot just for you, so all you're responsible for now is getting yourself there—oh, and bringing along your appetite.
