A VIDEO of a Taiwanese husband and wife eating Scottish delicacies such as haggis, fudge and Tunnocks’ Teacakes has become an online hit with more than 390,000 views.
Taiwan-based YouTube channel LadyFlavor uploaded a video of a couple and their cameraman eating a variety of Scottish and English treats. The trio tried everything from liquorice, to Cheesy Pasta, tinned haggis, and Cullen skink, giving each a score.
The haggis, which can be considered unappealing by those unfamiliar, went down a treat with all three, as did the Cullen skink and Tunnock’s Dark Chocolate Caramel Wafers.
Commenting on the taste of the haggis, a member of the YouTube channel’s team told The National: “I personally feel that the taste is rich and the smell is very rich and special. I'm very happy to be able to eat Scottish food in such a far away place, and I think it's pretty good.”
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The team were sent the food by Sandy, a fan of the YouTube channel and a Taiwanese woman living in Edinburgh. She explained that one of their previous videos about foreign flavours of instant noodles prompted her to share a selection of British food with them.
During the 18-minute Mandarin-language YouTube video they also consumed Yorkshire Tea, Tunnock's Tea Cakes, Scottish Fudge, Grant's Tinned Premium Haggis, Baxter's Cullen Skink and Henry Goode's Black Liquorice.
“I knew they wouldn't like the liquorice. I mean, who does?”, said Sandy, “I expected they would find the instant noodles more disgusting than they said they were, which is a surprise.
"I am happy they liked the haggis though.”
As Sandy noted, the British instant noodles – two varieties of Naked Big Eat noodles and a King Pot Noodle – didn’t go down well. The duo also looked puzzled when opening Maynard's Liquorice Allsorts, with X-Files music ominously (and hilariously) playing as they look onto these bizarre foreign sweets.
Sandy would love to have them try fresh Haggis with whisky honey sauce, black or white pudding, square sausage and smoked haddock. But due to postage restrictions food like this can’t be sent.
“I would also want to send them some Scottish shortbread and classic vinegar and salt chips,” she said. She also reckons that Taiwanese people would enjoy dishes such as smoked haddock and similar dishes.
Sandy said that many people she’s given Taiwanese food to in Scotland have enjoyed it.
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“Most of them enjoy bubble tea. They like dumplings, buns, beef noodle, Taiwanese style bread, tea eggs, radish cake, taro cake, mochi (rice cake), egg roll, dang bing (egg pancakes), Taiwanese sausage and Taiwanese rice balls.”
Last month, she invited friends over for the Lunar New Year and prepared a full table of Taiwanese meals which, she said, everyone enjoyed. Sandy explained that she wanted to help bring Scottish food and culture to Taiwan and vice versa.
You can view the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqDlXUN5aLA
It’s entirely in Mandarin but, even if you don’t understand the language, the reactions to Scottish and English cuisine makes for fun viewing.
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