Southeast Asian cuisines to be added to New Taipei school lunch menus. (Facebook photo) Southeast Asian cuisines to be added to New Taipei school lunch menus. (Facebook photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The New Taipei City Government's Department of Education launched the "International Cuisine Education Program" on Monday (Dec. 2), adding dishes from seven Southeast Asian countries to elementary school lunch menus.

A press conference was held at Dingpu Elementary School Monday afternoon with New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-Yi (侯友宜) in attendance. Hou said that school lunches in New Taipei have evolved from traditional Taiwanese dishes to more diverse offerings to make second-generation immigrants feel more included at school, reported UDN.

New immigrants from seven different countries served authentic Southeast Asian dishes at the conference, including Vietnamese chicken curry, Thai basil chili pork, Burmese fried egg, and Indonesian turmeric rice. The city government has also compiled 35 signature new immigrant dishes into a cookbook to educate students about foreign cultures, reported CNA.

The new menu is expected to be rolled out next year at five elementary schools in New Taipei: Jiqing, Xiufeng, Chongyang, Shuang Feng, and Zhong-gang. According to TSSD News, New Taipei is home to the largest new immigrant population in Taiwan.



New Taipei City Government introduces new school lunch dishes on Dec. 2. (CNA photo)