One thing the Taiwanese undoubtedly share with their mainland brethren is their love of food. Chinese cuisine is one of the oldest and most varied in the world, ranging from elaborate banquets, simple street-side noodles, casual dim sum lunches and a host of regional specialities. All of China's regional styles are represented in Taiwan's thriving restaurant scene, from spicy Sichuan and Cantonese stir-fries to Shanghai noodles and Peking duck, but the island is not without its own specialities.

Street stalls are an excellent way of sampling some of Taiwan's more exotic dishes, as well as standard fillers like noodles, at rock bottom prices. Be careful with hygiene though, and take especial care to check that seafood is thoroughly cooked. Only the boldest should venture into Taipei's Huahsi Night Market (Snake Alley) where shopkeepers beckon you in to drink snake's blood or sample semi-live turtle soup. Shop windows display live snakes hanging from bull clips while their blood drains away, and shell-less turtles hanging upside down on meat hooks so it's really not for animal lovers or for the squeamish.

Other Asian foods are widely eaten in Taiwan although Japanese is possibly most prevalent, due in part to the island's colonial past. All things Japanese are considered wildly cool among Taiwan's youth and food is no exception. Teppanyaki and mizuyaki are popular Japanese dishes while the Taiwanese have incorporated Japan's miso, sashimi and preserved radish into their own cooking. Also worth looking out for are Mongolian or Korean barbecues along with Thai and Vietnamese fare which can be found mostly in Taipei.

Western food can be found but you should expect an Asian take on most dishes - sugary spaghetti eaten with chopsticks, "Spanish style" pork chops stewed in a thick tomato sauce and sweetened bread are just some of the treats in store. A good place to try Western food Taiwan-style is in one of the many coffee shops. A Western-style meal served with coffee can set you back less than NTD5. Saying that, some of Taipei's fancier hotel restaurants are excellent but with the massive turnover of new restaurants it's worth getting a local expat's recommendation.

Taiwanese cuisine relies heavily on seafood, with clams and oysters particular favourites. Dishes are often served in thick, rich sauces. Locals have a decidedly sweet tooth, and even savoury dishes can be loaded with sugar, so don't even try to count calories while you are away.

Popular local dishes include bean curd in red sauce, o-a-chian (oyster omelette served with sweet-and-sour sauce) and pigs' feet with noodles - believed to ward off bad luck.

Taiwan's tea gardens have spawned some particularly delicious local delicacies. Try tea chicken - a whole chicken steamed in tea leaves - which is particularly good at Mucha Tea Garden in Taipei. Noodles in soup with a variety of meat, fish balls and dumplings are popular and cheap - spicy beef noodles are a Taipei speciality.

Festivals are a good time to sample Taiwanese and Chinese delicacies. Try egg-filled moon cakes during autumn's Moon Festival, leaf-wrapped rice dumplings during June's Dragon Boat Festival, or spring rolls in April.

Taiwan operates no set licensing hours and alcohol is widely available. Taiwanese women tend to drink very little, if at all, but the worst any female foreign drinkers can expect is the odd stare. The logically named Taiwan Beer is very drinkable and cheap. Taiwan's local liquor can be lethal and rough to say the least - names to remember, and perhaps avoid, are Shaohsing Wine and Kao Liang (sorghum) spirit. Lychee, plum and mei liqueur are worth a try though, as is Taiwanese tea brandy, infused with Wulung tea. All your typical spirits - vodka, whiskey, gin - are readily available in bars but do expect to pay substantially more for foreign imports.

The most popular tipple in Taiwan though, as in Chinese communities everywhere, is good old-fashioned tea. It's actually the central point of many meals like dim sum. Popular teas include Pu Erh, Iron Buddha, Oolong and the more delicate Jasmine. So popular indeed is tea that drinking it is one of Taiwan's most popular forms of evening entertainment. Taiwan is littered with tea houses, some of which are open right through the night, and it's not uncommon to see whole families up till the early hours chatting over a teapot, or young party goers popping in for a pick-me-up on their way home. They can be fascinating places and some of the tea is exquisite. It's worth visiting if just to study some of the rituals of whisking and pouring and turning. Some of the tiny tea-sets - often available to buy in tourist areas - make beautiful gifts.