Q 01/05

Mongolian barbecue was invented in Taipei in 1951 by Wu Zhaonan, a refugee from Beijing later famous as what?

A) A comedian

B) A general

C) A film director

D) A politician

Answer · why

A) A comedian

A comedian is what Wu Zhaonan became after leaving the restaurant business, so the 'Mongolian' dish was a Beijing refugee's Taipei street-stall invent...

Q 02/05

Hong Kong's pineapple bun contains no pineapple at all; what does its name actually describe?

A) Its yellow filling

B) Its crusty topping

C) Its spiral shape

D) Its sweet glaze

Answer · why

B) Its crusty topping

Its crusty topping is the 'pineapple': the cracked, sugary crust resembles the fruit's skin, and the bun is now a fixture of Chinatown bakeries worldw...

Q 03/05

Din Tai Fung, the Taipei chain famous for its soup dumplings, was founded in 1958 as a shop selling what?

A) Rice noodles

B) Green tea

C) Cooking oil

D) Soy sauce

Answer · why

C) Cooking oil

Cooking oil was the trade: founder Yang Bing-yi had spent ten years at the oil retailer Heng Tai Fung and named his own shop after it and his supplier...

Q 04/05

Which Indonesian meatball soup did Barack Obama, raised partly in Indonesia, recall as a childhood favourite?

A) Soto

B) Rawon

C) Bakso

D) Sop buntut

Answer · why

C) Bakso

Bakso, meatballs in clear broth with noodles, got a presidential endorsement when Obama listed it among the foods he remembered from his Indonesian bo...

Q 05/05

Jollibee, the Philippine fast-food chain, began in 1975 in Quezon City as what kind of business?

A) An ice cream parlour

B) A bakery

C) A noodle stall

D) A fried chicken stand

Answer · why

A) An ice cream parlour

An ice cream parlour selling Magnolia ice cream was the start; when the hot food outsold the ice cream, the Tan family converted it into the first Jol...