The Taiwan Railways Administration is getting ready to celebrate their annual lunchbox festival. This year, they are offering 12 limited edition special lunchboxes featuring local ingredients.
Train lunchboxes are a beloved tradition in Taiwan. Due to their popularity, the Taiwan Railways Administration has held an annual lunchbox festival every year since 2015. This year marks the fifth iteration, and there are 12 special lunchboxes that customers can choose from. But, you better move your feet, because different lunchboxes are only available at certain stations.
In Taipei, there’s Japanese-style salmon and a subsequent vegetarian option. Closer to the north in Qidu, the lunchboxes there feature cherry duck. Hualien on the east coast has an aboriginal-inspired chicken dish. Each one will run you NT $200, or about USD $6.
Over the past three years, the railway administration has sold over 10 million lunchboxes a year. It accounts for over NT $800 million in sales, and is a very important part of their business model.
The lunchbox festival kicks off on November 1 this year and goes on for four days. TRA head official Chang Cheng-yuan says they want to emphasize the role food plays during one’s travels. They want to let customers relive the good times and memories surrounding TRA lunchboxes.