The Result of Bringing TGI Fridays to Taiwan

Approximately 10 years ago, I tried TGI Fridays for the very first time. To say it was magnificent would be an understatement. Now, if you have never lived in Asia for an extended period of time, you probably don't understand why it was such a big deal. This is because in Asia, any Western restaurant chain--even McDonald's--is a semi big deal. To illustrate what this means, I'll use this comparison: a McDonald's in Taiwan is what a Starbucks in the U.S. is to the regular student and young professional. It is an acceptable place to study and hang out with friends. Trust me, I've done it before. If you still don't understand, you would just have to witness the grandeur that is a McDonald's in Taiwan.

Anyway, back to TGI Fridays. Before we made that family trip, I eagerly went on the Taiwanese version of their website to view their menu. I was ecstatic; it had been more than half a decade since I'd had any Mexican food, and my mouth was salivating at the thought of fajitas, something that my tastebuds had long become unfamiliar with. When we arrived, I could not believe how different everything inside was from the regular day to day restaurants I was used to in Taiwan. From the dimly lit red lights to the walls plastered with mismatched posters and signs to the striped table cloths, everything was so foreign and so, so exciting.

Since there weren't any price adjustments on the menu to better match the standard of living in Taiwan, our family was careful in only ordering things we truly could not find elsewhere in the area or easily replicate at home. First, the sampler with the potato skins and buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks. Next, the fajitas I had been fantasizing about all day. Then, the Cajun shrimp and chicken pasta. Everything tasted abso-frickin-lutely delicious...and not just to me, but to my grandparents as well. My grandma, who rarely eats Western food, still randomly craves TGI Fridays from time to time. Maybe it was the memory of an unusual family dinner, maybe it was simply the taste. We'll never know. But one thing I know for sure is that in Taiwan, we never treat TGI Fridays lightly.

Of course, now that I'm back in the States and living here for the long term, TGI Fridays is never something I really crave or go to for special occasions. However, the other day, I had some leftover heavy cream and thought about tossing it in some pasta. Then, I remembered the Cajun shrimp and chicken pasta dish from TGI Fridays--how it was such a novelty because of the lack of access we had to unsweetened whipping cream and Cajun seasoning. So, I decided to do the leftover cream some justice and recreate a dish (sans the shrimp) that was held in such high regards to all three generations of our family.

And guess what? It was abso-frickin-lutely delicious!