[Essay] riding scooters

[contiluo]

Please help me make the conversation sound natural. Thanks a lot.

T: Do you like Taiwanese food?

D: Generally speaking, I don’t find the food very appealing and am not really a fan of Taiwanese food, but there are exceptions. Some dishes are really good. I think the food is cooked with so much oil that some dishes are oily, but apart from that, some of the dishes that have less oil in them are appealing. The culture and the food in Taiwan are far different from what I am accustomed to.

T: What are your impressions of Taiwan?

D: At first glance, Taiwan appears to be a small island that is highly populated. It is packed with people riding scooters, obsessed with 7-11, where you can shop, pay bills, use Wi-Fi, send post or collect laundry—24 hours of the day. However, there is much more to Taiwan than the eye. I’ve found it to be a modest country full of natural beauty, kind people and a deeply rooted culture. I really miss Taiwan and would love to visit again.

 

[emsr2d2]

The final paragraph sounds like something one would find in a guide book. It's not a natural, conversational response to the question.

 

[Tdol]

In the first, I think it might be more natural if the speaker gives an example or two of what they like.

 

[contiluo]

I have rewritten the conversation as follows. Please help me make it sound natural. Thanks a lot.

T: Do you like Taiwanese food?

D: Honesty speaking, to my palate, I am not really a fan of Taiwanese food. I’ve tried eating Taiwanese snacks and dishes, such as oyster omelet, braised pork with rice, stinky tofu, fish ball soup, and so on. But there are several dishes that are really good, like dumplings at Din Tai Fung’s bite-sized xiaolongbao. In general, Taiwanese food is cooked with so much oil, so the dishes become oily, but apart from that, the food still tasted good. The culture and the food of this country are far different from that of which I am accustomed to.

T: What are your impressions of visiting Taiwan?

D: At first glance, Taiwan appears to be a densely populated small island. The streets are always crowded with the hustle and bustle people. The first thing I notice is that Taiwan is packed with people riding scooters through the streets of the towns and cities. Next, during my trip I observed that Taiwanese seem to have gained an obsession with 7-11, where you can shop, pay bills, use Wi-Fi, send post or collect laundry—24 hours of the day. However, this trip has been a fast one. Only long enough to get a brief overview of the capital Taipei, and the region of Taoyuan City. There is much to Taiwan than the eye. It’s also made me want to come back and explore the island more fully.

 

[Tdol]

I'll start:

Honesty speaking, to my palate,

It should be honestly. I would delete to my palate. You could use something like Taiwanese food doesn't suit my palate, but to my palate doesn't work as an introductory phrase IMO.

Taiwanese food is cooked with so much oil, so the dishes become oily

It might be better to say a lot of oil to avoid repeating so.