What do you give as a "thank you" gift to a Taiwanese man?

Question

I'm currently going to Physical Therapy due to a car accident in April and my therapist is just great. So far I learned how to say thank you in Mandarin, but I want to give him an appropriate-traditional Chinese "thank you" gift. He is an older man in his 50's from Taiwan.

Answer 1

Well!

Usually, for our etiquette, we give nicely arranged delicious DELUXE fruit and/or food gourmet baskets. Or sometime we prefer wine.

NEVER GIFT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS, due to Faux pas:

送鐘 (give clocks) In Chinese, it means attending a funeral.
傘 (umbrella) In Chinese, it means scatter or splite up (your friendship).
書 (books) In Chinese, it means lose or losses (of money) especially if he is into gambling or investing.
分梨(Splite paear) In Chinese, it means seperation.
戴綠帽 (green hats) In Chinese, it means his wife is unfaithful.

I am sure he also prefer traditional chinese pastries. Someone here suggested Mochi. However, he may not like Mochi. According to you, he is in his 50's. Mochi will stick on your teeth. It's relatively difficult to clean if you've dentures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mochi_%28food%29

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000NNHRXM/sr=1-1/qid=1185244508/ref=dp_image_text_0/103-4167439-9294214?ie=UTF8&n=3370831&s=gourmet-food&qid=1185244508&sr=1-1

Someone suggested moon cake:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake

That is great idea for this time of the year. However, you not be able to get it easily. You may want to search in the Chinese Supermarket in your local area. Please make sure you get them fresh. The mooncake is a thick pasty filling is surrounded by a relatively thin (2-3 mm) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs. Thereby, it is high in cholesterol and SUPERSWEET paste.
The paste could be Lotus seed paste,Sweet bean paste, Jujube paste & Five kernel. I personally dislike the sweet bean. Without knowing his personal favorite, you may want to get combination of these.

Other than fruits, wine, and pastries, we give people orchids (many words and phrases related to the word orchid 蘭 has to do with beauty and smart in Chinese) or tea (for health reason).

Answer 2

Not chocolates or big bunches of flowers. Perhaps a card? It's odd for a guy to want to say thank you with a gift. Do you really like her? If so you should just say so. Ask her to dinner or out for drinks. But if this is purely professional I'd not go over board. Just keep it a simple thank you. At most a single flower, maybe a yellow rose (which stands for friendship) and a thank you for being a friend card. Gift cards are another option (Block Busters or Star Bucks). I'm sure you'll think of something good. Best wishes.

Answer 3

High-quality green tea leaves or a box of Korean pears are gifts my family both have given and received. The box of pears would be rather bulky, but appreciated nonetheless! As for the tea leaves, make sure it's actual leaves, not tea bags. Generally, you can tell if it's good quality if the tea comes in a very fancy box, but you can ask for help in the store if you need to.

Answer 4

Easy, you give him a good looking Taiwanese girl. Lol

Seriously:

Check this link out:
http://www.aswatson.com/eng/news_Aug22_2005.htm

Also:
http://www.tradekey.com/ks-traditional-chinese-gifts/

Answer 5

I found a traditional Taiawnese dessert that might be just thing for him! check out this link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B000NNHRXM/sr=1-1/qid=1185244508/ref=dp_image_text_0/103-4167439-9294214?ie=UTF8&n=3370831&s=gourmet-food&qid=1185244508&sr=1-1

Answer 6

Give him something from your culture. I am certain he will like it more than something Chinese.

Answer 7

maybe just give him an american product, can't hurt, right?
unless you'd rather give him something cultural, then google it! =]