Tiny Taipei takes root in Phoenix


The dinner crowd at Taiwan Bistro. — ©2025 The New York Times Company

AFTER finishing her shift at the sprawling microchip plant on the edge of the Arizona desert, Helen Wang heads home to start her side hustle – cooking spicy beef soup and pork noodles for Taiwanese colleagues craving a taste of home.

When the first workers arrived two years ago to staff the Taiwan Semi­conductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) factory in northern Phoenix, they found few Asian groceries or Taiwanese restaurants.

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