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Notes on Why Taiwan Has Beef Noodle Soup, but Not Pork Noodle Soup
A small question over a late bowl One night in Taipei, I was eating beef noodle soup, niurou mian. A simple question caught in my throat. Taiwan has beef noodle soup.But a sign that says pork noodle soup is almost never seen. Pork is fam... -
Notes on Noodles in Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
Thick or Thin, and What the Bowl Becomes Right after I finally manage to order a bowl of red-braised beef noodle soup (hongshao niurou mian), the staff asks without a pause. Which noodles? It is often not written on the menu.A quiet extr... -
Notes on the History of Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
A Bowl That Moved from Juancun Kitchens into the City Beef noodle soup (niurou mian) is now a common sight in Taiwan, in almost any city.But its starting point was not a restaurant district.It was the postwar military dependents’ village... -
Notes on Counting Drink Shops Across Taiwan
Testing a Few Estimation Methods While Walking Walking through Taiwanese cities, the next drink shop appears before I realize it. Each turn brings a new sign.I keep thinking, “Were there this many?” On Fuxing South Road, on Zhongxiao Eas... -
Notes on Du Xiao Yue in Taiwan’s Night Markets
A word that returns to the street, and the instincts of trade Walking through a night market, my eyes pause. Amid flashing lights and shouted signs, three familiar characters appear. Du Xiao Yue. The lettering is the same as the one seen... -
Notes on Du Xiao Yue and Danzi Noodles in Taiwan
A Street with Red Lanterns Walking through the center of Tainan, I notice red lanterns hanging along a street lined with old buildings. They do not insist on attention.They stand slightly straighter than the others. White walls. Wooden d... -
Notes on Tainan’s Danzi Noodles
A Small Bowl Born from Subtraction Danzi noodles known locally as danzai mian, are served in a small bowl. Thin noodles.A modest spoonful of minced pork.A single shrimp. The clear broth is not made from pork bones, but from shrimp heads.... -
Notes on Making Pork Meatballs in Hsinchu, Taiwan
Wind from the City and Flecks of Black Pork meatball soup, known as gongwan tang, appears early in Hsinchu.It sits beside rice noodles on menus near Chenghuang Temple. This pairing is often explained as a set for visitors.But the connect... -
Notes on the Birth of Kaohsiung’s 85 Sky Tower
1997, When the Tower Still Meant Hope In the mid-1990s, Kaohsiung felt heavier than it does now.The air was dense. The heat stayed. The port ranked third in the world for container throughput.Ships lined up offshore.Smoke rose day and ni... -
Notes on the Long Road to Reviving Kaohsiung’s 85 Sky Tower
A tower that pierces the clouds, or a monument to the city’s past The tower can be seen from almost anywhere in Kaohsiung.It is said to have been designed in the shape of the character for “high.” The 85 Sky Tower once claimed the title ...
