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Notes on Bitter Melon Soup in Taiwan
The Coolness of White Jade Bitter Melon When Japanese speakers hear “goya,” they tend to imagine a dark green vegetable with a rough, uneven surface. The bitter melon found in Taiwanese soups looks different.What stands out in the bowl i... -
Notes on Paigu Soup in Taiwan
Two colors in one name On the wall of a small diner, the menu reads only one line: paigu soup.From that alone, it is impossible to know what will arrive. It may be a clear, pale broth.Or a bowl clouded in reddish brown. Paigu soup in Tai... -
Notes on Yellow Tigers and White Signs in Taiwan
A color fixed in memory For those who have spent time in Taipei,a certain color settles into memory. Yellow ground.Red characters.A slightly old-fashioned tiger mark. Once, when people said Lao Hu Jiang Wenzhou Big Wontons,this color sch... -
Notes on Lao Hu Jiang Wenzhou Giant Wontons in Taiwan
A sign that appears at regular intervals Walking through Taipei, the same colors enter my view at steady intervals.White background. Red characters. Lao Hu Jiang Wenzhou Giant Wontons. The sign is not loud.Still, it stands where it can a... -
Notes on Wonton Soup in Taiwan
A bowl that is close to being a drink When I look into the bowl, a white membrane drifts without a clear shape.Its outline is vague.It is hard to tell whether it belongs to the solid world or the liquid one. I lift it with chopsticks.A t... -
Notes on Dry Noodles in Taiwan
A menu item with no description Holding an order slip in a Taiwanese eatery, there is sometimes a moment of hesitation.Beef noodle soup, sesame noodles, minced pork noodles.The names suggest their flavors. Then there is one line written ... -
Notes on Fish Ball Soup in Taiwan
A white surface that conceals heat When the bowl is set down, the first thing I see is white. Fish paste shaped into dumplings and simmered in a clear broth. Slightly misshapen ovals.Stacked in two uneven layers, like a small snowman.The... -
Notes on Pig’s Blood Soup in Taiwan
A bowl that stops the eye When the bowl arrives, I pause. In a clear broth, dark red blocks sit quietly.Rectangular. Dense in color. They could be part of a gallery installation.Or a fragment from a ritual whose meaning is no longer expl... -
Notes on Suan La Tang in Taiwan
A bowl that supports dumplings When I enter a dumpling shop in Taiwan,suan la tang is almost always listed near the top of the menu. It is not clear.It is cloudy.Many ingredients are cut into thin stripsand sink into a soup thickened jus... -
Notes on Bafang Yunji and the Yellow Sign in Taiwan
The yellow sign that appears everywhere Walking through a Taiwanese city,I notice the same colors again and again.Yellow and red, as frequent as 7-Eleven. The sign reads Bafang Yunji. It is not a tourist destination.There are no long lin...
