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Notes on the Quiet Power of Black Tea Soy Milk in Taiwan
Some Mornings, Sweetness Wins I stand at the counter of a breakfast shop.My turn is almost here.In my mouth, the usual order is already formed. Iced soy milk.Half sugar. There is no real reason to hesitate.I know this is the optimal choi... -
Notes on Riding YouBike in Kaohsiung
A city where distance behaves differently Walking through Kaohsiung, my sense of distance shifts. The roads are wide.The blocks are large.An MRT station and a market, or a station and a restaurant, sit just far enough apart. Fifteen minu... -
Notes on Why Taiwan’s Breakfast Accepts Everything
Order Within a Single Griddle In the morning streets of Taiwan, a familiar scene repeats itself.I step into a small breakfast shop and order danbing and fantuan.An egg is cracked onto the griddle. Batter is poured.Beside it, youtiao is r... -
Notes on the Soft Xiao Long Bao of Taiwan’s Breakfast Shops
Morning steam, slightly different Walking through Taipei in the morning,there are moments when a different kind of steam gathers in front of soy milk shops. Commuters pass by.Bicycles creak.At the storefront sit large stock pots and stac... -
Notes on Ordering Breakfast in Taiwan
A Practice of Moving at Morning Speed Mornings in Taiwan are loud. Metal scrapes on a hot griddle.Soy milk being poured.Short calls exchanged across a narrow counter. Compared with lunch shops, breakfast places are faster.Because of that... -
Notes on How Taipei Breakfast Shops Survive on 60 NT Dollars
Walking through Xinyi or Zhongshan in Taipei, the numbers feel out of place. Land prices rival central Tokyo, sometimes exceed it.Yet in narrow side streets, breakfast shops display simple signs: soy milk for 25 NT dollars, egg crepes fo... -
Notes on Why Breakfast Lives Outside the Home in Taiwan
Morning sounds come from the street Walking through Taipei in the early morning,the sound of pots and oil comes not from inside homes,but from the street. These are not cafés.They are not restaurants. Soy milk shops, breakfast counters, ... -
Notes on Two Kinds of Soy Milk in Taiwanese Breakfast Shops
Two kinds of steam in the morning At a soy milk shop in the morning, there are always two kinds of presence. One rises thick and white, heavy with heat.The other sits behind glass, cold and still. Both are soy milk.Yet they line up like ... -
Notes on traditional Taiwanese Breakfast Shops
A street full of breakfast Walking through a Taiwanese city, breakfast shops appear on nearly every street.Egg pancakes, flatbread, soy milk, rice rolls.Each morning, large volumes of food move quietly out through small windows. This sce... -
Notes on YouBike 1.0 and 2.0 in Taiwan
From orange to white, a quiet shift Walking through Taipei, I keep seeing two kinds of bicycles. Older ones in orange.Newer ones in white and yellow. For most people, it looks like a simple design update.Old units remain. New ones replac...
