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"slug": "biggest-taiwanese-american-food-festival-union-square-sf-2025",
"title": "The West Coast’s Biggest Taiwanese Culture Festival Returns to Union Square",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13975799 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Braised minced pork rice (aka lu rou fan) from Liang’s Village, one of the anchor food vendors at this year’s Taiwanese American Culture Festival. The event returns to San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday, May 10. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Liang's Village)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The regional cuisines of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/taiwanese-food\">Taiwan\u003c/a> are vast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13959259/taiwanese-cookbook-clarissa-wei-interview-sf-bay-area\">endlessly diverse\u003c/a>, but any Taiwanese food festival worth its salt has to hit all the classics: beef noodle soup, fat-drenched lu rou fan and popcorn chicken bedecked with crispy basil leaves. An ice-cold \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957666/best-boba-shops-bay-area-berkeley-cupertino-sf\">boba\u003c/a> tea to wash it all down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, May 10, San Francisco’s 32nd annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Culture Festival\u003c/a> returns, and Union Square will be awash with all of those foundational dishes and more. The biggest event of its kind on the West Coast, the festival has steadily expanded its food offerings since returning from a pandemic-era pause a couple years ago. These days, the Union Square extravaganza boasts more hot food options, a greater mix of established restaurants and up-and-coming pop-ups and collaborations with national brands like \u003ca href=\"https://yunhai.shop/?srsltid=AfmBOopYianPsDWj8Rd9N-5OjplGot2cVCJSsdQx9ajuG6_FDZM2Jca4\">Yun Hai\u003c/a>. (The Brooklyn-based Taiwanese pantry’s sauces and dried fruit snacks are a staple for countless second-gen Taiwanese food enthusiasts.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13959259']\u003c/span>\u003c/span>An ideal food tour of this year’s festival offerings might include a stop at the Liang’s Village stall for a hearty bowl of beef noodle soup and some spicy, Pingtung-style \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">cold peanut noodles\u003c/a>, especially if it’s a hot day. Both Liang’s and the boba shop Mr. Green Bubble will be selling the succulent braised pork belly rice bowls known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a>, though my personal favorite is Mr. Green Bubble’s take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken — one of the best versions you’ll find at a boba shop. Meanwhile, Hayward cult favorite MITK will offer some of the most nostalgic street food dishes: oyster pancakes, black pepper buns and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">fan tuan\u003c/a> (aka “rice burritos”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975803\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13975803\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang.jpg\" alt=\"Taiwanese-style hot dog bun on a plate, against a red backdrop.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-768x960.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1920x2400.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Taiwanese-style hot dog bun from Little Moon Bakehouse. \u003ccite>(Dana Mariko Chang, courtesy of Little Moon Bakehouse)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those with a sweet tooth can make a beeline for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/littlemoonbakehouse/\">Little Moon Bakehouse\u003c/a> (formerly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908103/lunar-new-year-vegan-mooncake-biscuits-annies-t-cakes\">Annie’s T Cakes\u003c/a>) for Taiwanese-inspired buns and pastries, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nekosama_ba/\">Nekosama’s\u003c/a> assortment of cute cat-shaped cookies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The festival will include a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJMzPyuP56A/\">book fair\u003c/a> highlighting Taiwanese American authors, fun merch from local artists and designers, and a robust lineup of both traditional and contemporary cultural performances (headlined by singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@whoisnikorain/video/7433878639504248110\">Niko Rain\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many visitors, checking out each year’s food lineup is the most exciting part of the festival. Who knows? Maybe next year \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940133/stinky-tofu-childrens-book-ra-pu-zel\">stinky tofu\u003c/a> will even make an appearance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975806\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13975806\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24.jpg\" alt=\"Food stall at a food festival in Union Square, San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MITK’s stall at the 2024 edition of the festival. This year, the Hayward catering business will be selling oyster pancakes, fan tuan and more. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of MITK)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This year’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975799\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13975799 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/minced-pork-rice_liangsvillage-1920x1920.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Braised minced pork rice (aka lu rou fan) from Liang’s Village, one of the anchor food vendors at this year’s Taiwanese American Culture Festival. The event returns to San Francisco’s Union Square on Saturday, May 10. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Liang's Village)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The regional cuisines of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/taiwanese-food\">Taiwan\u003c/a> are vast and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13959259/taiwanese-cookbook-clarissa-wei-interview-sf-bay-area\">endlessly diverse\u003c/a>, but any Taiwanese food festival worth its salt has to hit all the classics: beef noodle soup, fat-drenched lu rou fan and popcorn chicken bedecked with crispy basil leaves. An ice-cold \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13957666/best-boba-shops-bay-area-berkeley-cupertino-sf\">boba\u003c/a> tea to wash it all down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On Saturday, May 10, San Francisco’s 32nd annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Culture Festival\u003c/a> returns, and Union Square will be awash with all of those foundational dishes and more. The biggest event of its kind on the West Coast, the festival has steadily expanded its food offerings since returning from a pandemic-era pause a couple years ago. These days, the Union Square extravaganza boasts more hot food options, a greater mix of established restaurants and up-and-coming pop-ups and collaborations with national brands like \u003ca href=\"https://yunhai.shop/?srsltid=AfmBOopYianPsDWj8Rd9N-5OjplGot2cVCJSsdQx9ajuG6_FDZM2Jca4\">Yun Hai\u003c/a>. (The Brooklyn-based Taiwanese pantry’s sauces and dried fruit snacks are a staple for countless second-gen Taiwanese food enthusiasts.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/span>An ideal food tour of this year’s festival offerings might include a stop at the Liang’s Village stall for a hearty bowl of beef noodle soup and some spicy, Pingtung-style \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">cold peanut noodles\u003c/a>, especially if it’s a hot day. Both Liang’s and the boba shop Mr. Green Bubble will be selling the succulent braised pork belly rice bowls known as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a>, though my personal favorite is Mr. Green Bubble’s take on Taiwanese popcorn chicken — one of the best versions you’ll find at a boba shop. Meanwhile, Hayward cult favorite MITK will offer some of the most nostalgic street food dishes: oyster pancakes, black pepper buns and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">fan tuan\u003c/a> (aka “rice burritos”).\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975803\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13975803\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang.jpg\" alt=\"Taiwanese-style hot dog bun on a plate, against a red backdrop.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"2500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-800x1000.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1020x1275.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-160x200.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-768x960.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1229x1536.jpg 1229w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1638x2048.jpg 1638w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/2024_09_02_HotDogBun_0159-dana-mariko-chang-1920x2400.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Taiwanese-style hot dog bun from Little Moon Bakehouse. \u003ccite>(Dana Mariko Chang, courtesy of Little Moon Bakehouse)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Those with a sweet tooth can make a beeline for \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/littlemoonbakehouse/\">Little Moon Bakehouse\u003c/a> (formerly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13908103/lunar-new-year-vegan-mooncake-biscuits-annies-t-cakes\">Annie’s T Cakes\u003c/a>) for Taiwanese-inspired buns and pastries, and \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/nekosama_ba/\">Nekosama’s\u003c/a> assortment of cute cat-shaped cookies.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The festival will include a \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/DJMzPyuP56A/\">book fair\u003c/a> highlighting Taiwanese American authors, fun merch from local artists and designers, and a robust lineup of both traditional and contemporary cultural performances (headlined by singer-songwriter \u003ca href=\"https://www.tiktok.com/@whoisnikorain/video/7433878639504248110\">Niko Rain\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But for many visitors, checking out each year’s food lineup is the most exciting part of the festival. Who knows? Maybe next year \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940133/stinky-tofu-childrens-book-ra-pu-zel\">stinky tofu\u003c/a> will even make an appearance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13975806\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13975806\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24.jpg\" alt=\"Food stall at a food festival in Union Square, San Francisco.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1500\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/05/mtk-at-tacf-24-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">MITK’s stall at the 2024 edition of the festival. This year, the Hayward catering business will be selling oyster pancakes, fan tuan and more. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of MITK)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This year’s \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> will take place on Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "taiwanese-cookbook-clarissa-wei-interview-sf-bay-area",
"title": "Clarissa’s Wei’s ‘Made in Taiwan’ Is the Taiwanese Cookbook I’ve Always Wanted",
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"headTitle": "Clarissa’s Wei’s ‘Made in Taiwan’ Is the Taiwanese Cookbook I’ve Always Wanted | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959272\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of homestyle Taiwanese dishes laid out on a pink and white checked tablecloth.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1020x701.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1536x1056.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of family-style Taiwanese dishes from Clarissa Wei’s cookbook, ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a homesick Taiwanese American, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">I spent years\u003c/a> scouring the Asian strip malls of Fremont and Milpitas for passable versions of my \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">favorite Taiwanese dishes\u003c/a> — beef noodle soup and fat-slicked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> — before I came to what might seem like an obvious realization: I could just try cooking the dishes myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the eight months since I started cooking my way through Clarissa Wei’s wonderful, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2024-media-award-nominees\">James Beard Award–nominated\u003c/a> cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://clarissawei.com/madeintaiwan\">\u003ci>Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which was published this past September, I’ve been eating nostalgic dishes from my childhood more frequently than ever. Thanks to the careful and precise instruction from Wei and her co-author, the Taiwanese cooking instructor \u003ca href=\"https://kitchenivy.com/i\">Ivy Chen\u003c/a>, I’ve been frying up pork chops that taste just like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">bento boxes\u003c/a> I remember buying at the train station in Taipei. I cooked a plate of wok-kissed clams and basil that reminded me of seaside day trips on the island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the process, I’ve learned so many things I never knew about my native country’s cuisine — about the vast differences between Chinese and Taiwanese soy sauces, and the island’s rich culture of beer-friendly outdoor “rechao” restaurants I’d always walked past but felt too out of my depth to patronize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13959274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg\" alt=\"The green cover of the cookbook 'Made in Taiwan,' which shows a spread of beer-friendly dishes \" width=\"430\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-800x994.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1236x1536.jpg 1236w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1648x2048.jpg 1648w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\">This came as no surprise. Over the past decade, Wei, who grew up in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, has built a reputation as one of English-language media’s foremost experts on Taiwanese food — someone who, in her writing about the cuisine, has always expanded the conversation beyond the most obvious handful of dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to Taipei in 2020, Wei says her first-hand experience with the island’s highly globalized, ever-evolving food scene has dispelled any notion she had that there’s such a thing as “authentic” Taiwanese cuisine. At the same time, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan \u003c/i>reads differently from the current wave of Asian American cookbooks that lean into a more diasporic, Americanized point of view. In addition to enlisting Chen, an ace local chef, as her co-author, Wei recruited an all-local team of Taiwanese researchers, food stylists and photographers. She often traveled to distant corners of the island to track down a chef’s authoritative, regionally specific recipe for a dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at this political moment, when the Chinese government’s refusal to recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and cultural identity makes \u003ca href=\"https://newbloommag.net/2024/06/02/taiwanese-entertainers-post-lai/\">daily\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/asia/china-taiwan-drills.html\">headlines\u003c/a>, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i> makes an eloquent \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">“soft power” argument\u003c/a> by elucidating, from cover to cover, the breadth and beauty of Taiwan’s own distinct cuisine — a cuisine shaped by centuries of colonization, migration and cultural intermingling that isn’t “just another provincial expression of Chinese food at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is celebrate our humanity through the lens of food,” Wei writes in the book’s introduction. “I hope the world can see Taiwan as more than just a geopolitical chess piece or a controversial island near China with great night markets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Wei’s two in-person Bay Area appearances on June 10 and 11, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Cupertino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Emeryville\u003c/a> respectively, I chatted with her about cookbook diplomacy, Taiwan’s distinct “kou wei,” and the next step in the evolution of Taiwanese restaurants in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke Tsai: It seems like something every Taiwanese cookbook for a U.S. audience needs to do is to delineate what Taiwanese food is and how it’s distinct from Chinese food. How much of a political act do you feel it is to write a book like \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that, at this particular moment, essentially argues, “Taiwanese food is its own separate thing.”\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clarissa Wei:\u003c/b> I think if one is subscribing to the China narrative, anything that talks about Taiwanese identity is inherently political. Because I had to write the book for an international audience, and because Taiwan’s standing on the international stage is murky, I have to inhabit that stance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Taiwanese person living here in Taiwan, talking about how these different strains or influences are what makes up Taiwanese cuisine is completely normal and not a political thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the average person here, it’s just reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it is kind of fascinating when I’m talking about my book to people here versus when I have to present it to the outside world. It’s a very different tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959302 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot portrait of food writer Clarissa Wei, in her kitchen wearing a yellow apron.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei, who has lived in Taipei since 2020, wrote ‘Made in Taiwan’ in collaboration with an all-local Taiwanese team. \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>has \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb>the book been received in Taiwan?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has surprisingly been received really well. I didn’t think people here would read it or care because, again, this isn’t news here — and it’s obviously not written in Chinese. But there are food writers and food influencers here who will recommend it, and some restaurants will have it in their store. Anyone here who’s trying to promote Taiwanese cuisine on the international stage seems to be aware of the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just at the \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">Taiwanese presidential inauguration\u003c/a>, and one of the staffers for the Democratic Progressive Party [which won the presidential election] told me that the Vice President, Hsiao Bi-khim, really likes my book and that she’s been showing it to foreign dignitaries and giving it to them as a gift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>One of the big themes in your work is how there is so much more to Taiwanese food than just the most obvious things — more than beef noodle soup and boba and soymilk breakfasts. Why is that important to you, and how did that affect the way you approached the cookbook? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it’s important to have the greatest hits because if I didn’t include tapioca pearls or beef noodle soup or xiaolongbao, I think the average person would be confused. But I also tried to push the conversation a little bit more by including dishes that I think are much more influential here in Taiwan. For example, I do a lot of rice-based pastries, or kueh, and the braised pork belly over rice, which I guess now that’s pretty common in the States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13956218,arts_13897498']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>One thing I didn’t include in the book is the Southeast Asian influences on modern Taiwanese cuisine, which has been prevalent since the ’90s but hasn’t made it abroad yet. Southeast Asian immigrants make up 80% of our foreign population, and they’ve opened a lot of restaurants. So there are dishes like a sweet-and-sour cold-poached chicken or a Thai-style shrimp cake that’s served at every single Thai restaurant here, but that they don’t really have in Thailand. It’s very special and just as Taiwanese as any other dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Taiwan, people will alter their dishes so it caters to the tastes here. Things become sweeter or less spicy, or ingredients change a little bit, so everything has a Taiwan “kou wei,” or Taiwanese flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How do you see the cuisine evolving in the Bay Area or more broadly in the U.S.? Are there places that are starting to serve more regional things, or things that are more in line with what’s new and popular in Taiwan right now? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, people are better at storytelling or identifying the origins of their food. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932035/taiwanese-barbecue-grilling-good-to-eat-dumplings-emeryville\">Good to Eat\u003c/a> in Emeryville, where I’m doing one of my events, is such a good example. It’s so fascinating how the owners moved over from Taiwan, and now they’re specializing in bando. Bando is a very niche subset of Taiwanese cuisine — a style of \u003ca href=\"https://nspp.mofa.gov.tw/nsppe/news.php?post=238127&unit=410&unitname=Stories&postname=Banquet-Time!-P%C4%81n-toh-Culture-in-Taiwan\">outdoor banquet food\u003c/a> that’s been around for hundreds of years. Chef Tony will come to Taiwan, she’ll study with these bando chefs, and then she’ll bring that spirit to the Bay Area and do these \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com/ja-ban-bae-tasting-menu\">tasting menus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think they’re really good at telling the story of Taiwan. Because I think when people think about Taiwanese food as a whole, they default to street food, or cheap eats, or big hearty bowls of things. But this style of bando is very refined. When people got married, they would shut down their streets and have a block party, and these banquet chefs would whip up these multicourse meals, completely outdoors. It’s so crazy to me that there’s a restaurant in the Bay Area that does this. You don’t even have restaurants in Taipei that specialize in this very esoteric but specialized type of dining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13921979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13921979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg\" alt=\"Small bowl of lu rou fan next to a plate of grilled chicken.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lu rou fan and Taiwanese-style grilled chicken served at a Taiwanese barbecue event on Good to Eat’s outdoor patio in Emeryville. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In terms of storytelling, places like Liang’s Village in Cupertino, they’ve been around for a long time. But now the second generation, when they tell their story, they say, “We’re military village cuisine,” or cuisine that came over to Taiwan post-1949. Because Taiwan is a nation of immigrants, and depending on when people came over [from China], they brought very different styles of food. So Liang’s Village is talking about how their family’s food is post-1949 cuisine. No one did this when I was growing up in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Chicago, now there’s a place that just specializes in this \u003ca href=\"https://chicago.eater.com/2024/2/28/24085676/minyoli-taiwanese-restaurant-beef-noodle-soup-juan-cun-andersonville-chicago\">military cuisine\u003c/a>. In New York, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.eighteightsix.com/\">886\u003c/a>, which does rechao food, which is stir-fried food that’s cooked in large woks and usually eaten outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The marketing for a lot of these restaurants might not outright say what they are, but if you talk to the chefs, they’re able to tell you which facet of Taiwanese cuisine they were the most inspired by. And I think that’s so special and something that’s only been apparent in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959307 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei’s Taiwanese-style daikon and pork soup, from ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>My favorite recipes in \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that I keep coming back to all fall into the comfort food category — fried pork chops over rice, which I make along with your Taiwanese pickled cabbage. Or your daikon and pork rib soup, which got me through the winter. Do you have a favorite recipe, or a recipe that’s especially meaningful to you in the book?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always do the rou zao fan or lu rou fan [braised minced pork belly over rice], which is so easy to do. You can just put it in the Instant Pot. Growing up in Los Angeles, when I went to restaurants that served this dish, it seemed too complicated. People put too much stuff in it. When I was developing the recipe for the cookbook, I really wanted to channel that sort of flavor profile from the south of Taiwan, where this braise is just very simple: sugar, soy sauce, garlic, maybe a little bit of rice wine, and of course the main ingredient is pork belly. I feel like I figured it out because I went down south and found a chef that just specializes in this dish and, like, stared at him for a very long time and tried to figure out the proportions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a very comforting dish to me. I have really complicated recipes in the book that take a very long time or can be technically quite difficult. But I think the dishes that people will come back to are the comfort dishes their parents made for them, or their Taiwanese friend made, because that’s what you want. I just did the complicated dishes because I felt like if I didn’t document them, they might not ever be recorded in the English language.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Wei will host a meet-and-greet at Liang’s Village on Monday, June 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m. (A \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">\u003ci>$25 meal set inspired by ‘Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>’ is already sold out, but the restaurant will still be open for regular dinner service.) On Tuesday, June 11, 7:30–9 p.m., Wei will participate in a free — but already fully sold out — \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.exploretock.com/good-to-eat/event/private/efdd4ae3-1275-453b-9ae3-ccc2677e9ac0\">\u003ci>panel discussion\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> that addresses the question, “What is Taiwanese cuisine?” at Good to Eat (1298 65th St., Emeryville). \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The Taipei-based food writer’s book tour has two Bay Area stops.",
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"title": "Clarissa’s Wei’s ‘Made in Taiwan’ Book Tour Comes to the Bay Area | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959272\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13959272\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of homestyle Taiwanese dishes laid out on a pink and white checked tablecloth.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1320\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-800x550.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1020x701.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-160x110.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-768x528.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Coverphotooption11_16x11-1536x1056.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of family-style Taiwanese dishes from Clarissa Wei’s cookbook, ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>As a homesick Taiwanese American, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">I spent years\u003c/a> scouring the Asian strip malls of Fremont and Milpitas for passable versions of my \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">favorite Taiwanese dishes\u003c/a> — beef noodle soup and fat-slicked \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> — before I came to what might seem like an obvious realization: I could just try cooking the dishes myself.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the eight months since I started cooking my way through Clarissa Wei’s wonderful, \u003ca href=\"https://www.jamesbeard.org/blog/2024-media-award-nominees\">James Beard Award–nominated\u003c/a> cookbook, \u003ca href=\"https://clarissawei.com/madeintaiwan\">\u003ci>Made in Taiwan: Recipes and Stories from the Island Nation\u003c/i>\u003c/a>, which was published this past September, I’ve been eating nostalgic dishes from my childhood more frequently than ever. Thanks to the careful and precise instruction from Wei and her co-author, the Taiwanese cooking instructor \u003ca href=\"https://kitchenivy.com/i\">Ivy Chen\u003c/a>, I’ve been frying up pork chops that taste just like the \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">bento boxes\u003c/a> I remember buying at the train station in Taipei. I cooked a plate of wok-kissed clams and basil that reminded me of seaside day trips on the island.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And in the process, I’ve learned so many things I never knew about my native country’s cuisine — about the vast differences between Chinese and Taiwanese soy sauces, and the island’s rich culture of beer-friendly outdoor “rechao” restaurants I’d always walked past but felt too out of my depth to patronize.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-13959274\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg\" alt=\"The green cover of the cookbook 'Made in Taiwan,' which shows a spread of beer-friendly dishes \" width=\"430\" height=\"534\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1020x1268.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-800x994.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-160x199.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-768x954.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1236x1536.jpg 1236w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr-1648x2048.jpg 1648w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/made-in-taiwan-9781982198978_hr.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 430px) 100vw, 430px\">This came as no surprise. Over the past decade, Wei, who grew up in Southern California’s San Gabriel Valley, has built a reputation as one of English-language media’s foremost experts on Taiwanese food — someone who, in her writing about the cuisine, has always expanded the conversation beyond the most obvious handful of dishes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since moving to Taipei in 2020, Wei says her first-hand experience with the island’s highly globalized, ever-evolving food scene has dispelled any notion she had that there’s such a thing as “authentic” Taiwanese cuisine. At the same time, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan \u003c/i>reads differently from the current wave of Asian American cookbooks that lean into a more diasporic, Americanized point of view. In addition to enlisting Chen, an ace local chef, as her co-author, Wei recruited an all-local team of Taiwanese researchers, food stylists and photographers. She often traveled to distant corners of the island to track down a chef’s authoritative, regionally specific recipe for a dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And at this political moment, when the Chinese government’s refusal to recognize Taiwanese sovereignty and cultural identity makes \u003ca href=\"https://newbloommag.net/2024/06/02/taiwanese-entertainers-post-lai/\">daily\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/22/world/asia/china-taiwan-drills.html\">headlines\u003c/a>, \u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i> makes an eloquent \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">“soft power” argument\u003c/a> by elucidating, from cover to cover, the breadth and beauty of Taiwan’s own distinct cuisine — a cuisine shaped by centuries of colonization, migration and cultural intermingling that isn’t “just another provincial expression of Chinese food at large.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All I can do is celebrate our humanity through the lens of food,” Wei writes in the book’s introduction. “I hope the world can see Taiwan as more than just a geopolitical chess piece or a controversial island near China with great night markets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Ahead of Wei’s two in-person Bay Area appearances on June 10 and 11, in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Cupertino\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">Emeryville\u003c/a> respectively, I chatted with her about cookbook diplomacy, Taiwan’s distinct “kou wei,” and the next step in the evolution of Taiwanese restaurants in the U.S.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp style=\"text-align: center\">***\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Luke Tsai: It seems like something every Taiwanese cookbook for a U.S. audience needs to do is to delineate what Taiwanese food is and how it’s distinct from Chinese food. How much of a political act do you feel it is to write a book like \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that, at this particular moment, essentially argues, “Taiwanese food is its own separate thing.”\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>Clarissa Wei:\u003c/b> I think if one is subscribing to the China narrative, anything that talks about Taiwanese identity is inherently political. Because I had to write the book for an international audience, and because Taiwan’s standing on the international stage is murky, I have to inhabit that stance.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But as a Taiwanese person living here in Taiwan, talking about how these different strains or influences are what makes up Taiwanese cuisine is completely normal and not a political thing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the average person here, it’s just reality.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So it is kind of fascinating when I’m talking about my book to people here versus when I have to present it to the outside world. It’s a very different tone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959302\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959302 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg\" alt=\"Headshot portrait of food writer Clarissa Wei, in her kitchen wearing a yellow apron.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/189188230_hr_1920px-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei, who has lived in Taipei since 2020, wrote ‘Made in Taiwan’ in collaboration with an all-local Taiwanese team. \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>has \u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb>the book been received in Taiwan?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It has surprisingly been received really well. I didn’t think people here would read it or care because, again, this isn’t news here — and it’s obviously not written in Chinese. But there are food writers and food influencers here who will recommend it, and some restaurants will have it in their store. Anyone here who’s trying to promote Taiwanese cuisine on the international stage seems to be aware of the book.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I was just at the \u003ca href=\"https://foreignpolicy.com/2024/05/19/taiwan-lai-ching-te-president-inauguration-banquet-food-china-culture-democracy/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921\">Taiwanese presidential inauguration\u003c/a>, and one of the staffers for the Democratic Progressive Party [which won the presidential election] told me that the Vice President, Hsiao Bi-khim, really likes my book and that she’s been showing it to foreign dignitaries and giving it to them as a gift.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>One of the big themes in your work is how there is so much more to Taiwanese food than just the most obvious things — more than beef noodle soup and boba and soymilk breakfasts. Why is that important to you, and how did that affect the way you approached the cookbook? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I think it’s important to have the greatest hits because if I didn’t include tapioca pearls or beef noodle soup or xiaolongbao, I think the average person would be confused. But I also tried to push the conversation a little bit more by including dishes that I think are much more influential here in Taiwan. For example, I do a lot of rice-based pastries, or kueh, and the braised pork belly over rice, which I guess now that’s pretty common in the States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>One thing I didn’t include in the book is the Southeast Asian influences on modern Taiwanese cuisine, which has been prevalent since the ’90s but hasn’t made it abroad yet. Southeast Asian immigrants make up 80% of our foreign population, and they’ve opened a lot of restaurants. So there are dishes like a sweet-and-sour cold-poached chicken or a Thai-style shrimp cake that’s served at every single Thai restaurant here, but that they don’t really have in Thailand. It’s very special and just as Taiwanese as any other dish.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Taiwan, people will alter their dishes so it caters to the tastes here. Things become sweeter or less spicy, or ingredients change a little bit, so everything has a Taiwan “kou wei,” or Taiwanese flavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>How do you see the cuisine evolving in the Bay Area or more broadly in the U.S.? Are there places that are starting to serve more regional things, or things that are more in line with what’s new and popular in Taiwan right now? \u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If anything, people are better at storytelling or identifying the origins of their food. \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13932035/taiwanese-barbecue-grilling-good-to-eat-dumplings-emeryville\">Good to Eat\u003c/a> in Emeryville, where I’m doing one of my events, is such a good example. It’s so fascinating how the owners moved over from Taiwan, and now they’re specializing in bando. Bando is a very niche subset of Taiwanese cuisine — a style of \u003ca href=\"https://nspp.mofa.gov.tw/nsppe/news.php?post=238127&unit=410&unitname=Stories&postname=Banquet-Time!-P%C4%81n-toh-Culture-in-Taiwan\">outdoor banquet food\u003c/a> that’s been around for hundreds of years. Chef Tony will come to Taiwan, she’ll study with these bando chefs, and then she’ll bring that spirit to the Bay Area and do these \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com/ja-ban-bae-tasting-menu\">tasting menus\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So I think they’re really good at telling the story of Taiwan. Because I think when people think about Taiwanese food as a whole, they default to street food, or cheap eats, or big hearty bowls of things. But this style of bando is very refined. When people got married, they would shut down their streets and have a block party, and these banquet chefs would whip up these multicourse meals, completely outdoors. It’s so crazy to me that there’s a restaurant in the Bay Area that does this. You don’t even have restaurants in Taipei that specialize in this very esoteric but specialized type of dining.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13921979\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13921979\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg\" alt=\"Small bowl of lu rou fan next to a plate of grilled chicken.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/11/good-to-eat_bbq-1536x1152.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lu rou fan and Taiwanese-style grilled chicken served at a Taiwanese barbecue event on Good to Eat’s outdoor patio in Emeryville. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In terms of storytelling, places like Liang’s Village in Cupertino, they’ve been around for a long time. But now the second generation, when they tell their story, they say, “We’re military village cuisine,” or cuisine that came over to Taiwan post-1949. Because Taiwan is a nation of immigrants, and depending on when people came over [from China], they brought very different styles of food. So Liang’s Village is talking about how their family’s food is post-1949 cuisine. No one did this when I was growing up in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In Chicago, now there’s a place that just specializes in this \u003ca href=\"https://chicago.eater.com/2024/2/28/24085676/minyoli-taiwanese-restaurant-beef-noodle-soup-juan-cun-andersonville-chicago\">military cuisine\u003c/a>. In New York, there’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.eighteightsix.com/\">886\u003c/a>, which does rechao food, which is stir-fried food that’s cooked in large woks and usually eaten outdoors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The marketing for a lot of these restaurants might not outright say what they are, but if you talk to the chefs, they’re able to tell you which facet of Taiwanese cuisine they were the most inspired by. And I think that’s so special and something that’s only been apparent in the last decade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13959307\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-13959307 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"2160\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-800x900.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1020x1148.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-160x180.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-768x864.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1365x1536.jpg 1365w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/06/Daikon-And-Pork-Soup-1820x2048.jpg 1820w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Wei’s Taiwanese-style daikon and pork soup, from ‘Made in Taiwan.’ \u003ccite>(Ryan Chen and Yen Wei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cb>My favorite recipes in \u003c/b>\u003cb>\u003ci>Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/b>\u003cb> that I keep coming back to all fall into the comfort food category — fried pork chops over rice, which I make along with your Taiwanese pickled cabbage. Or your daikon and pork rib soup, which got me through the winter. Do you have a favorite recipe, or a recipe that’s especially meaningful to you in the book?\u003c/b>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I always do the rou zao fan or lu rou fan [braised minced pork belly over rice], which is so easy to do. You can just put it in the Instant Pot. Growing up in Los Angeles, when I went to restaurants that served this dish, it seemed too complicated. People put too much stuff in it. When I was developing the recipe for the cookbook, I really wanted to channel that sort of flavor profile from the south of Taiwan, where this braise is just very simple: sugar, soy sauce, garlic, maybe a little bit of rice wine, and of course the main ingredient is pork belly. I feel like I figured it out because I went down south and found a chef that just specializes in this dish and, like, stared at him for a very long time and tried to figure out the proportions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s a very comforting dish to me. I have really complicated recipes in the book that take a very long time or can be technically quite difficult. But I think the dishes that people will come back to are the comfort dishes their parents made for them, or their Taiwanese friend made, because that’s what you want. I just did the complicated dishes because I felt like if I didn’t document them, they might not ever be recorded in the English language.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Wei will host a meet-and-greet at Liang’s Village on Monday, June 10, 5:30–7:30 p.m. (A \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eventbrite.com/e/liangs-village-made-in-taiwan-happy-hour-with-clarissa-wei-tickets-902012783517?aff=oddtdtcreator\">\u003ci>$25 meal set inspired by ‘Made in Taiwan\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>’ is already sold out, but the restaurant will still be open for regular dinner service.) On Tuesday, June 11, 7:30–9 p.m., Wei will participate in a free — but already fully sold out — \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.exploretock.com/good-to-eat/event/private/efdd4ae3-1275-453b-9ae3-ccc2677e9ac0\">\u003ci>panel discussion\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> that addresses the question, “What is Taiwanese cuisine?” at Good to Eat (1298 65th St., Emeryville). \u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956224\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown.jpg\" alt=\"Two men devouring a bowl of soup noodles and a plate of fried tofu, with chopsticks in their hands.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lounge Chinatown serves an array of Taiwanese street food classics — including stinky tofu — until 2:30 a.m. every night. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Midnight Diners\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and artist Thien Pham. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much has been written about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/americas-chinatowns-are-disappearing/581767/\">demise of the American Chinatown\u003c/a>, as well as the specific troubles that have plagued Oakland Chinatown in recent years — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/01/oakland-chinatown-faces-a-dual-pandemic-of-violence-covid/\">double whammy\u003c/a> of pandemic-related doldrums and \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/02/12/oakland-chinatown-policing-hate-crimes-community/\">fears about anti-Asian violence\u003c/a>. These days, the neighborhood feels like a ghost town anytime after 6 o’clock at night, to say nothing of the late-night jook and roast duck feasts I remember enjoying even just five or six years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d never guess at any of this, though, if your only data point was Lounge Chinatown, a stylish Taiwanese bar and restaurant that opened in December of 2022 with the explicit intention of being a late-night destination: It serves its massive menu of Taiwanese and Chinese street food specialties until 2:30 a.m., seven days a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Run by the folks behind Dragon Gate (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13918993/dragon-gate-oakland-taiwanese-restaurant-reopening-karaoke\">another classic Oakland night spot\u003c/a>), Lounge stands out like a gaudily neon-lit, bamboo-bedecked beacon amid the well-weathered storefronts and boarded-up windows of 8th Street, in the heart of Chinatown. At a little past 9 o’clock on a recent Thursday night, it was one of just a small handful of places in the entire neighborhood that was still open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first thing you notice about Lounge Chinatown is the decor, which is so hiply and aggressively Asia-fied in its aesthetics that 20-year-old me, at the very height of my AZN pride, would have \u003ci>eaten it up\u003c/i> — all sleek red leather booths, lucky cat figurines and sexily back-lit Taiwanese whiskey bottles. Five or six different kinds of light fixtures, all designed to resemble various paper lanterns, bask the dining room in a nightclub-like glow. Meanwhile, a mural running the length of the restaurant depicts an unidentified Asian night market scene in such a way that the night market looks like the coolest damn place in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the kind of restaurant where you might imagine Jet Li — or Son Goku, at the height of his powers — strolling in for a late-night bowl of noodles. And, honest to God, even middle-aged me found the whole vibe to be pretty badass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956225\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2.jpg\" alt='Exterior of a restaurant on a dark street. The sign reads \"Lounge Chinatown,\" and the entrance is suffused in glowing purple light.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The restaurant’s aggressively Asia-fied aesthetics are a whole vibe. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The main reason we’d come, however, is because I can never resist the siren call of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940133/stinky-tofu-childrens-book-ra-pu-zel\">stinky tofu\u003c/a> — or of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">Taiwanese street food\u003c/a>, more broadly. Even more so when it’s still available hours after midnight. As it turns out, the menu covers a surprisingly (and intimidatingly) vast range of Chinese and Taiwanese food genres, running the gamut from meat skewers to hot pot and malatang. You’ll do very well for yourself if you stick to the most famous Taiwanese classics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you aren’t unnecessarily squeamish, you’ll start, as we did, with an order of the fried stinky tofu, which arrives at the table crisp-edged and deliciously pungent, served with all the standard accompaniments: pickled cabbage, soy paste dressing and a dollop of chili sauce. It’s about as tasty a version as you can find in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13955884,arts_13951914,arts_13952823']\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>The best way to sample a bunch of things is to order one of the bento boxes, which come with a big scoop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> (braised pork rice), pickles, sautéed greens and a marinated egg. We went with the fried pork chop — a nostalgic classic for anyone who’s ever bought a boxed lunch at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">train station in Taiwan\u003c/a>. Lounge’s version hits all the right notes: the jolt of five-spice powder on the crunchy batter, the juiciness and lavish fattiness of the thick, bone-in chop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the star of the menu has got to be the beef noodle soup, a faithful rendition of one of Taiwan’s most famous dishes. The noodles are thick and chewy. The generous chunks of beef shank and tendon are slow-cooked to a jiggly, luxurious tenderness. And the broth? Spicy and savory, heavy on the tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorn — almost \u003ci>too \u003c/i>boldly flavorful for me to finish the entire bowl, making it perfect for sharing. It’s pure comfort food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll have to come back again, with more stomach space or a larger group, to try the extensive selection of lu wei, a uniquely Taiwanese genre of cold, braised street snacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My usual worry with a place like Lounge Chinatown is that it’ll be too loud or too trendy — too many weekend karaoke warriors singing badly in public. But the truth is, the restaurant was busy during our visit but not exceptionally so. The vibe was more Chill Place for Quiet Conversation than it was Loud Party Zone. Like the rest of Chinatown, it seems, the restaurant is just starting to get things rolling again. And I, for one, am ready to see what it looks like when it really hits its stride.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Lounge Chinatown is open 10:30 a.m.–2:30 a.m. daily at 366 8th St. in Oakland.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956224\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956224\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown.jpg\" alt=\"Two men devouring a bowl of soup noodles and a plate of fried tofu, with chopsticks in their hands.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lounge Chinatown serves an array of Taiwanese street food classics — including stinky tofu — until 2:30 a.m. every night. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/the-midnight-diners\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Midnight Diners\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci> is a regular collaboration between KQED food editor Luke Tsai and artist Thien Pham. Follow them each week as they explore the hot pot restaurants, taco carts and 24-hour casino buffets that make up the Bay Area’s after-hours dining scene.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Much has been written about the \u003ca href=\"https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/americas-chinatowns-are-disappearing/581767/\">demise of the American Chinatown\u003c/a>, as well as the specific troubles that have plagued Oakland Chinatown in recent years — a \u003ca href=\"https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/08/01/oakland-chinatown-faces-a-dual-pandemic-of-violence-covid/\">double whammy\u003c/a> of pandemic-related doldrums and \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2021/02/12/oakland-chinatown-policing-hate-crimes-community/\">fears about anti-Asian violence\u003c/a>. These days, the neighborhood feels like a ghost town anytime after 6 o’clock at night, to say nothing of the late-night jook and roast duck feasts I remember enjoying even just five or six years ago.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You’d never guess at any of this, though, if your only data point was Lounge Chinatown, a stylish Taiwanese bar and restaurant that opened in December of 2022 with the explicit intention of being a late-night destination: It serves its massive menu of Taiwanese and Chinese street food specialties until 2:30 a.m., seven days a week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Run by the folks behind Dragon Gate (\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13918993/dragon-gate-oakland-taiwanese-restaurant-reopening-karaoke\">another classic Oakland night spot\u003c/a>), Lounge stands out like a gaudily neon-lit, bamboo-bedecked beacon amid the well-weathered storefronts and boarded-up windows of 8th Street, in the heart of Chinatown. At a little past 9 o’clock on a recent Thursday night, it was one of just a small handful of places in the entire neighborhood that was still open.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first thing you notice about Lounge Chinatown is the decor, which is so hiply and aggressively Asia-fied in its aesthetics that 20-year-old me, at the very height of my AZN pride, would have \u003ci>eaten it up\u003c/i> — all sleek red leather booths, lucky cat figurines and sexily back-lit Taiwanese whiskey bottles. Five or six different kinds of light fixtures, all designed to resemble various paper lanterns, bask the dining room in a nightclub-like glow. Meanwhile, a mural running the length of the restaurant depicts an unidentified Asian night market scene in such a way that the night market looks like the coolest damn place in the world.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is the kind of restaurant where you might imagine Jet Li — or Son Goku, at the height of his powers — strolling in for a late-night bowl of noodles. And, honest to God, even middle-aged me found the whole vibe to be pretty badass.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13956225\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13956225\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2.jpg\" alt='Exterior of a restaurant on a dark street. The sign reads \"Lounge Chinatown,\" and the entrance is suffused in glowing purple light.' width=\"1920\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-800x800.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-1020x1020.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-160x160.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/04/Lounge-Chinatown-2-1536x1536.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The restaurant’s aggressively Asia-fied aesthetics are a whole vibe. \u003ccite>(Thien Pham)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The main reason we’d come, however, is because I can never resist the siren call of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13940133/stinky-tofu-childrens-book-ra-pu-zel\">stinky tofu\u003c/a> — or of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">Taiwanese street food\u003c/a>, more broadly. Even more so when it’s still available hours after midnight. As it turns out, the menu covers a surprisingly (and intimidatingly) vast range of Chinese and Taiwanese food genres, running the gamut from meat skewers to hot pot and malatang. You’ll do very well for yourself if you stick to the most famous Taiwanese classics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you aren’t unnecessarily squeamish, you’ll start, as we did, with an order of the fried stinky tofu, which arrives at the table crisp-edged and deliciously pungent, served with all the standard accompaniments: pickled cabbage, soy paste dressing and a dollop of chili sauce. It’s about as tasty a version as you can find in the East Bay.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"color: #2b2b2b;font-weight: 400\">\u003cb>\u003cstrong>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/strong>\u003c/b>\u003c/span>The best way to sample a bunch of things is to order one of the bento boxes, which come with a big scoop of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a> (braised pork rice), pickles, sautéed greens and a marinated egg. We went with the fried pork chop — a nostalgic classic for anyone who’s ever bought a boxed lunch at a \u003ca href=\"https://www.eater.com/2019/3/6/18241749/bento-box-best-food-train-stations-taiwan\">train station in Taiwan\u003c/a>. Lounge’s version hits all the right notes: the jolt of five-spice powder on the crunchy batter, the juiciness and lavish fattiness of the thick, bone-in chop.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the star of the menu has got to be the beef noodle soup, a faithful rendition of one of Taiwan’s most famous dishes. The noodles are thick and chewy. The generous chunks of beef shank and tendon are slow-cooked to a jiggly, luxurious tenderness. And the broth? Spicy and savory, heavy on the tongue-numbing Sichuan peppercorn — almost \u003ci>too \u003c/i>boldly flavorful for me to finish the entire bowl, making it perfect for sharing. It’s pure comfort food.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I’ll have to come back again, with more stomach space or a larger group, to try the extensive selection of lu wei, a uniquely Taiwanese genre of cold, braised street snacks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>My usual worry with a place like Lounge Chinatown is that it’ll be too loud or too trendy — too many weekend karaoke warriors singing badly in public. But the truth is, the restaurant was busy during our visit but not exceptionally so. The vibe was more Chill Place for Quiet Conversation than it was Loud Party Zone. Like the rest of Chinatown, it seems, the restaurant is just starting to get things rolling again. And I, for one, am ready to see what it looks like when it really hits its stride.\u003c/p>\n\u003chr>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Lounge Chinatown is open 10:30 a.m.–2:30 a.m. daily at 366 8th St. in Oakland.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Filmmaker Edward Yang’s Taipei Stories Shimmer at BAMPFA",
"headTitle": "Filmmaker Edward Yang’s Taipei Stories Shimmer at BAMPFA | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>When I first started watching \u003ci>A Brighter Summer Day\u003c/i>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/taiwanese\">Taiwanese\u003c/a> filmmaker Edward Yang’s bittersweet chronicle of teenage street gangs in 1960 Taipei, I was more than a little dubious. The film has a four-hour (!) runtime, after all, and my past experiences with Taiwan New Wave cinema — with its long, languid takes and relative lack of dialogue — had been middling at best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I needn’t have worried. From its opening moments, the film transfixed me with its slow-simmering portrayal of rebellious, misunderstood and (sometimes) delinquent youths who roam the streets of Taipei during a particularly uneasy time in Taiwan’s history. Occasionally, the kids are brawling with concrete bricks and baseball bats. In other scenes, though, they’re eating shaved ice on a hot summer day. Crooning American rock ‘n’ roll ballads with the voice of an angel. Falling in love for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film is screening on March 23 at \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, which is a few weeks into a months-long series, \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/edward-yangs-taipei-stories\">Edward Yang’s Taipei Stories\u003c/a>, during which they’ll show all seven films that the legendary director made before he died in 2007. Taken together, the series makes a compelling case for what many film buffs, including BAMPFA Associate Film Curator Kate MacKay, have concluded: that Yang was “one of the all-time greats of cinema.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13954594\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13954594\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005.jpg\" alt=\"Teenage boys in matching khaki green school uniforms stand in a row, looking off to the side with serious expressions.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another still from ‘A Brighter Summer Day.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13951535,arts_11023362,arts_13954039']MacKay says she first fell in love with Yang’s films when she was working as a projectionist for a retrospective of his work at Toronto’s Cinematheque Ontario in 2008. Over the course of her time at BAMPFA, the theater has screened a handful of Yang’s films as one-offs or as part of a broader series. But the wheels were set in motion for a full retrospective a couple of years ago, when the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute announced that it was digitally restoring several of his features, including some that had never seen a proper U.S. release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s true that Yang’s shots are long and immaculately composed, and that his characters are often filmed at an artful distance. MacKay describes his cinematic universe as “so beautiful and smart and poignant,” from a visual standpoint. At the same time, MacKay says, Yang’s work is emotionally astute and has a wonderful narrative complexity. “He’s a humanist filmmaker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The films are also hard to pigeonhole. On top of everything else, \u003ci>A Brighter Summer Day\u003c/i> (which BAMPFA will screen on \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22866\">March 23\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23595\">May 11\u003c/a>) is a crime epic, at its heart, with a violent climax inspired by a real-life murder case that happened when Yang was growing up in Taiwan. Released in 1991, the film has an “elegiac quality” that MacKay especially admires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, \u003ci>A Confucian Confusion \u003c/i>(1994) and \u003ci>Mahjong \u003c/i>(1996) — screening on \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22867\">March 27\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22868\">April 6\u003c/a>, respectively — are biting, satirical comedies that poke fun at the materialism of the post-economic-boom Taiwan of the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous generations of Taiwanese filmmakers, Yang was best known for his interest in the concerns and interior lives of everyday middle-class people. For example, \u003ci>That Day, on the Beach \u003c/i>(screening \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23593\">May 3\u003c/a>), Yang’s 1983 debut feature, tells the story of a chance meeting between two successful career women who reflect back on decisions they made, or didn’t make, that might have taken their lives down a different path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13954592\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13954592\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004.jpg\" alt=\"A boy in a yellow T-shirt holds a camera to his face.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1303\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-800x521.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1020x665.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1536x1001.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1920x1251.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘Yi Yi,’ Yang’s most famous feature.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s \u003ci>Yi Yi\u003c/i> (screening April 20 and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23594\">May 5\u003c/a>), Yang’s 2000 masterpiece, which is easily the filmmaker’s most famous and most widely acclaimed work — a movie that starts with a wedding and ends with a wake, and is framed around conversations that members of a multigenerational family have with the grandmother, who has fallen into a coma. It’s the film that prompted the \u003ci>New York Times \u003c/i>to call Yang “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/arts/film-a-poet-of-middleclass-life-played-out-in-taiwan.html\">a poet of middle-class life\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a dedicated audience in the Bay Area for what MacKay describes as “Asian auteur cinema,” and so it has been no surprise that the three movies that have screened so far — including Yang’s 1985 classic, \u003ci>Taipei Story\u003c/i>, for which the retrospective is named — all sold out. Several of the screenings also feature introductions by UC Berkeley professors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>BAMPFA’s Edward Yang series ends on May 11. Tickets should be \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/edward-yangs-taipei-stories\">\u003ci>purchased in advance\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, as each screening is likely to sell out. The theater is located at 2155 Center St. in Berkeley.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When I first started watching \u003ci>A Brighter Summer Day\u003c/i>, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/tag/taiwanese\">Taiwanese\u003c/a> filmmaker Edward Yang’s bittersweet chronicle of teenage street gangs in 1960 Taipei, I was more than a little dubious. The film has a four-hour (!) runtime, after all, and my past experiences with Taiwan New Wave cinema — with its long, languid takes and relative lack of dialogue — had been middling at best.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>I needn’t have worried. From its opening moments, the film transfixed me with its slow-simmering portrayal of rebellious, misunderstood and (sometimes) delinquent youths who roam the streets of Taipei during a particularly uneasy time in Taiwan’s history. Occasionally, the kids are brawling with concrete bricks and baseball bats. In other scenes, though, they’re eating shaved ice on a hot summer day. Crooning American rock ‘n’ roll ballads with the voice of an angel. Falling in love for the first time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The film is screening on March 23 at \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/\">Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive\u003c/a>, which is a few weeks into a months-long series, \u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/edward-yangs-taipei-stories\">Edward Yang’s Taipei Stories\u003c/a>, during which they’ll show all seven films that the legendary director made before he died in 2007. Taken together, the series makes a compelling case for what many film buffs, including BAMPFA Associate Film Curator Kate MacKay, have concluded: that Yang was “one of the all-time greats of cinema.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13954594\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13954594\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005.jpg\" alt=\"Teenage boys in matching khaki green school uniforms stand in a row, looking off to the side with serious expressions.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1125\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_A-Brighter-Summer-Day_005-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Another still from ‘A Brighter Summer Day.’\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>MacKay says she first fell in love with Yang’s films when she was working as a projectionist for a retrospective of his work at Toronto’s Cinematheque Ontario in 2008. Over the course of her time at BAMPFA, the theater has screened a handful of Yang’s films as one-offs or as part of a broader series. But the wheels were set in motion for a full retrospective a couple of years ago, when the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute announced that it was digitally restoring several of his features, including some that had never seen a proper U.S. release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s true that Yang’s shots are long and immaculately composed, and that his characters are often filmed at an artful distance. MacKay describes his cinematic universe as “so beautiful and smart and poignant,” from a visual standpoint. At the same time, MacKay says, Yang’s work is emotionally astute and has a wonderful narrative complexity. “He’s a humanist filmmaker.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The films are also hard to pigeonhole. On top of everything else, \u003ci>A Brighter Summer Day\u003c/i> (which BAMPFA will screen on \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22866\">March 23\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23595\">May 11\u003c/a>) is a crime epic, at its heart, with a violent climax inspired by a real-life murder case that happened when Yang was growing up in Taiwan. Released in 1991, the film has an “elegiac quality” that MacKay especially admires.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, \u003ci>A Confucian Confusion \u003c/i>(1994) and \u003ci>Mahjong \u003c/i>(1996) — screening on \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22867\">March 27\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/22868\">April 6\u003c/a>, respectively — are biting, satirical comedies that poke fun at the materialism of the post-economic-boom Taiwan of the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unlike previous generations of Taiwanese filmmakers, Yang was best known for his interest in the concerns and interior lives of everyday middle-class people. For example, \u003ci>That Day, on the Beach \u003c/i>(screening \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23593\">May 3\u003c/a>), Yang’s 1983 debut feature, tells the story of a chance meeting between two successful career women who reflect back on decisions they made, or didn’t make, that might have taken their lives down a different path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13954592\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13954592\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004.jpg\" alt=\"A boy in a yellow T-shirt holds a camera to his face.\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1303\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-800x521.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1020x665.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-768x500.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1536x1001.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/03/Yang_Yi-Yi_004-1920x1251.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A still from ‘Yi Yi,’ Yang’s most famous feature.\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Finally, there’s \u003ci>Yi Yi\u003c/i> (screening April 20 and \u003ca href=\"https://secure.bampfa.org/22861/23594\">May 5\u003c/a>), Yang’s 2000 masterpiece, which is easily the filmmaker’s most famous and most widely acclaimed work — a movie that starts with a wedding and ends with a wake, and is framed around conversations that members of a multigenerational family have with the grandmother, who has fallen into a coma. It’s the film that prompted the \u003ci>New York Times \u003c/i>to call Yang “\u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/01/arts/film-a-poet-of-middleclass-life-played-out-in-taiwan.html\">a poet of middle-class life\u003c/a>.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a dedicated audience in the Bay Area for what MacKay describes as “Asian auteur cinema,” and so it has been no surprise that the three movies that have screened so far — including Yang’s 1985 classic, \u003ci>Taipei Story\u003c/i>, for which the retrospective is named — all sold out. Several of the screenings also feature introductions by UC Berkeley professors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>BAMPFA’s Edward Yang series ends on May 11. Tickets should be \u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://bampfa.org/program/edward-yangs-taipei-stories\">\u003ci>purchased in advance\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>, as each screening is likely to sell out. The theater is located at 2155 Center St. in Berkeley.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Taiwanese Food Is Taking Over Union Square — For One Day, Anyway",
"headTitle": "Taiwanese Food Is Taking Over Union Square — For One Day, Anyway | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Anyone who has ever \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">searched for Taiwanese food\u003c/a> in the Bay Area knows that this is mostly an exercise in wandering far-flung suburban strip malls, chasing some obscure tip about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">savory soy milk\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893028/all-you-can-eat-funky-foods-we-arent-supposed-to-love-but-do\">stinky tofu\u003c/a>. Where you don’t expect to find any noteworthy examples of the cuisine is in one of San Francisco’s most touristy neighborhoods: Union Square.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at least for one day, that’s exactly what downtown San Francisco visitors will experience, as the annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/a> returns to Union Square for its 30th edition on Saturday, May 13. Organizers say it’s the largest festival of its kind on the West Coast, with upwards of 10,000 people expected to at least pass through — even if it’s just on their way to ride the cable car or browse the Apple Store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re wandering through anyway, why \u003ci>wouldn’t\u003c/i> you take the opportunity to snag a plate of spicy noodles or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s been the hope of the Bay Area chapter of \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/\">Taiwanese American Professionals\u003c/a> (TAP), the volunteer-run group that organizes the event. According to org president Jennifer Chen, one of the main functions of the festival is to raise public awareness about all aspects of Taiwanese culture — including, of course, the food. Even as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">the cuisine’s profile has risen over the years\u003c/a> here on the West Coast, a lot of folks still don’t know much about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People might only be able to think about bubble tea, and I think there’s so much more depth to that,” Chen says. “Showcasing the diverse set of food that’s related to Taiwan is really important to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929017\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929017\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating.jpg\" alt=\"A crowd of people sit eating noodles from paper bowls on a set of stairs outside in Union Square, San Francisco.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from last year’s festival: Visitors sit and enjoy a bowl of noodles on the stairs outside in Union Square. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat controversially, perhaps, it turns out that bubble tea — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip-MiwDgjCk\">boba\u003c/a>, as Californians tend to call it — will \u003ci>not\u003c/i> be part of this year’s food and beverage lineup. And because the venue doesn’t allow deep-fryers on site, classics like stinky tofu and Taiwanese popcorn chicken won’t make an appearance either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not to say that there will be any shortage of deliciousness. The main food vendor will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.liangsvillage.com/\">Liang’s Village\u003c/a>, a beloved Cupertino institution currently run by three second-generation siblings who took over the business from their father, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897830/taiwanese-restaurants-silicon-valley-cupertino-tech\">pivoting into meal kits and frozen foods during the pandemic\u003c/a>. Their festival menu options will include spicy (and non-spicy) noodles that’ll be hand-pulled on-site, lu rou fan (aka braised pork over rice) and tanghulu — the candied fruit skewers that are ubiquitous at night markets in Taiwan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Hsin Tung Yang will sell its popular Taiwanese meat jerkies, and Cupertino-based wholesaler \u003ca href=\"https://shop.combo-market.com/\">Combo Market\u003c/a> will offer frozen treats. And Brooklyn’s \u003ca href=\"https://yunhai.shop/pages/yun-hai-shop-a-taiwanese-general-store\">Yun Hai\u003c/a> will be on hand to sell dried fruits and other Taiwanese pantry items, and to demonstrate its vision for what a modern day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.couriermedia.com/article/yun-hai-williamsburg-taiwanese-food/\">next-generation Taiwanese American general store\u003c/a> might look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other aspects of the festival will present a similar juxtaposition of traditional and next-gen: There will be lion dance and Chinese yo-yo, but also performances by folks like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chance.s.emerson/?hl=en\">Chance Emerson\u003c/a>, a young Taiwanese American folk-rock singer-songwriter and self-described “half-Asian singin’ cowboy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929018\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929018\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance.jpg\" alt=\"Three performers in colorful red and gold lion costumes perform a traditional lion dance.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A traditional lion dance performance during last year’s Taiwanese American Cultural Festival. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to figure out, what does bringing the community together mean in this day and age?” explains Stephen Liu, the TAP board member tasked with curating the festival’s food offerings. “Because it’s definitely a little bit different than what it might mean for a previous generation of Taiwanese Americans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13897272,arts_13897410']The other goal is to show visitors that there’s more to Taiwan than just its capital, Taipei. Toward that end, the theme of this year’s festival is “Take Off to Taiwan,” with specific Taiwanese cities assigned to different areas of the event. The food vendor area will be designated as “Tainan,” since that’s arguably the Taiwanese city most famous for its food. The “Yilan” area, known for recreation, will be where the hands-on activities will take place; “Kaohsiung,” a famous shipping hub, will be where visitors can find local Taiwanese artists and other small business vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future, Liu says, it would be great if the festival also offered specific regional dishes from those cities. “Every year we’re slowly trying to branch out,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a> will take place on Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Anyone who has ever \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">searched for Taiwanese food\u003c/a> in the Bay Area knows that this is mostly an exercise in wandering far-flung suburban strip malls, chasing some obscure tip about \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">savory soy milk\u003c/a> or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101893028/all-you-can-eat-funky-foods-we-arent-supposed-to-love-but-do\">stinky tofu\u003c/a>. Where you don’t expect to find any noteworthy examples of the cuisine is in one of San Francisco’s most touristy neighborhoods: Union Square.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But at least for one day, that’s exactly what downtown San Francisco visitors will experience, as the annual \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/a> returns to Union Square for its 30th edition on Saturday, May 13. Organizers say it’s the largest festival of its kind on the West Coast, with upwards of 10,000 people expected to at least pass through — even if it’s just on their way to ride the cable car or browse the Apple Store.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And if you’re wandering through anyway, why \u003ci>wouldn’t\u003c/i> you take the opportunity to snag a plate of spicy noodles or \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">lu rou fan\u003c/a>?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s been the hope of the Bay Area chapter of \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/\">Taiwanese American Professionals\u003c/a> (TAP), the volunteer-run group that organizes the event. According to org president Jennifer Chen, one of the main functions of the festival is to raise public awareness about all aspects of Taiwanese culture — including, of course, the food. Even as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">the cuisine’s profile has risen over the years\u003c/a> here on the West Coast, a lot of folks still don’t know much about it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People might only be able to think about bubble tea, and I think there’s so much more depth to that,” Chen says. “Showcasing the diverse set of food that’s related to Taiwan is really important to us.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929017\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929017\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating.jpg\" alt=\"A crowd of people sit eating noodles from paper bowls on a set of stairs outside in Union Square, San Francisco.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_eating-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A scene from last year’s festival: Visitors sit and enjoy a bowl of noodles on the stairs outside in Union Square. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Somewhat controversially, perhaps, it turns out that bubble tea — or \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ip-MiwDgjCk\">boba\u003c/a>, as Californians tend to call it — will \u003ci>not\u003c/i> be part of this year’s food and beverage lineup. And because the venue doesn’t allow deep-fryers on site, classics like stinky tofu and Taiwanese popcorn chicken won’t make an appearance either.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But that’s not to say that there will be any shortage of deliciousness. The main food vendor will be \u003ca href=\"https://www.liangsvillage.com/\">Liang’s Village\u003c/a>, a beloved Cupertino institution currently run by three second-generation siblings who took over the business from their father, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897830/taiwanese-restaurants-silicon-valley-cupertino-tech\">pivoting into meal kits and frozen foods during the pandemic\u003c/a>. Their festival menu options will include spicy (and non-spicy) noodles that’ll be hand-pulled on-site, lu rou fan (aka braised pork over rice) and tanghulu — the candied fruit skewers that are ubiquitous at night markets in Taiwan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Meanwhile, Hsin Tung Yang will sell its popular Taiwanese meat jerkies, and Cupertino-based wholesaler \u003ca href=\"https://shop.combo-market.com/\">Combo Market\u003c/a> will offer frozen treats. And Brooklyn’s \u003ca href=\"https://yunhai.shop/pages/yun-hai-shop-a-taiwanese-general-store\">Yun Hai\u003c/a> will be on hand to sell dried fruits and other Taiwanese pantry items, and to demonstrate its vision for what a modern day, \u003ca href=\"https://www.couriermedia.com/article/yun-hai-williamsburg-taiwanese-food/\">next-generation Taiwanese American general store\u003c/a> might look like.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other aspects of the festival will present a similar juxtaposition of traditional and next-gen: There will be lion dance and Chinese yo-yo, but also performances by folks like \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/chance.s.emerson/?hl=en\">Chance Emerson\u003c/a>, a young Taiwanese American folk-rock singer-songwriter and self-described “half-Asian singin’ cowboy.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13929018\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13929018\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance.jpg\" alt=\"Three performers in colorful red and gold lion costumes perform a traditional lion dance.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1282\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-1020x681.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/taiwanese-american-culture-fest_lion-dance-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A traditional lion dance performance during last year’s Taiwanese American Cultural Festival. \u003ccite>(Courtesy of Taiwanese American Cultural Festival)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to figure out, what does bringing the community together mean in this day and age?” explains Stephen Liu, the TAP board member tasked with curating the festival’s food offerings. “Because it’s definitely a little bit different than what it might mean for a previous generation of Taiwanese Americans.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The other goal is to show visitors that there’s more to Taiwan than just its capital, Taipei. Toward that end, the theme of this year’s festival is “Take Off to Taiwan,” with specific Taiwanese cities assigned to different areas of the event. The food vendor area will be designated as “Tainan,” since that’s arguably the Taiwanese city most famous for its food. The “Yilan” area, known for recreation, will be where the hands-on activities will take place; “Kaohsiung,” a famous shipping hub, will be where visitors can find local Taiwanese artists and other small business vendors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the future, Liu says, it would be great if the festival also offered specific regional dishes from those cities. “Every year we’re slowly trying to branch out,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12127869\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"78\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/09/Q.Logo_.Break_-768x75.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>This year’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.tap-sf.org/tacf\">\u003ci>Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/i>\u003c/a> will take place on Saturday, May 13, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at Union Square in San Francisco. Admission is free.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "One of the East Bay’s Best Taiwanese Restaurants Doubles Down on Karaoke",
"headTitle": "One of the East Bay’s Best Taiwanese Restaurants Doubles Down on Karaoke | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In its nearly eight years of business, Dragon Gate Bar & Grille was a one-of-a-kind place in Oakland. As a restaurant, it served, hands down, some of the best Taiwanese food in the area—luxuriously tender \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.noodles.guru/2014/06/go-for-karaoke-stay-for-taiwanese-beef.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">beef noodle soup\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, stinky tofu and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/enter-the-dragon-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">street-style grilled sausages\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sandwiched around slices of raw garlic. The genuine article. Then, in the back, there were the handful of private karaoke rooms where the real party happened, to the tune of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dragon-gate-bar-and-grille-oakland-2?select=KaPg5y08CsezocTmBvw4Fw\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$190 bottle service\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and as many Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai bangers as you cared to belt out.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, like so many beloved spots, the restaurant closed mid-pandemic, in January of this year, with barely a whimper and little more than an \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DragonGateOak/posts/pfbid0oKKk11hdCDhW2CmvdckebYDmRsLAvQRJ4aHNE5uYGT5ULi4fewa5gWVAgoz5Huvl\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">obligatory Eater obit\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good news, though. In a few months, Dragon Gate will rise again a few blocks away from its original 300 Broadway location at a waterfront spot in Jack London Square proper—the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/10/01/oaklands-longtime-kincaids-closes-after-years-33-years/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">former home of Kincaid’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And owner Johnny Chang is doubling down on what he believes to be the restaurant’s greatest weapon: This time, he says, there will be even more karaoke rooms, and they’ll be bigger and better than before.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">News of the comeback is a welcome relief for Taiwanese food lovers. While \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Bay Area has seen a resurgence of the cuisine\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the past couple of years, Oakland suffered a major setback with the loss of both Dragon Gate and, a few months later, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916312/taiwan-bento-closing-taiwanese-restaurant-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Chang says the restaurant faced all of the typical difficulties of these past two years, exacerbated by the amount of real estate it had dedicated to its karaoke rooms, which were unusable for almost the entirety of the pandemic. Left with only the meager income he could generate via delivery app-based takeout, Chang decided it didn’t make sense to renew the lease at Dragon Gate’s original location.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/vmhMJMgIfK/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The success of Dragon Gate 2.0 will, of course, depend largely on whether or not the ballad-belting public is ready to return to karaoke lounges like his in the near future. Karaoke—or “KTV,” as the private-room iteration of it is known in Taiwan—is another of the niche industries that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID shutdowns and people’s shifting levels of comfort around small enclosed spaces. Many of the Bay Area’s most popular karaoke spots have reopened with various COVID safety precautions in place—reduced capacity restrictions, for instance, and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/singing-along-with-full-hearts-karaoke-nights-return-to-san-francisco\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">little shower cap-like microphone covers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Others simply closed altogether. Chang knows this first hand: He used to run MoneyBox, a KTV-style karaoke spot in Richmond’s Pacific East Mall. MoneyBox closed at the start of the pandemic and just never reopened, despite the hopeful handwritten signs periodically posted in the window. Chang wound up selling the business.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897936,arts_13916312']Still, Chang is hopeful that customers are ready to return, especially since he plans to design the new Dragon Gate with those safety concerns in mind. “After the pandemic, I think it’s better to have more private rooms—bigger rooms—so people can get together,” Chang says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed, the new restaurant’s nearly 14,000 square feet of space (including a back patio) will allow for socially distanced crooning in karaoke rooms that are quite a bit larger than they were at the old location. Not for nothing, the rooms will be swankier too, with sweeping views of the waterfront. The idea, Chang says, is that customers might book one of these rooms for the night and enjoy a full-service dinner there as well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“In the old style, the room is only for karaoke,” Chang says. “Now it’s different. It’s like your own suite.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As far as the food goes, everything will remain more or less the same. Chang says that whether customers book a private room or sit down for meal in the dining room or at the bar, they should expect to be able to order all of their old favorites—the beef noodle soup, the homey dried-radish omelet and the saucy, umami-forward dish known as “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/enter-the-dragon-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">idiot noodles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,” with its toppings of fish floss, ground pork and simmered pork belly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://www.instagram.com/p/yBVb1rgIV5/\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s been a busy time for Chang, who is in full expansion mode at this late stage of the pandemic. He’s currently juggling about a half a dozen new projects, including a huge Dragon Gate outpost \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://whatnowvegas.com/oakland-born-dragon-gate-bar-and-grille-coming-to-las-vegas/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opening soon in Las Vegas\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a forthcoming Oakland Chinatown pub focused on late-night Taiwanese street snacks (in the former Eden Silk Road spot), and a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hotpotnationrichmond.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new hot pot restaurant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the Pacific East Mall. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The hope is to cap it all off with the return of his Oakland flagship. If all goes well, the new Dragon Gate will open in early 2023, perhaps in time to ring in the Lunar New Year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.dragongate300.com/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dragon Gate Bar & Grille\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will open at 1 Franklin St. in Oakland in early 2023.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In its nearly eight years of business, Dragon Gate Bar & Grille was a one-of-a-kind place in Oakland. As a restaurant, it served, hands down, some of the best Taiwanese food in the area—luxuriously tender \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.noodles.guru/2014/06/go-for-karaoke-stay-for-taiwanese-beef.html\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">beef noodle soup\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, stinky tofu and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/enter-the-dragon-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">street-style grilled sausages\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sandwiched around slices of raw garlic. The genuine article. Then, in the back, there were the handful of private karaoke rooms where the real party happened, to the tune of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dragon-gate-bar-and-grille-oakland-2?select=KaPg5y08CsezocTmBvw4Fw\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">$190 bottle service\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and as many Jay Chou and Jolin Tsai bangers as you cared to belt out.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Then, like so many beloved spots, the restaurant closed mid-pandemic, in January of this year, with barely a whimper and little more than an \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/DragonGateOak/posts/pfbid0oKKk11hdCDhW2CmvdckebYDmRsLAvQRJ4aHNE5uYGT5ULi4fewa5gWVAgoz5Huvl\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">obligatory Eater obit\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good news, though. In a few months, Dragon Gate will rise again a few blocks away from its original 300 Broadway location at a waterfront spot in Jack London Square proper—the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2019/10/01/oaklands-longtime-kincaids-closes-after-years-33-years/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">former home of Kincaid’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. And owner Johnny Chang is doubling down on what he believes to be the restaurant’s greatest weapon: This time, he says, there will be even more karaoke rooms, and they’ll be bigger and better than before.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">News of the comeback is a welcome relief for Taiwanese food lovers. While \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Bay Area has seen a resurgence of the cuisine\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the past couple of years, Oakland suffered a major setback with the loss of both Dragon Gate and, a few months later, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13916312/taiwan-bento-closing-taiwanese-restaurant-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Chang says the restaurant faced all of the typical difficulties of these past two years, exacerbated by the amount of real estate it had dedicated to its karaoke rooms, which were unusable for almost the entirety of the pandemic. Left with only the meager income he could generate via delivery app-based takeout, Chang decided it didn’t make sense to renew the lease at Dragon Gate’s original location.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The success of Dragon Gate 2.0 will, of course, depend largely on whether or not the ballad-belting public is ready to return to karaoke lounges like his in the near future. Karaoke—or “KTV,” as the private-room iteration of it is known in Taiwan—is another of the niche industries that have been disproportionately impacted by COVID shutdowns and people’s shifting levels of comfort around small enclosed spaces. Many of the Bay Area’s most popular karaoke spots have reopened with various COVID safety precautions in place—reduced capacity restrictions, for instance, and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/music/singing-along-with-full-hearts-karaoke-nights-return-to-san-francisco\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">little shower cap-like microphone covers\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Others simply closed altogether. Chang knows this first hand: He used to run MoneyBox, a KTV-style karaoke spot in Richmond’s Pacific East Mall. MoneyBox closed at the start of the pandemic and just never reopened, despite the hopeful handwritten signs periodically posted in the window. Chang wound up selling the business.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Still, Chang is hopeful that customers are ready to return, especially since he plans to design the new Dragon Gate with those safety concerns in mind. “After the pandemic, I think it’s better to have more private rooms—bigger rooms—so people can get together,” Chang says. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed, the new restaurant’s nearly 14,000 square feet of space (including a back patio) will allow for socially distanced crooning in karaoke rooms that are quite a bit larger than they were at the old location. Not for nothing, the rooms will be swankier too, with sweeping views of the waterfront. The idea, Chang says, is that customers might book one of these rooms for the night and enjoy a full-service dinner there as well.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“In the old style, the room is only for karaoke,” Chang says. “Now it’s different. It’s like your own suite.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As far as the food goes, everything will remain more or less the same. Chang says that whether customers book a private room or sit down for meal in the dining room or at the bar, they should expect to be able to order all of their old favorites—the beef noodle soup, the homey dried-radish omelet and the saucy, umami-forward dish known as “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/enter-the-dragon-1/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">idiot noodles\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">,” with its toppings of fish floss, ground pork and simmered pork belly.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s been a busy time for Chang, who is in full expansion mode at this late stage of the pandemic. He’s currently juggling about a half a dozen new projects, including a huge Dragon Gate outpost \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://whatnowvegas.com/oakland-born-dragon-gate-bar-and-grille-coming-to-las-vegas/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">opening soon in Las Vegas\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a forthcoming Oakland Chinatown pub focused on late-night Taiwanese street snacks (in the former Eden Silk Road spot), and a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.hotpotnationrichmond.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new hot pot restaurant\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the Pacific East Mall. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The hope is to cap it all off with the return of his Oakland flagship. If all goes well, the new Dragon Gate will open in early 2023, perhaps in time to ring in the Lunar New Year.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.dragongate300.com/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dragon Gate Bar & Grille\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> will open at 1 Franklin St. in Oakland in early 2023.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Taiwan Bento, a Pioneer of the East Bay’s Taiwanese Food Scene, Is Closing",
"headTitle": "Taiwan Bento, a Pioneer of the East Bay’s Taiwanese Food Scene, Is Closing | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Stacy Tang first opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in downtown Oakland in 2014, customers routinely asked whether the restaurant served Thai food or Japanese takeout. No one seemed to have even heard of Taiwanese beef noodle soup, so Tang and her husband, Willy Wang, spent an inordinate amount of time each day explaining how Taiwan’s national dish differed from ramen or pho.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eight years later, the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">landscape of Taiwanese cuisine in the Bay Area is completely different\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, thanks in part to Tang’s scrappy little restaurant, which served many local, non-Taiwanese customers their first gua bao, their first classic Taiwanese pork chop over rice. “Right now, it’s easier to be yourself,” Tang says. “Because people know more about [Taiwanese food], you don’t need a lot of explanation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s more than a little bittersweet, then, that Tang and Wang have decided to close Taiwan Bento at the end of this month, marking the end of an era for one of the real pioneers of Taiwanese food culture in the Bay Area. The restaurant’s last day of business will be Friday, July 29.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897347\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897347\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Stacy Tang holds a steamed bun in the kitchen at her restaurant, Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Tang (left) prepares some steamed bao at her Oakland restaurant, Taiwan Bento. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Tang, it’s closing due to a combination of factors. Of course, the pandemic has been brutal, and Tang says Taiwan Bento is still dealing with the same COVID-related staffing shortages and financial pressures that have put so many other local restaurants through the wringer. Still, she says of the pandemic, “We actually made it through it.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">More immediately, Tang says she needs to take some time away from the industry in order to be with her family. Last year was especially tough: In Taiwan, her godfather passed away, and her mother underwent a major surgical procedure. But because of the daily pressures of running a restaurant, she never had a chance to plan a trip there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I wasn’t able to see my family and take care of my mom,” she says. “That time with family—if you miss it, you miss it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the restaurant’s lease set to expire at the end of the month, Tang says she just couldn’t see herself committing to another five years. But looking back on it now, she says she’s proud of the business she built from the ground up. As a brand new immigrant who only moved to the United States in 2012, just two years before she opened the restaurant, she says the first few years were incredibly challenging because of how naive and inexperienced she was about running a business in the U.S. “Every day was overwhelming for me,” she says. At one point, when she was still tweaking the restaurant’s initial set of recipes, she says she became so stressed that she lost her sense of taste for nearly a month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the South Bay has a fairly long, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897830/taiwanese-restaurants-silicon-valley-cupertino-tech\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">established history of Taiwanese restaurants\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, there were almost none in the Oakland and Berkeley area back in the early and mid-2010s. Still, slowly but surely, the restaurant built up a following. It was one of the first non-boba shop businesses in the area to serve Taiwanese popcorn chicken—properly garnished, of course, with plenty of fried basil. It was one of the only East Bay restaurants where you could get Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup on a consistent basis. More recently, it became the first restaurant in Oakland that would occasionally serve \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897876\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1761px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897876\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1761\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1761w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1761px) 100vw, 1761px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Starting in 2021, Taiwan Bento hosted occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups, where it would serve hard-to-find dishes such as fan tuan and dan bing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, Tang says, she doesn’t have to justify or explain her Taiwanese menu.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897272,arts_13897868,arts_13901982']“Now more and more people are coming, and they say, ‘gua bao’ or even ‘lu rou fan,’” she says, using the Mandarin names for dishes she used to have to translate using Westernized terms like “pork belly sandwich.” And after the restaurant was featured in an episode of KQED’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/21212/check-please-you-gotta-try-this-reviews-beef-hot-dog-best-indian-pizza-fried-pork-chop-bento\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check, Please! Bay Area\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">last year, it got an influx of older customers of all races—in their 60s, 70s and even 90s—who came to the restaurant wanting to try Taiwanese food for the first time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Some became regulars,” Tang says. “That’s truly amazing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tang and Wang say they won’t rule out the possibility of opening some new incarnation of Taiwan Bento somewhere down the line, especially if they’re able to figure out a way to do it while striking a better work-life balance. For now, however, Tang is focused on helping her staff secure new jobs, saying final farewells and closing out the restaurant’s last two weeks of service right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After that? She’ll be buying a one-way ticket to Taiwan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/a> is open 11:30 am–8 pm at 412 22nd St. in Oakland. The restaurant’s last day of business will be Friday, July 29.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Stacy Tang first opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in downtown Oakland in 2014, customers routinely asked whether the restaurant served Thai food or Japanese takeout. No one seemed to have even heard of Taiwanese beef noodle soup, so Tang and her husband, Willy Wang, spent an inordinate amount of time each day explaining how Taiwan’s national dish differed from ramen or pho.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eight years later, the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">landscape of Taiwanese cuisine in the Bay Area is completely different\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, thanks in part to Tang’s scrappy little restaurant, which served many local, non-Taiwanese customers their first gua bao, their first classic Taiwanese pork chop over rice. “Right now, it’s easier to be yourself,” Tang says. “Because people know more about [Taiwanese food], you don’t need a lot of explanation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s more than a little bittersweet, then, that Tang and Wang have decided to close Taiwan Bento at the end of this month, marking the end of an era for one of the real pioneers of Taiwanese food culture in the Bay Area. The restaurant’s last day of business will be Friday, July 29.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897347\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897347\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Stacy Tang holds a steamed bun in the kitchen at her restaurant, Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/048_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Tang (left) prepares some steamed bao at her Oakland restaurant, Taiwan Bento. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Tang, it’s closing due to a combination of factors. Of course, the pandemic has been brutal, and Tang says Taiwan Bento is still dealing with the same COVID-related staffing shortages and financial pressures that have put so many other local restaurants through the wringer. Still, she says of the pandemic, “We actually made it through it.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">More immediately, Tang says she needs to take some time away from the industry in order to be with her family. Last year was especially tough: In Taiwan, her godfather passed away, and her mother underwent a major surgical procedure. But because of the daily pressures of running a restaurant, she never had a chance to plan a trip there. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“I wasn’t able to see my family and take care of my mom,” she says. “That time with family—if you miss it, you miss it.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">With the restaurant’s lease set to expire at the end of the month, Tang says she just couldn’t see herself committing to another five years. But looking back on it now, she says she’s proud of the business she built from the ground up. As a brand new immigrant who only moved to the United States in 2012, just two years before she opened the restaurant, she says the first few years were incredibly challenging because of how naive and inexperienced she was about running a business in the U.S. “Every day was overwhelming for me,” she says. At one point, when she was still tweaking the restaurant’s initial set of recipes, she says she became so stressed that she lost her sense of taste for nearly a month.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the South Bay has a fairly long, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897830/taiwanese-restaurants-silicon-valley-cupertino-tech\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">established history of Taiwanese restaurants\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, there were almost none in the Oakland and Berkeley area back in the early and mid-2010s. Still, slowly but surely, the restaurant built up a following. It was one of the first non-boba shop businesses in the area to serve Taiwanese popcorn chicken—properly garnished, of course, with plenty of fried basil. It was one of the only East Bay restaurants where you could get Taiwanese-style beef noodle soup on a consistent basis. More recently, it became the first restaurant in Oakland that would occasionally serve \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897876\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1761px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897876\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1761\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1761w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1761px) 100vw, 1761px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Starting in 2021, Taiwan Bento hosted occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups, where it would serve hard-to-find dishes such as fan tuan and dan bing. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, Tang says, she doesn’t have to justify or explain her Taiwanese menu.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Now more and more people are coming, and they say, ‘gua bao’ or even ‘lu rou fan,’” she says, using the Mandarin names for dishes she used to have to translate using Westernized terms like “pork belly sandwich.” And after the restaurant was featured in an episode of KQED’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/checkplease/21212/check-please-you-gotta-try-this-reviews-beef-hot-dog-best-indian-pizza-fried-pork-chop-bento\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Check, Please! Bay Area\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">last year, it got an influx of older customers of all races—in their 60s, 70s and even 90s—who came to the restaurant wanting to try Taiwanese food for the first time.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“Some became regulars,” Tang says. “That’s truly amazing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tang and Wang say they won’t rule out the possibility of opening some new incarnation of Taiwan Bento somewhere down the line, especially if they’re able to figure out a way to do it while striking a better work-life balance. For now, however, Tang is focused on helping her staff secure new jobs, saying final farewells and closing out the restaurant’s last two weeks of service right. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">After that? She’ll be buying a one-way ticket to Taiwan.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/a> is open 11:30 am–8 pm at 412 22nd St. in Oakland. The restaurant’s last day of business will be Friday, July 29.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Cult Favorite Taiwanese Pop-Up Lands a Standalone Restaurant in Emeryville",
"headTitle": "Cult Favorite Taiwanese Pop-Up Lands a Standalone Restaurant in Emeryville | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Angie Lin and Tony Tung first broke into the Bay Area’s burgeoning brewery-based pop-up scene about three years ago, all the cool craft breweries were slinging burgers or tacos or nachos. No one seemed to be repping what they believed to be an equally transcendent pairing: craft beer and handmade, “craft” dumplings. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/goodtoeatdumplings/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good-to-Eat Dumplings\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> stepped in to fill the void.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eventually, the wife-and-wife duo settled into a permanent gig popping up out of the kitchen at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/originalpattern/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Original Pattern Brewing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in Jack London Square, and slowly built up an avid cult following for its distinctly Taiwanese style of dumplings and bao, which also showcased fresh Northern California produce. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, they will have a standalone restaurant of their own. Opening toward the end of 2021 in the former Yuzu Ramen & Broffee location on 65th Street in Emeryville, the new Good-to-Eat Dumplings will be one of a small number of full-fledged Taiwanese restaurants in the Oakland and Berkeley area—one of the only places, in fact, where diners will be able to sit down for a family-style Taiwanese meal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901990\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901990\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three long, well-browned potsticker dumplings on a plate.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The pop-up’s most famous dish is probably its long potstickers. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As with so many businesses, the turning point was the pandemic. Prior to that, Good-to-Eat had stayed fairly one-minded in its focus on dumplings with seasonal fillings; its most famous dish was its long potstickers. But once shelter in place hit and Good-to-Eat shifted to doing takeout exclusively, Lin says it only made sense to offer more complete meals: rice plates, noodle dishes and a variety of weekly specials. They served Taiwanese-style lion’s head meatballs, crispy fried pork chops and an appetizer they stylized as “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese caprese\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”—a classic preparation from Tainan that combined ripe heirloom tomatoes, sugar and a gingery soy-sauce glaze. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Regulars were immediately enamored with the new dishes, and, as in-person dining slowly ramped up again, the restaurant stuck with the expanded menu. On any given weekend, Lin says, the dining room would fill up with families across three generations. Each group would order a spread of dishes sumptuous enough to cover the table and then some.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This is really what we love. This is why we are doing this,” Lin says. “We figured out that our food has this ability to bring people together like this.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901991\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1125px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901991\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Tony Tung leans over the counter where there is a plate of stuffed cabbage rolls.\" width=\"1125\" height=\"1467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage.jpg 1125w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-800x1043.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-1020x1330.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-160x209.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-768x1001.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Tony Tung plates up an order of Taiwanese cabbage rolls. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The problem was that their brewery kitchen was set up in the typical makeshift pop-up way. All of the dishes had to be prepped ahead of time at a commercial kitchen in downtown Oakland, which meant they weren’t able to make the menu as expansive and ambitious as they wanted it to be. Every time they added a new dish, they had to remove some other customer favorite.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The chefs’ vision for the new Emeryville location, then, is to serve an even larger selection of traditional Taiwanese dishes beyond dumplings and bao, focusing on the kind of dishes that are both homey and elegant—and special enough that you’d normally only encounter them at a banquet or celebration meal. As Lin puts it, “We love to showcase how delicate traditional Taiwanese cooking is.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The aforementioned lion’s head meatballs, for instance, are stewed with just napa cabbage—no water—to yield an intensely flavorful broth. Lin and Tung will serve a chicken soup that gets slow-cooked in a clay pot for 24 hours. They’ll serve Taiwanese-style stuffed cabbage rolls. And they’ll be able to more regularly serve their labor-intensive pork belly gua bao, which include mustard leaves that they ferment in-house. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the same time, the restaurant will continue to serve all of its staples: the dumplings, the noodles, the various small plates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, then, the restaurant will be a place where customers will be able to sit down and enjoy a multi-course, family-style Taiwanese meal—a real rarity in this part of the East Bay, where almost all of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897936/best-taiwanese-restaurants-sf-oakland-cupertino-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">existing Taiwanese restaurants\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> focus on street foods or bento boxes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13901063,arts_13897936,arts_13897272']Meanwhile, Lin says she and Tung have formed a deep connection with their customers in the Jack London area over the past three years, which is why they have no intention of leaving. Instead, they’ll continue to run the pop-up spot as “Baohous by GTE,” with a streamlined menu focused on sandwich-style steamed bao during the week and a callback to their original dumpling pop-up menu on Sundays.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, the restaurant’s trajectory mirrors the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">growing mainstream embrace of the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in general. When they were first starting out, Lin and Tung were afraid that if they even included the word “Taiwanese” in their branding, customers would just wind up feeling confused. Now, Lin says she’s definitely going to make sure people know that Good-to-Eat Dumplings is Taiwanese.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now everyone has much more awareness,” Lin says. “Food from Taiwan is a category that customers want to explore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If all goes according to plan, Good-to-Eat Dumplings will open at 1298 65th Street in Emeryville as early as November 2021. For updates, follow the restaurant on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/goodtoeatdumplings/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instagram\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "The new Good-to-Eat Dumplings will go beyond dumplings to serve full-fledged, family-style Taiwanese meals.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Angie Lin and Tony Tung first broke into the Bay Area’s burgeoning brewery-based pop-up scene about three years ago, all the cool craft breweries were slinging burgers or tacos or nachos. No one seemed to be repping what they believed to be an equally transcendent pairing: craft beer and handmade, “craft” dumplings. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/goodtoeatdumplings/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Good-to-Eat Dumplings\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> stepped in to fill the void.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Eventually, the wife-and-wife duo settled into a permanent gig popping up out of the kitchen at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/originalpattern/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Original Pattern Brewing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, in Jack London Square, and slowly built up an avid cult following for its distinctly Taiwanese style of dumplings and bao, which also showcased fresh Northern California produce. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now, they will have a standalone restaurant of their own. Opening toward the end of 2021 in the former Yuzu Ramen & Broffee location on 65th Street in Emeryville, the new Good-to-Eat Dumplings will be one of a small number of full-fledged Taiwanese restaurants in the Oakland and Berkeley area—one of the only places, in fact, where diners will be able to sit down for a family-style Taiwanese meal.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901990\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901990\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Three long, well-browned potsticker dumplings on a plate.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_potstickers-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The pop-up’s most famous dish is probably its long potstickers. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As with so many businesses, the turning point was the pandemic. Prior to that, Good-to-Eat had stayed fairly one-minded in its focus on dumplings with seasonal fillings; its most famous dish was its long potstickers. But once shelter in place hit and Good-to-Eat shifted to doing takeout exclusively, Lin says it only made sense to offer more complete meals: rice plates, noodle dishes and a variety of weekly specials. They served Taiwanese-style lion’s head meatballs, crispy fried pork chops and an appetizer they stylized as “\u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese caprese\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">”—a classic preparation from Tainan that combined ripe heirloom tomatoes, sugar and a gingery soy-sauce glaze. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Regulars were immediately enamored with the new dishes, and, as in-person dining slowly ramped up again, the restaurant stuck with the expanded menu. On any given weekend, Lin says, the dining room would fill up with families across three generations. Each group would order a spread of dishes sumptuous enough to cover the table and then some.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“This is really what we love. This is why we are doing this,” Lin says. “We figured out that our food has this ability to bring people together like this.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901991\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1125px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901991\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage.jpg\" alt=\"Chef Tony Tung leans over the counter where there is a plate of stuffed cabbage rolls.\" width=\"1125\" height=\"1467\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage.jpg 1125w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-800x1043.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-1020x1330.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-160x209.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/GTEDumplings_tonycabbage-768x1001.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1125px) 100vw, 1125px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Tony Tung plates up an order of Taiwanese cabbage rolls. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The problem was that their brewery kitchen was set up in the typical makeshift pop-up way. All of the dishes had to be prepped ahead of time at a commercial kitchen in downtown Oakland, which meant they weren’t able to make the menu as expansive and ambitious as they wanted it to be. Every time they added a new dish, they had to remove some other customer favorite.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The chefs’ vision for the new Emeryville location, then, is to serve an even larger selection of traditional Taiwanese dishes beyond dumplings and bao, focusing on the kind of dishes that are both homey and elegant—and special enough that you’d normally only encounter them at a banquet or celebration meal. As Lin puts it, “We love to showcase how delicate traditional Taiwanese cooking is.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The aforementioned lion’s head meatballs, for instance, are stewed with just napa cabbage—no water—to yield an intensely flavorful broth. Lin and Tung will serve a chicken soup that gets slow-cooked in a clay pot for 24 hours. They’ll serve Taiwanese-style stuffed cabbage rolls. And they’ll be able to more regularly serve their labor-intensive pork belly gua bao, which include mustard leaves that they ferment in-house. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the same time, the restaurant will continue to serve all of its staples: the dumplings, the noodles, the various small plates.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At its core, then, the restaurant will be a place where customers will be able to sit down and enjoy a multi-course, family-style Taiwanese meal—a real rarity in this part of the East Bay, where almost all of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897936/best-taiwanese-restaurants-sf-oakland-cupertino-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">existing Taiwanese restaurants\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> focus on street foods or bento boxes. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Meanwhile, Lin says she and Tung have formed a deep connection with their customers in the Jack London area over the past three years, which is why they have no intention of leaving. Instead, they’ll continue to run the pop-up spot as “Baohous by GTE,” with a streamlined menu focused on sandwich-style steamed bao during the week and a callback to their original dumpling pop-up menu on Sundays.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In many ways, the restaurant’s trajectory mirrors the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">growing mainstream embrace of the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in general. When they were first starting out, Lin and Tung were afraid that if they even included the word “Taiwanese” in their branding, customers would just wind up feeling confused. Now, Lin says she’s definitely going to make sure people know that Good-to-Eat Dumplings is Taiwanese.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now everyone has much more awareness,” Lin says. “Food from Taiwan is a category that customers want to explore.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">If all goes according to plan, Good-to-Eat Dumplings will open at 1298 65th Street in Emeryville as early as November 2021. For updates, follow the restaurant on \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/goodtoeatdumplings/\">\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Instagram\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/a>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"headTitle": "Taiwanese Breakfast Sandwiches Make Long-Awaited Debut at East Bay Strip Mall | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many Taiwanese Americans in the Bay Area, breakfast isn’t just the proverbial most important meal of the day; \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">it’s also the most elusive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It is, anyway, if you’re craving traditional Taiwanese breakfast foods like dan bing (rolled egg crepes), fan tuan (sticky rice rolls) and both sweet and savory versions of fresh-pressed soy milk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Little by little, though, that’s starting to change. A few weeks ago, Newark’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chefwurestaurant\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chef Wu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—for many years the Bay Area’s only dedicated Taiwanese breakfast shop—finally \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/theluketsai/status/1416833297091489794\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reopened\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> after staying closed all through the pandemic. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And now, more exciting news: A couple of months after KQED \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reported\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> its arrival at a Fremont shopping plaza, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a> officially opens on Thursday, August 12, introducing Bay Area diners to a whole new genre of Taiwanese breakfast foods. It’s the first U.S. spinoff of Mei Er Mei, a wildly popular quick-service chain in Taiwan known for its tidy, quadruple-decker breakfast sandwiches. To start out, the restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday, from 8am to 2pm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901087\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901087\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast sandwich wrapped in plastic.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Cafe Mei breakfast sandwich, pre-wrapped for grab-and-go service. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Taipei, you can find a Mei Er Mei breakfast stall in just about every neighborhood; they’re your classic bare-bones hole-in-the-wall, open to the street and equipped with little more than a flat-top grill. As American fast-food chains such as McDonald’s opened in Taiwan in the ’80s and ’90s, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://thetaiwantimes.com/taiwans-culinary-diversity-a-real-mix-n-match-of-tastes/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">popularizing burgers and other Western-style sandwiches\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Mei Er Mei offered a more Taiwanese-style alternative. In addition to standard ingredients like ham and eggs, a typical breakfast sandwich features ingredients that cater to Taiwanese tastes, like slivers of raw cucumber, a heavily seasoned pork patty and a generous swipe of the chain’s proprietary sweet mayonnaise.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Cafe Mei, those sandwiches will be available hot and freshly griddled as well as in pre-wrapped grab-and-go versions. The restaurant also serves an excellent version of one of the most underrated Taiwanese breakfast foods: the Taiwanese burger. It, too, is distinguished by the seasoned pork patty, the mayonnaise and the sliced cucumber as a garnish. The optional egg on top marks it as “breakfast,” but it would make a fine meal at any time of day.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897879\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897879\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast burger, with fried egg, tomato, and cucumber garnish visible, on top of a checker-patterned sheet of wax paper.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toppings for the Cafe Mei breakfast burger include tomato, fried egg, and thinly sliced cucumber. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other menu highlights include dan bing, or “Taiwanese pancakes” as they’re listed on the menu—including, eventually, less common varieties filled with tuna or cha shao (roast pork)—and teppan noodles, which get cooked on the big flat-top with mushrooms and ground pork. Owner Kandy Wang says that once the business has settled in, she also wants to extend her hours and add afternoon tea service—the whole nine yards, with a three-tier cake stand, mini sandwiches and macarons. She also hopes to start making chelun bing, or Taiwanese wheel cakes—a kind of pancake filled with red bean paste.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cafe Mei doesn’t, in fact, have any direct affiliation with Taiwan’s Mei Er Mei, but Wang explains that she secured the chain’s official recipes—for those pork patties, for instance—from one of its suppliers, allowing her to offer what she believes to be the closest thing you can find in the United States to an “authentic” Mei Er Mei experience. (She also owns the “Mei Er Mei” trademark in the U.S., for future expansion purposes.) \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901088\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901088\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Dan bing (Taiwanese rolled egg crepe) with corn.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan bing with corn. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">True to its name, the restaurant will also offer a slightly fancier sit-down cafe experience than you’d find at a Mei Er Mei street corner food stall in Taiwan—eventually, that is. To start out, though, the restaurant will be takeout only, with outdoor seating, shared with the rest of the plaza, available out in the parking lot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside postID='arts_13897868,arts_13897936,arts_13897272'] For more than a year now, Wang has been selling her Cafe Mei sandwiches once a week, on a preorder-only basis, so opening five days a week will be a big step up. She’s grateful, though, that she’s already found a built-in customer base that has gotten more and more enthusiastic as the official opening has approached.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They don’t just pay for their orders; they want to express how excited they are,” Wang says. “They say we brought great memories of home. That it tastes just like home.’”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a>’s initial opening hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, 8am–2pm, at 43761 Boscell Rd #5125 in Fremont (in the Pacific Commons Shopping Center). For the month of August, all menu items will be sold at a 15% discount. See the opening menu below:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13901090\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Mei opening menu\" width=\"1978\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-800x1035.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1020x1320.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-768x994.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1583x2048.jpg 1583w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1920x2485.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1978px) 100vw, 1978px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Cafe Mei’s sandwiches and pork breakfast burgers are poised to become the Bay Area’s next great morning treat.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For many Taiwanese Americans in the Bay Area, breakfast isn’t just the proverbial most important meal of the day; \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">it’s also the most elusive\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It is, anyway, if you’re craving traditional Taiwanese breakfast foods like dan bing (rolled egg crepes), fan tuan (sticky rice rolls) and both sweet and savory versions of fresh-pressed soy milk. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Little by little, though, that’s starting to change. A few weeks ago, Newark’s \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chefwurestaurant\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chef Wu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—for many years the Bay Area’s only dedicated Taiwanese breakfast shop—finally \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/theluketsai/status/1416833297091489794\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reopened\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> after staying closed all through the pandemic. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And now, more exciting news: A couple of months after KQED \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">first \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">reported\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> its arrival at a Fremont shopping plaza, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a> officially opens on Thursday, August 12, introducing Bay Area diners to a whole new genre of Taiwanese breakfast foods. It’s the first U.S. spinoff of Mei Er Mei, a wildly popular quick-service chain in Taiwan known for its tidy, quadruple-decker breakfast sandwiches. To start out, the restaurant will be open Wednesday through Sunday, from 8am to 2pm.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901087\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901087\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast sandwich wrapped in plastic.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_no-1-sandwich-combo-1-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Cafe Mei breakfast sandwich, pre-wrapped for grab-and-go service. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Taipei, you can find a Mei Er Mei breakfast stall in just about every neighborhood; they’re your classic bare-bones hole-in-the-wall, open to the street and equipped with little more than a flat-top grill. As American fast-food chains such as McDonald’s opened in Taiwan in the ’80s and ’90s, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://thetaiwantimes.com/taiwans-culinary-diversity-a-real-mix-n-match-of-tastes/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">popularizing burgers and other Western-style sandwiches\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, Mei Er Mei offered a more Taiwanese-style alternative. In addition to standard ingredients like ham and eggs, a typical breakfast sandwich features ingredients that cater to Taiwanese tastes, like slivers of raw cucumber, a heavily seasoned pork patty and a generous swipe of the chain’s proprietary sweet mayonnaise.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At Cafe Mei, those sandwiches will be available hot and freshly griddled as well as in pre-wrapped grab-and-go versions. The restaurant also serves an excellent version of one of the most underrated Taiwanese breakfast foods: the Taiwanese burger. It, too, is distinguished by the seasoned pork patty, the mayonnaise and the sliced cucumber as a garnish. The optional egg on top marks it as “breakfast,” but it would make a fine meal at any time of day.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897879\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897879\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast burger, with fried egg, tomato, and cucumber garnish visible, on top of a checker-patterned sheet of wax paper.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toppings for the Cafe Mei breakfast burger include tomato, fried egg, and thinly sliced cucumber. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Other menu highlights include dan bing, or “Taiwanese pancakes” as they’re listed on the menu—including, eventually, less common varieties filled with tuna or cha shao (roast pork)—and teppan noodles, which get cooked on the big flat-top with mushrooms and ground pork. Owner Kandy Wang says that once the business has settled in, she also wants to extend her hours and add afternoon tea service—the whole nine yards, with a three-tier cake stand, mini sandwiches and macarons. She also hopes to start making chelun bing, or Taiwanese wheel cakes—a kind of pancake filled with red bean paste.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cafe Mei doesn’t, in fact, have any direct affiliation with Taiwan’s Mei Er Mei, but Wang explains that she secured the chain’s official recipes—for those pork patties, for instance—from one of its suppliers, allowing her to offer what she believes to be the closest thing you can find in the United States to an “authentic” Mei Er Mei experience. (She also owns the “Mei Er Mei” trademark in the U.S., for future expansion purposes.) \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13901088\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13901088\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Dan bing (Taiwanese rolled egg crepe) with corn.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/cafe-mei_dine-in-8-original-pancake-with-egg-and-corn-6-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dan bing with corn. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">True to its name, the restaurant will also offer a slightly fancier sit-down cafe experience than you’d find at a Mei Er Mei street corner food stall in Taiwan—eventually, that is. To start out, though, the restaurant will be takeout only, with outdoor seating, shared with the rest of the plaza, available out in the parking lot. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp> For more than a year now, Wang has been selling her Cafe Mei sandwiches once a week, on a preorder-only basis, so opening five days a week will be a big step up. She’s grateful, though, that she’s already found a built-in customer base that has gotten more and more enthusiastic as the official opening has approached.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“They don’t just pay for their orders; they want to express how excited they are,” Wang says. “They say we brought great memories of home. That it tastes just like home.’”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12904247\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"39\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-160x16.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-240x23.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/03/Q.Logo_.Break_-400x39-375x37.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a>’s initial opening hours will be Wednesday through Sunday, 8am–2pm, at 43761 Boscell Rd #5125 in Fremont (in the Pacific Commons Shopping Center). For the month of August, all menu items will be sold at a 15% discount. See the opening menu below:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13901090\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Cafe Mei opening menu\" width=\"1978\" height=\"2560\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-scaled.jpg 1978w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-800x1035.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1020x1320.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-160x207.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-768x994.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1187x1536.jpg 1187w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1583x2048.jpg 1583w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/soft-openine-menu-2-1920x2485.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1978px) 100vw, 1978px\">\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "KQED’s Ultimate Guide to Taiwanese Restaurants in the Bay",
"headTitle": "KQED’s Ultimate Guide to Taiwanese Restaurants in the Bay | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897983\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897983\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"An illustrated map of the Bay Area with drawings of various Taiwanese foods at different locations on the map—gua bao near San Francisco, stinky tofu near San Mateo, pork chop bento near Oakland, fan tuan near Fremont, and lu rou fan near Milpitas.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Illustration by \u003ca href=\"https://www.felicia-liang.com/\">Felicia Liang\u003c/a>; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you ask a Taiwanese American about the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene, chances are they’ll complain about how hard it is to find stinky tofu or savory soy milk or a decent bowl of beef noodle soup. And it’s true: This isn’t exactly the San Gabriel Valley. But it’s also true that anyone who knocks the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food community probably hasn’t spent a lot of time in suburban enclaves like Fremont and Cupertino, where there’s big enough of a Taiwanese market that even niche restaurants—specializing in sweet potato congee or Taiwanese breakfast sandwiches—can survive and thrive. They also probably haven’t paid attention to the new wave of pop-ups that are bringing Taiwanese food into the mainstream in Oakland and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, then, are 26 of the Bay Area’s most delicious Taiwanese dining destinations, from the UC Berkeley campus down to the strip malls of Cupertino. Eating your way through the list will help cure any expat’s culinary homesickness. For newcomers to the cuisine, it also serves as an excellent introduction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Note: These entries aren’t ranked; instead, they’re listed in rough geographical order from north to south.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>1. Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>2431 Durant Ave. Suite B, Berkeley\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.shihlinca.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This local chain\u003c/a> specializes in the kinds of quick bites you’d find at Taiwan’s night markets and street stalls, including a surprisingly homey version of orh ah mee sua, aka oyster vermicelli. But the headliner is the “XXL” crispy chicken, a solid rendition of the oversized fried cutlets that are one of the signatures of the actual Shilin night market in Taipei. In addition to this Cal campus-adjacent storefront, which has been a hit with students from day one, and its original Milpitas shop, Shihlin has also expanded to Pleasanton, San Mateo and the Stonestown Galleria mall. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>2. Yilan Foods\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Previously at 4066 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://yilan-foods.square.site/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This popular pop-up restaurant\u003c/a> that started during the pandemic has been a welcome addition to the local Taiwanese food scene. Offering Sunday-only pickup for preorder customers in San Francisco and Oakland, the pop-up quickly amassed a following through social media and word-of-mouth. Yilan’s collagen-rich niu rou mian is truly a standout among the Bay Area’s beef noodle soup options, and its chunky, fatty pork over rice (lu rou fan) is hearty and satisfying. Yilan Foods is on temporary hiatus while its owners search for a permanent brick-and-mortar location; in the meantime, they’re also seeking a new home for the pop-up incarnation. Follow their \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yilanfoods/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram page\u003c/a> for the latest updates. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897876\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1761px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897876\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1761\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1761w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1761px) 100vw, 1761px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taiwan Bento is now hosting occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>3. Taiwan Bento\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>412 22nd St., Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOpen since 2014, \u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/a> is one of the mainstays of Oakland’s Taiwanese restaurant community. As its name suggests, the restaurant is best known for its biandang, or Taiwanese lunch boxes—set meals that might come with a fried pork chop or braised minced pork, some pickled vegetables, a half a tea egg and a scoop of rice.The beef noodle soup is a hearty, belly-warming option; the basil-topped popcorn chicken is impeccably fried. Recently, the restaurant has also been dabbling in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/a>—fan tuan (rice rolls) and dan bing (scallion egg pancakes)—during occasional weekend pop-ups. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>4. HoDaLa\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>5801 Geary Blvd., San Francisco\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThe most \u003ca href=\"https://www.hodalausa.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prominent new Taiwanese restaurant\u003c/a> to open in S.F. proper in many years, this Outer Richmond restaurant rocks a vintage aesthetic, with a display of old Taiwanese post office memorabilia and toys front and center. The menu leans toward Taiwan Beer–friendly bar snacks, with plenty of fried foods in the mix. The gua bao (or steamed bun “sandwich”) section alone runs five options deep and includes fusion-y versions stuffed with fried fish or barbecue pulled pork. HoDaLa is also one of the few spots in the city that serves tsua bing, or Taiwanese-style shaved ice, available with a host of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897410/taiwanese-food-texture-q-boba-love-boat\">different QQ toppings\u003c/a>. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>5. Dragon Gate Bar and Grille\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>300 Broadway, Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis moody, neon-backlit cocktail bar has private karaoke rooms and one of the most extensive Taiwanese food menus in the entire East Bay—a win-win for devotees of these two cornerstones of Taiwanese culture. \u003ca href=\"https://www.dragongate300.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dragon Gate\u003c/a> has long been one of the only restaurants in Oakland where you can get stinky tofu, but the highlights of the menu are actually the more rustic, homestyle dishes: dried radish omelet, a variety of three-cup dishes (traditionally made with an entire cup each of soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine) and one of the East Bay’s better bowls of beef noodle soup. After staying closed for the bulk of the pandemic, the karaoke rooms are now back open for small gatherings as well. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898040\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2015px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898040\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of long potstickers next to a takeout carton of noodles.\" width=\"2015\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers.jpg 2015w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-800x813.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1020x1037.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-160x163.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-768x781.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1511x1536.jpg 1511w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1920x1951.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2015px) 100vw, 2015px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The potstickers are Good-to-Eat Dumplings’ signature dish. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>6. Good-to-Eat Dumplings\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>292 4th St., Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nRun by founders Tony Tung and Angie Lin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com\">this casual restaurant\u003c/a> specializes in Taiwan-style potstickers—elongated pan-fried dumplings with a thin wrapper and crunchy bottom. These are notable for their fillings, which include a popular version that’s filled with chicken and basil. While dumplings are the focus, the flavorful gua baos and wontons are also just like what you’d find in Taiwan. And during the pandemic, the pop-up has expanded its repertoire of locally-sourced Taiwanese dishes even further outside the realm of dumplings, serving things like noodles with minced pork sauce and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwanese\u003c/a> “\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Caprese\u003c/a>.” Good-to-Eat is located at Original Pattern Brewing in Oakland’s Jack London neighborhood, and has plenty of outdoor seating. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>7. Bentolicious\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>4833 Hopyard Rd. E3, Pleasanton\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nMarvel at the efficiency of this strip mall \u003ca href=\"https://bentolicious.us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bento shop’s\u003c/a> assembly line setup, as bandanna-clad workers load up your lunchbox, scooping home-style dishes from a steam table that gets replenished so frequently, the food never has a chance to lose its freshness. Main course options run the gamut from railroad (i.e., fried pork chop) bentos to lion’s head meatballs and saucy Chiayi chicken rice, and the rotating selection of sides, like fried pumpkin and Taiwanese-style mapo tofu, is just as compelling. Come on the early side, as the most popular dishes tend to sell out well before the end of the lunch rush. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898053\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 971px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898053\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco.jpg\" alt='A view of the \"Taiwan taco,\" a scallion pancake stuffed with eggs, slaw, and edible flowers.' width=\"971\" height=\"1295\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco.jpg 971w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 971px) 100vw, 971px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Chino Grande’s “Taiwan Taco.” \u003ccite>(El Chino Grande)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>8. El Chino Grande / Hén-zhi\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>1195 Evans Ave., San Francisco; various other locations\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nBefore he started these pop-ups with his partner Marcelle Gonzales Yang, Christopher Yang made a name for himself cooking at celebrated Bay Area restaurants like the now-shuttered ’Aina in S.F. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/el_chino_grande/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Chino Grande\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.henzhisf.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hén-zhí\u003c/a> are the chef’s tribute to his Taiwanese heritage—and to Taiwanese night markets, specifically. At El Chino Grande, for instance, he mixes Taiwanese flavors with California ingredients to create dishes like his “Taiwan Taco,” a take on a scallion pancake roll, or dan bing, that incorporates kabayaki tare, mayo, crispy nori furikake, cabbage slaw and pickled daikon. Hén-zhí, which takes more of a fine dining approach, has been doing mostly private events during the pandemic, but El Chino Grande makes regular appearances at Hunters Point Brewery on Sundays and at a Lafayette commissary kitchen every other Saturday. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>9. China Bee\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>31 S. B St., San Mateo\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside tag='eating-taiwanese' label='Eating Taiwanese']\u003c/span>Mixed in among Chinese American standards like chow mein and General’s chicken, Taiwanese dishes are the real star and focal point at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chinabeerestaurant/\">China Bee\u003c/a>—even more so during the pandemic, when the downtown San Mateo restaurant has served an abbreviated (and almost entirely Taiwanese) takeout menu. It’s one of a handful of spots on the Peninsula that serves Taiwanese breakfast on the weekend, and the impeccably fried stinky tofu is one of the best versions around. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>10. Joy Restaurant\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>1489 Beach Park Blvd., Foster City\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nLocated near the Foster City waterfront, \u003ca href=\"http://joystw.com/\">Joy Restaurant\u003c/a> spans a wide range of regional Chinese cuisines, from Sichuan to Shanghainese, in addition to its explicitly Taiwanese dishes. At its core, however, the kitchen is cooking to suit Taiwanese tastes. The oversized Chunghua Road potstickers have a fantastically lacy, crunchy crust; the stinky tofu is genuinely pungent and delicious; and the claypot lion’s head meatball is just spectacular. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>11. Mary’s Bakery\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>34370 Fremont Blvd., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://marys-bakery.square.site\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mary’s Bakery\u003c/a> is the kind of small bakery you would wander into while walking around a local neighborhood in Taipei. It specializes in Taiwanese-style cakes such as fresh mango cake, covered in thinly sliced mangoes shaped like flowers, as well as Taiwanese-style baked goods, and it’s a little bit more homey and idiosyncratic than what you’d find at big bakery chains. The concise menu includes popular staples such as green onion buns and several different varieties of pineapple bun (buo luo bao). Call ahead if you’ve got your heart set on a particular cake. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898027\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898027\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of savory soy milk in a bowl, with pieces of fried cruller floating on top.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-800x556.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1020x708.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1536x1067.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-2048x1422.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1920x1333.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Wu is one of the only local restaurants that serves Taiwanese breakfast dishes like savory soy milk five days a week. \u003ccite>(Chef Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>12. Chef Wu\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>36926 Sycamore St., Newark\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://chefwuchineserestaurant.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This Newark mainstay\u003c/a> is one of the Bay Area’s only restaurants (perhaps \u003ci>the\u003c/i> only restaurant) that’s primarily known for serving \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/a>—the kind that includes fresh soy milk, shaobing (sesame flatbread), you tiao (fried crullers) and fan tuan (Taiwanese rice rolls). All of the dough-based specialties are made in-house, and, unlike most of the local Taiwanese restaurants dabbling in breakfast, Chef Wu doesn’t relegate those items to weekend service only. The restaurant has been closed for the duration of the pandemic, but it’s planning to reopen in mid-June. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>13. Cafe Mei\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>43761 Boscell Rd. #5125, Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nAccording to owner Kandy Wang, this new Fremont strip mall spot is the first restaurant to bring the recipes of Mei Er Mei, Taiwan’s most popular Western-style breakfast chain, to the U.S. When \u003ca href=\"http://www.cafemeiusa.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a> officially opens, probably in mid-June, the restaurant will serve crustless ham-and-egg breakfast sandwiches, dan bing (egg crepe rolls) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese-style breakfast burgers\u003c/a> featuring a proprietary marinated pork patty, sliced cucumbers, a fried egg and sweet mayonnaise. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898033\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898033\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a red yeast pork bento box: slices of red-tinged crispy pork, corn kernels, a braised egg and tofu over white rice. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Du Xiao Yue’s lunchbox game is topnotch: The red yeast pork over rice is a thing of beauty. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>14. Du Xiao Yue\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>4161 Cushing Pkwy., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThough it has nothing to do with the famous \u003ca href=\"https://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com/2018/10/taiwaneserevisited-i-still-strongly.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tainan-style noodle chain\u003c/a> in Taiwan that shares its name, the Fremont incarnation of Du Xiao Yue nevertheless serves some of the tastiest Taiwanese food in the area, with a particular emphasis on the kinds of snacky foods you might find at a night market—your pork blood rice cakes and oyster vermicellis. The restaurant’s lunchtime bento game is especially strong: The slightly tangy, immaculately crispy red yeast pork rice is a thing of beauty. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>15. Old Taro\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>46825 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nNewly moved across town to a different Fremont strip mall, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/laoyuzai/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Old Taro\u003c/a> has a fairly extensive menu of Taiwanese rice plates and noodle soups, but the restaurant’s main point of attraction is its seven—count them!—different varieties of gloriously overstuffed fan tuan, including one version that features sweet Taiwanese sausage and another that’s spicy and includes an entire braised egg. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>16. Taiwan Cafe\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>568 N. Abel St., Milpitas\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDuring the pandemic, \u003ca href=\"https://www.taiwancafemilpitas.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this country-style restaurant\u003c/a> has been delivering frozen Taiwanese and Hakka specialities to 24 states. Wan Luan pork hock with bamboo shoots is the speciality here, but the southern-style bah ûan (Taiwanese meatball) and five-spice rolls taste just like they do on the island. Hot bentos, oyster omelets and other ready-to-eat dishes can be ordered through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/taiwancafemilpitas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Cafe Facebook group\u003c/a> for weekend pickup. The dining room is currently closed. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898034\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout container of fried stinky tofu, with pickled cabbage and a tub of sauce on the side.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Liu’s stinky tofu is one of the Bay Area’s most potent versions. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>17. Mama Liu\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>550 Barber Ln., Milpitas and other locations\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDuring pre-pandemic times, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Liu-Taiwanese-Street-Food-424857264260232/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mama Liu\u003c/a> made its money on the lunchtime office park circuit, following a set route that included several Silicon Valley tech campuses. But with in-person working still largely on hold, the food truck, which specializes in Taiwanese street food, has only been selling once a week, at a different location each week (Milpitas, Fremont, Cupertino and so forth), to customers who pre-order via its \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Liu-Taiwanese-Street-Food-424857264260232/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese-language online form\u003c/a>. One the truck’s showstoppers is one of the Bay Area’s best versions of fried stinky tofu—extra juicy and pungent because they fry larger cubes of the tofu first before cutting them into smaller pieces. Another is an incredibly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">tender, well balanced lu rou fan\u003c/a> (braised pork belly rice), made with hand-cut pork belly. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>18. Queen House\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>273 Castro Street, Mountain View\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOne of the oldest restaurants on Castro Street in Mountain View, \u003ca href=\"http://www.queenhouserestaurant.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen House\u003c/a> offers an array of Taiwanese dishes hidden on the back side of its American Chinese menu. The restaurant is best known for its beef noodle soup, which boasts generous cuts of meat. Other items to check out are the squid soup, which will appeal to fans of hot and sour, and the Taiwanese breakfast foods, which include beef rolls and crispy you tiao to dip into fresh soybean milk—all available on weekend mornings only. Outdoor dining, takeout and delivery are available. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>19. Chick & Tea\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>587 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOriginally located in \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/where-to-get-taiwanese-fried-chicken-in-the-east-bay-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland\u003c/a>, this \u003ca href=\"https://www.chick-tea.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">standout boba drink and bento shop\u003c/a> now has storefronts in Sunnyvale and Milpitas. The cafe sells a variety of lunch boxes and five-spice-dusted fried appetizers, but the main reason to visit is the house special “GPIE.” That’s what the shop calls its wonderfully crunchy and well seasoned version of ji pai, the oversized fried chicken cutlets that are a staple of Taiwanese night markets. For the full experience, order your GPIE whole, not sliced, and eat it standing up, straight out of the paper bag. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Side dishes to be eaten with Taiwan Porridge Kingdom's sweet potato congee: pork ribs, pig's tongue, a dried radish omelet, fried peanuts and more.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The congee at Taiwan Porridge Kingdom is meant to be a blank canvas for the restaurant’s many delicious side dishes. \u003ccite>(Taiwan Porridge Kingdom)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>20. Taiwan Porridge Kingdom\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>20956 Homestead Rd. Ste. A1, Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThere’s a stretch of Fuxing S. Road in Taipei that’s made up almost entirely of 24-hour restaurants that specialize in congee, or rice porridge, served on an all-you-can-eat basis. What you pay for are the dozens of little side dishes that you eat with it, pulling what you like off the cafeteria-style buffet. The South Bay might not have a whole street dedicated to the genre, but it is lucky enough to have at least one truly great restaurant in this style: Cupertino’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.taiwanporridge.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Porridge Kingdom\u003c/a>. The restaurant’s velvety, comfortingly bland sweet potato congee is a soothing blank canvas for a huge array of tasty side dishes—everything from tangy marinated bamboo shoots to tender slices of spicy pig tongue. For takeout orders, the rice porridge isn’t all-you-can-eat, but it does come in big, absurdly inexpensive tubs. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>21. Liang’s Village\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19772 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://liangsvillage.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This restaurant\u003c/a> in Cupertino’s Merlion Center features Chinese-Taiwanese military village cooking. The beef tendon noodle soup, with its many bite-size chunks of beef and rich but not oily broth, is one of the best versions in the South Bay. The pigs’ feet with peanut noodle soup is another classic, made succulent by long braising. Currently offering takeout and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">Bay Area–wide delivery\u003c/a> (with free pickup available at several designated locations)—but no in-person dining—Liang’s also gives the option of providing uncooked noodles that can be boiled at home. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>22. L’Epi D’Or\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19675 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nAt \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Lepi-Dor-Bakery-291550974196298/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this independent bakery\u003c/a>, cloud-like milk bread is shaped into buns with traditional fillings (red bean, taro, mustard greens) and unexpected fusion pastries like conchas or jalapeño buns. Don’t pass up on the refrigerated case, which is packed with fried egg or potato salad sandwiches, as well as a rainbow of konjac desserts flavored with osmanthus, lychee or matcha. Or if you want shaved ice or boba, the shop still has you covered. During non-pandemic times, the bakery often turned out fresh waffle-like wheel cakes on the weekend. Everything’s baked in small batches, so visit in the morning for best selection. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>23. Tiger Sugar\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19620 Stevens Creek Blvd. Ste. 180, Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis Cupertino shop is the Bay Area’s first location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.toasttab.com/tigersugarcupertino/v3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tiger Sugar\u003c/a>, a wildly popular boba chain from Taiwan that’s widely credited with kicking off the whole brown sugar boba milk craze on Instagram and TikTok. It’s one of those rare viral food products that lives up to the hype—not \u003ci>just\u003c/i> aesthetically pleasing, with the tiger stripe-shaped streaks of syrup running down the length of the cup, but also satisfyingly creamy and refreshing. On a hot day, you’ll want to make sure to grab a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897410/taiwanese-food-texture-q-boba-love-boat\">brown sugar boba ice cream\u003c/a> pop out of the freezer while you’re there. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>24. Red Hot Wok\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>10074 E. Estates Dr., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.redhotwokcupertino.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Red Hot Wok\u003c/a> is a Taiwanese restaurant-pub that makes for a great hangout spot where friends can share bar bites and popular Taiwanese dishes and enjoy a Taiwan Beer. Standout dishes include the san bei ji (three-cup chicken)—a clay pot of aromatic, caramelized goodness—or the stir-fried clam and basil dish. Don’t miss the shaved ice; their version of the popular Taiwanese summer treat is a fluffy snow ice, which comes in flavors such as green tea or taro, and gets topped with fresh mango. The cozy restaurant has reopened indoor dining; it also offers one table outside for dining al fresco, as well as delivery and takeout. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1432px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A traditional pork belly gua bao on a plate, on a white countertop.\" width=\"1432\" height=\"955\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1432w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1432px) 100vw, 1432px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A traditional pork belly gua bao at Mama Chen’s Kitchen. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>25. Mama Chen’s Kitchen\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19052 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThe vast menu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Chens-Kitchen-292054490826\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this South Bay institution\u003c/a>, which is named after a local matriarch, includes nearly 200 items. Many of the best choices are listed under the snacks and “Ma Ma Chen’s Special” categories, including the oyster pancake, bah ûan (a kind of Taiwanese steamed meatball) and gua bao, i.e. braised pork belly folded inside a fluffy steamed bun, all made with family recipes. Order small plates to share, and round out the meal with an order of stir-fried rice noodles. The restaurant currently offers both takeout and dine-in service. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>26. O2 Valley\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19058 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nNext door to Mama Chen’s Kitchen, \u003ca href=\"https://order.o2-valley.com\">O2 Valley\u003c/a> is a small boba and bento shop that offers classic Taiwanese flavors in its excellent, takeout-friendly rice plates, whose main entree options include pork chop (fried, braised, or grilled), fried squid and several vegetarian dishes like three-cup oyster mushrooms or dried tofu. Appetizers include street food favorites such as pig’s blood cake, grilled squid and fried mantou. It’s all great drinking food—though at O2 Valley, what you’ll want to wash everything down with is the shop’s wide variety of boba drinks, including many tea-forward options. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897983\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897983\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"An illustrated map of the Bay Area with drawings of various Taiwanese foods at different locations on the map—gua bao near San Francisco, stinky tofu near San Mateo, pork chop bento near Oakland, fan tuan near Fremont, and lu rou fan near Milpitas.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1536\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x640.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x816.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x128.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x614.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanMap_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1229.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Illustration by \u003ca href=\"https://www.felicia-liang.com/\">Felicia Liang\u003c/a>; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you ask a Taiwanese American about the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene, chances are they’ll complain about how hard it is to find stinky tofu or savory soy milk or a decent bowl of beef noodle soup. And it’s true: This isn’t exactly the San Gabriel Valley. But it’s also true that anyone who knocks the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food community probably hasn’t spent a lot of time in suburban enclaves like Fremont and Cupertino, where there’s big enough of a Taiwanese market that even niche restaurants—specializing in sweet potato congee or Taiwanese breakfast sandwiches—can survive and thrive. They also probably haven’t paid attention to the new wave of pop-ups that are bringing Taiwanese food into the mainstream in Oakland and San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, then, are 26 of the Bay Area’s most delicious Taiwanese dining destinations, from the UC Berkeley campus down to the strip malls of Cupertino. Eating your way through the list will help cure any expat’s culinary homesickness. For newcomers to the cuisine, it also serves as an excellent introduction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Note: These entries aren’t ranked; instead, they’re listed in rough geographical order from north to south.\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>1. Shihlin Taiwan Street Snacks\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>2431 Durant Ave. Suite B, Berkeley\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.shihlinca.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This local chain\u003c/a> specializes in the kinds of quick bites you’d find at Taiwan’s night markets and street stalls, including a surprisingly homey version of orh ah mee sua, aka oyster vermicelli. But the headliner is the “XXL” crispy chicken, a solid rendition of the oversized fried cutlets that are one of the signatures of the actual Shilin night market in Taipei. In addition to this Cal campus-adjacent storefront, which has been a hit with students from day one, and its original Milpitas shop, Shihlin has also expanded to Pleasanton, San Mateo and the Stonestown Galleria mall. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>2. Yilan Foods\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>Previously at 4066 Piedmont Ave. in Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://yilan-foods.square.site/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This popular pop-up restaurant\u003c/a> that started during the pandemic has been a welcome addition to the local Taiwanese food scene. Offering Sunday-only pickup for preorder customers in San Francisco and Oakland, the pop-up quickly amassed a following through social media and word-of-mouth. Yilan’s collagen-rich niu rou mian is truly a standout among the Bay Area’s beef noodle soup options, and its chunky, fatty pork over rice (lu rou fan) is hearty and satisfying. Yilan Foods is on temporary hiatus while its owners search for a permanent brick-and-mortar location; in the meantime, they’re also seeking a new home for the pop-up incarnation. Follow their \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yilanfoods/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram page\u003c/a> for the latest updates. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897876\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1761px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897876\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1761\" height=\"1174\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1761w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/005_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1761px) 100vw, 1761px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Taiwan Bento is now hosting occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>3. Taiwan Bento\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>412 22nd St., Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOpen since 2014, \u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/a> is one of the mainstays of Oakland’s Taiwanese restaurant community. As its name suggests, the restaurant is best known for its biandang, or Taiwanese lunch boxes—set meals that might come with a fried pork chop or braised minced pork, some pickled vegetables, a half a tea egg and a scoop of rice.The beef noodle soup is a hearty, belly-warming option; the basil-topped popcorn chicken is impeccably fried. Recently, the restaurant has also been dabbling in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/a>—fan tuan (rice rolls) and dan bing (scallion egg pancakes)—during occasional weekend pop-ups. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>4. HoDaLa\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>5801 Geary Blvd., San Francisco\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThe most \u003ca href=\"https://www.hodalausa.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">prominent new Taiwanese restaurant\u003c/a> to open in S.F. proper in many years, this Outer Richmond restaurant rocks a vintage aesthetic, with a display of old Taiwanese post office memorabilia and toys front and center. The menu leans toward Taiwan Beer–friendly bar snacks, with plenty of fried foods in the mix. The gua bao (or steamed bun “sandwich”) section alone runs five options deep and includes fusion-y versions stuffed with fried fish or barbecue pulled pork. HoDaLa is also one of the few spots in the city that serves tsua bing, or Taiwanese-style shaved ice, available with a host of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897410/taiwanese-food-texture-q-boba-love-boat\">different QQ toppings\u003c/a>. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>5. Dragon Gate Bar and Grille\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>300 Broadway, Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis moody, neon-backlit cocktail bar has private karaoke rooms and one of the most extensive Taiwanese food menus in the entire East Bay—a win-win for devotees of these two cornerstones of Taiwanese culture. \u003ca href=\"https://www.dragongate300.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dragon Gate\u003c/a> has long been one of the only restaurants in Oakland where you can get stinky tofu, but the highlights of the menu are actually the more rustic, homestyle dishes: dried radish omelet, a variety of three-cup dishes (traditionally made with an entire cup each of soy sauce, sesame oil and rice wine) and one of the East Bay’s better bowls of beef noodle soup. After staying closed for the bulk of the pandemic, the karaoke rooms are now back open for small gatherings as well. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898040\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2015px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898040\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of long potstickers next to a takeout carton of noodles.\" width=\"2015\" height=\"2048\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers.jpg 2015w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-800x813.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1020x1037.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-160x163.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-768x781.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1511x1536.jpg 1511w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/GoodToEat_potstickers-1920x1951.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2015px) 100vw, 2015px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The potstickers are Good-to-Eat Dumplings’ signature dish. \u003ccite>(Good-to-Eat Dumplings)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>6. Good-to-Eat Dumplings\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>292 4th St., Oakland\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nRun by founders Tony Tung and Angie Lin, \u003ca href=\"https://www.goodtoeatdumplings.com\">this casual restaurant\u003c/a> specializes in Taiwan-style potstickers—elongated pan-fried dumplings with a thin wrapper and crunchy bottom. These are notable for their fillings, which include a popular version that’s filled with chicken and basil. While dumplings are the focus, the flavorful gua baos and wontons are also just like what you’d find in Taiwan. And during the pandemic, the pop-up has expanded its repertoire of locally-sourced Taiwanese dishes even further outside the realm of dumplings, serving things like noodles with minced pork sauce and \u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwanese\u003c/a> “\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2020/9/16/21439018/good-to-eat-dumplings-taiwanese-caprese-tomatoes-soy-sauce-pop-up-oakland\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Caprese\u003c/a>.” Good-to-Eat is located at Original Pattern Brewing in Oakland’s Jack London neighborhood, and has plenty of outdoor seating. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>7. Bentolicious\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>4833 Hopyard Rd. E3, Pleasanton\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nMarvel at the efficiency of this strip mall \u003ca href=\"https://bentolicious.us/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">bento shop’s\u003c/a> assembly line setup, as bandanna-clad workers load up your lunchbox, scooping home-style dishes from a steam table that gets replenished so frequently, the food never has a chance to lose its freshness. Main course options run the gamut from railroad (i.e., fried pork chop) bentos to lion’s head meatballs and saucy Chiayi chicken rice, and the rotating selection of sides, like fried pumpkin and Taiwanese-style mapo tofu, is just as compelling. Come on the early side, as the most popular dishes tend to sell out well before the end of the lunch rush. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898053\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 971px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898053\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco.jpg\" alt='A view of the \"Taiwan taco,\" a scallion pancake stuffed with eggs, slaw, and edible flowers.' width=\"971\" height=\"1295\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco.jpg 971w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-800x1067.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-160x213.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ElChinoGrande_TaiwanTaco-768x1024.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 971px) 100vw, 971px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">El Chino Grande’s “Taiwan Taco.” \u003ccite>(El Chino Grande)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>8. El Chino Grande / Hén-zhi\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>1195 Evans Ave., San Francisco; various other locations\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nBefore he started these pop-ups with his partner Marcelle Gonzales Yang, Christopher Yang made a name for himself cooking at celebrated Bay Area restaurants like the now-shuttered ’Aina in S.F. \u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/el_chino_grande/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">El Chino Grande\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.henzhisf.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hén-zhí\u003c/a> are the chef’s tribute to his Taiwanese heritage—and to Taiwanese night markets, specifically. At El Chino Grande, for instance, he mixes Taiwanese flavors with California ingredients to create dishes like his “Taiwan Taco,” a take on a scallion pancake roll, or dan bing, that incorporates kabayaki tare, mayo, crispy nori furikake, cabbage slaw and pickled daikon. Hén-zhí, which takes more of a fine dining approach, has been doing mostly private events during the pandemic, but El Chino Grande makes regular appearances at Hunters Point Brewery on Sundays and at a Lafayette commissary kitchen every other Saturday. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>9. China Bee\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>31 S. B St., San Mateo\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>Mixed in among Chinese American standards like chow mein and General’s chicken, Taiwanese dishes are the real star and focal point at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chinabeerestaurant/\">China Bee\u003c/a>—even more so during the pandemic, when the downtown San Mateo restaurant has served an abbreviated (and almost entirely Taiwanese) takeout menu. It’s one of a handful of spots on the Peninsula that serves Taiwanese breakfast on the weekend, and the impeccably fried stinky tofu is one of the best versions around. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>10. Joy Restaurant\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>1489 Beach Park Blvd., Foster City\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nLocated near the Foster City waterfront, \u003ca href=\"http://joystw.com/\">Joy Restaurant\u003c/a> spans a wide range of regional Chinese cuisines, from Sichuan to Shanghainese, in addition to its explicitly Taiwanese dishes. At its core, however, the kitchen is cooking to suit Taiwanese tastes. The oversized Chunghua Road potstickers have a fantastically lacy, crunchy crust; the stinky tofu is genuinely pungent and delicious; and the claypot lion’s head meatball is just spectacular. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>11. Mary’s Bakery\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>34370 Fremont Blvd., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://marys-bakery.square.site\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mary’s Bakery\u003c/a> is the kind of small bakery you would wander into while walking around a local neighborhood in Taipei. It specializes in Taiwanese-style cakes such as fresh mango cake, covered in thinly sliced mangoes shaped like flowers, as well as Taiwanese-style baked goods, and it’s a little bit more homey and idiosyncratic than what you’d find at big bakery chains. The concise menu includes popular staples such as green onion buns and several different varieties of pineapple bun (buo luo bao). Call ahead if you’ve got your heart set on a particular cake. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898027\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898027\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of savory soy milk in a bowl, with pieces of fried cruller floating on top.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1778\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-800x556.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1020x708.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-160x111.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-768x533.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1536x1067.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-2048x1422.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/chefwu_soymilk-1920x1333.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Wu is one of the only local restaurants that serves Taiwanese breakfast dishes like savory soy milk five days a week. \u003ccite>(Chef Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>12. Chef Wu\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>36926 Sycamore St., Newark\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://chefwuchineserestaurant.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This Newark mainstay\u003c/a> is one of the Bay Area’s only restaurants (perhaps \u003ci>the\u003c/i> only restaurant) that’s primarily known for serving \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese breakfast\u003c/a>—the kind that includes fresh soy milk, shaobing (sesame flatbread), you tiao (fried crullers) and fan tuan (Taiwanese rice rolls). All of the dough-based specialties are made in-house, and, unlike most of the local Taiwanese restaurants dabbling in breakfast, Chef Wu doesn’t relegate those items to weekend service only. The restaurant has been closed for the duration of the pandemic, but it’s planning to reopen in mid-June. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>13. Cafe Mei\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>43761 Boscell Rd. #5125, Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nAccording to owner Kandy Wang, this new Fremont strip mall spot is the first restaurant to bring the recipes of Mei Er Mei, Taiwan’s most popular Western-style breakfast chain, to the U.S. When \u003ca href=\"http://www.cafemeiusa.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cafe Mei\u003c/a> officially opens, probably in mid-June, the restaurant will serve crustless ham-and-egg breakfast sandwiches, dan bing (egg crepe rolls) and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897868/taiwanese-breakfast-bay-area\">Taiwanese-style breakfast burgers\u003c/a> featuring a proprietary marinated pork patty, sliced cucumbers, a fried egg and sweet mayonnaise. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898033\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898033\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Overhead view of a red yeast pork bento box: slices of red-tinged crispy pork, corn kernels, a braised egg and tofu over white rice. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/DuXiaoYue_redporkrice-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Du Xiao Yue’s lunchbox game is topnotch: The red yeast pork over rice is a thing of beauty. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>14. Du Xiao Yue\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>4161 Cushing Pkwy., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThough it has nothing to do with the famous \u003ca href=\"https://hungryintaipei.blogspot.com/2018/10/taiwaneserevisited-i-still-strongly.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tainan-style noodle chain\u003c/a> in Taiwan that shares its name, the Fremont incarnation of Du Xiao Yue nevertheless serves some of the tastiest Taiwanese food in the area, with a particular emphasis on the kinds of snacky foods you might find at a night market—your pork blood rice cakes and oyster vermicellis. The restaurant’s lunchtime bento game is especially strong: The slightly tangy, immaculately crispy red yeast pork rice is a thing of beauty. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>15. Old Taro\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>46825 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nNewly moved across town to a different Fremont strip mall, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/laoyuzai/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Old Taro\u003c/a> has a fairly extensive menu of Taiwanese rice plates and noodle soups, but the restaurant’s main point of attraction is its seven—count them!—different varieties of gloriously overstuffed fan tuan, including one version that features sweet Taiwanese sausage and another that’s spicy and includes an entire braised egg. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>16. Taiwan Cafe\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>568 N. Abel St., Milpitas\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDuring the pandemic, \u003ca href=\"https://www.taiwancafemilpitas.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this country-style restaurant\u003c/a> has been delivering frozen Taiwanese and Hakka specialities to 24 states. Wan Luan pork hock with bamboo shoots is the speciality here, but the southern-style bah ûan (Taiwanese meatball) and five-spice rolls taste just like they do on the island. Hot bentos, oyster omelets and other ready-to-eat dishes can be ordered through the \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/groups/taiwancafemilpitas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Cafe Facebook group\u003c/a> for weekend pickup. The dining room is currently closed. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898034\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898034\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout container of fried stinky tofu, with pickled cabbage and a tub of sauce on the side.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/MamaLiu_stinkytofu-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Liu’s stinky tofu is one of the Bay Area’s most potent versions. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>17. Mama Liu\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>550 Barber Ln., Milpitas and other locations\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nDuring pre-pandemic times, \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Liu-Taiwanese-Street-Food-424857264260232/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mama Liu\u003c/a> made its money on the lunchtime office park circuit, following a set route that included several Silicon Valley tech campuses. But with in-person working still largely on hold, the food truck, which specializes in Taiwanese street food, has only been selling once a week, at a different location each week (Milpitas, Fremont, Cupertino and so forth), to customers who pre-order via its \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Liu-Taiwanese-Street-Food-424857264260232/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chinese-language online form\u003c/a>. One the truck’s showstoppers is one of the Bay Area’s best versions of fried stinky tofu—extra juicy and pungent because they fry larger cubes of the tofu first before cutting them into smaller pieces. Another is an incredibly \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897498/mama-liu-lu-rou-fan-taiwanese-food-comic\">tender, well balanced lu rou fan\u003c/a> (braised pork belly rice), made with hand-cut pork belly. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>18. Queen House\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>273 Castro Street, Mountain View\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOne of the oldest restaurants on Castro Street in Mountain View, \u003ca href=\"http://www.queenhouserestaurant.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Queen House\u003c/a> offers an array of Taiwanese dishes hidden on the back side of its American Chinese menu. The restaurant is best known for its beef noodle soup, which boasts generous cuts of meat. Other items to check out are the squid soup, which will appeal to fans of hot and sour, and the Taiwanese breakfast foods, which include beef rolls and crispy you tiao to dip into fresh soybean milk—all available on weekend mornings only. Outdoor dining, takeout and delivery are available. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>19. Chick & Tea\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>587 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nOriginally located in \u003ca href=\"https://eastbayexpress.com/where-to-get-taiwanese-fried-chicken-in-the-east-bay-2-1/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oakland\u003c/a>, this \u003ca href=\"https://www.chick-tea.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">standout boba drink and bento shop\u003c/a> now has storefronts in Sunnyvale and Milpitas. The cafe sells a variety of lunch boxes and five-spice-dusted fried appetizers, but the main reason to visit is the house special “GPIE.” That’s what the shop calls its wonderfully crunchy and well seasoned version of ji pai, the oversized fried chicken cutlets that are a staple of Taiwanese night markets. For the full experience, order your GPIE whole, not sliced, and eat it standing up, straight out of the paper bag. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898037\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898037\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Side dishes to be eaten with Taiwan Porridge Kingdom's sweet potato congee: pork ribs, pig's tongue, a dried radish omelet, fried peanuts and more.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanPorridge_sides-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The congee at Taiwan Porridge Kingdom is meant to be a blank canvas for the restaurant’s many delicious side dishes. \u003ccite>(Taiwan Porridge Kingdom)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>20. Taiwan Porridge Kingdom\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>20956 Homestead Rd. Ste. A1, Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThere’s a stretch of Fuxing S. Road in Taipei that’s made up almost entirely of 24-hour restaurants that specialize in congee, or rice porridge, served on an all-you-can-eat basis. What you pay for are the dozens of little side dishes that you eat with it, pulling what you like off the cafeteria-style buffet. The South Bay might not have a whole street dedicated to the genre, but it is lucky enough to have at least one truly great restaurant in this style: Cupertino’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.taiwanporridge.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Taiwan Porridge Kingdom\u003c/a>. The restaurant’s velvety, comfortingly bland sweet potato congee is a soothing blank canvas for a huge array of tasty side dishes—everything from tangy marinated bamboo shoots to tender slices of spicy pig tongue. For takeout orders, the rice porridge isn’t all-you-can-eat, but it does come in big, absurdly inexpensive tubs. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>21. Liang’s Village\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19772 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"https://liangsvillage.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">This restaurant\u003c/a> in Cupertino’s Merlion Center features Chinese-Taiwanese military village cooking. The beef tendon noodle soup, with its many bite-size chunks of beef and rich but not oily broth, is one of the best versions in the South Bay. The pigs’ feet with peanut noodle soup is another classic, made succulent by long braising. Currently offering takeout and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897684/pandemic-taiwanese-food-liangs-village\">Bay Area–wide delivery\u003c/a> (with free pickup available at several designated locations)—but no in-person dining—Liang’s also gives the option of providing uncooked noodles that can be boiled at home. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>22. L’Epi D’Or\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19675 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nAt \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Lepi-Dor-Bakery-291550974196298/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this independent bakery\u003c/a>, cloud-like milk bread is shaped into buns with traditional fillings (red bean, taro, mustard greens) and unexpected fusion pastries like conchas or jalapeño buns. Don’t pass up on the refrigerated case, which is packed with fried egg or potato salad sandwiches, as well as a rainbow of konjac desserts flavored with osmanthus, lychee or matcha. Or if you want shaved ice or boba, the shop still has you covered. During non-pandemic times, the bakery often turned out fresh waffle-like wheel cakes on the weekend. Everything’s baked in small batches, so visit in the morning for best selection. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>23. Tiger Sugar\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19620 Stevens Creek Blvd. Ste. 180, Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThis Cupertino shop is the Bay Area’s first location of \u003ca href=\"https://www.toasttab.com/tigersugarcupertino/v3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tiger Sugar\u003c/a>, a wildly popular boba chain from Taiwan that’s widely credited with kicking off the whole brown sugar boba milk craze on Instagram and TikTok. It’s one of those rare viral food products that lives up to the hype—not \u003ci>just\u003c/i> aesthetically pleasing, with the tiger stripe-shaped streaks of syrup running down the length of the cup, but also satisfyingly creamy and refreshing. On a hot day, you’ll want to make sure to grab a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897410/taiwanese-food-texture-q-boba-love-boat\">brown sugar boba ice cream\u003c/a> pop out of the freezer while you’re there. —L.T.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>24. Red Hot Wok\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>10074 E. Estates Dr., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.redhotwokcupertino.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Red Hot Wok\u003c/a> is a Taiwanese restaurant-pub that makes for a great hangout spot where friends can share bar bites and popular Taiwanese dishes and enjoy a Taiwan Beer. Standout dishes include the san bei ji (three-cup chicken)—a clay pot of aromatic, caramelized goodness—or the stir-fried clam and basil dish. Don’t miss the shaved ice; their version of the popular Taiwanese summer treat is a fluffy snow ice, which comes in flavors such as green tea or taro, and gets topped with fresh mango. The cozy restaurant has reopened indoor dining; it also offers one table outside for dining al fresco, as well as delivery and takeout. —M.C.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13898038\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1432px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13898038\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A traditional pork belly gua bao on a plate, on a white countertop.\" width=\"1432\" height=\"955\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1432w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/016_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1432px) 100vw, 1432px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A traditional pork belly gua bao at Mama Chen’s Kitchen. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch4>25. Mama Chen’s Kitchen\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19052 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nThe vast menu at \u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Chens-Kitchen-292054490826\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this South Bay institution\u003c/a>, which is named after a local matriarch, includes nearly 200 items. Many of the best choices are listed under the snacks and “Ma Ma Chen’s Special” categories, including the oyster pancake, bah ûan (a kind of Taiwanese steamed meatball) and gua bao, i.e. braised pork belly folded inside a fluffy steamed bun, all made with family recipes. Order small plates to share, and round out the meal with an order of stir-fried rice noodles. The restaurant currently offers both takeout and dine-in service. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch4>26. O2 Valley\u003c/h4>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>19058 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino\u003c/i>\u003cbr>\nNext door to Mama Chen’s Kitchen, \u003ca href=\"https://order.o2-valley.com\">O2 Valley\u003c/a> is a small boba and bento shop that offers classic Taiwanese flavors in its excellent, takeout-friendly rice plates, whose main entree options include pork chop (fried, braised, or grilled), fried squid and several vegetarian dishes like three-cup oyster mushrooms or dried tofu. Appetizers include street food favorites such as pig’s blood cake, grilled squid and fried mantou. It’s all great drinking food—though at O2 Valley, what you’ll want to wash everything down with is the shop’s wide variety of boba drinks, including many tea-forward options. —G.H.L.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"publishDate": 1622131241,
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"title": "Taiwanese Breakfast: One of the Bay Area’s Rarest, Most Coveted Meals",
"headTitle": "Taiwanese Breakfast: One of the Bay Area’s Rarest, Most Coveted Meals | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897870\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897870\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of savory soy milk and a sesame flatbread wrapped around a fried cruller, both against a blue background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Photos courtesy of Chef Wu; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n a Sunday morning in late March, the line outside \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> snaked all the way around the corner on both sides of the downtown Oakland restaurant, down to Grand Avenue on one end and Webster Street on the other—an entire city block’s worth of customers, face masks on, small children and elderly in tow. They’d all made the pilgrimage to worship at the altar of this rarest and most coveted of Bay Area meals: Taiwanese breakfast.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was one of the larger crowds I’d been a part of since the start of the pandemic. People kept pulling up to ask what the deal was, then driving off just as confused: “Taiwanese breakfast? What’s that?” After waiting as long as four hours, customers were rewarded for their patience. Taiwan Bento’s takeout box included the sticky rice roll known as fan tuan, which came stuffed with pork floss, a fried cruller (a.k.a. you tiao), preserved vegetables and a tea egg split in half. It included a couple of steamed pork buns. And, maybe most exciting, there was what the restaurant called a “scallion egg pancake,” cut into bite-size pieces—Taiwan Bento’s take on the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2021/2/19/22290174/taiwan-bento-dan-bing-scallion-egg-pancake-taiwanese-breakfast\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">savory rolled egg crepes known as dan bing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897878\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897878\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The takeout box for a subsequent Taiwan Bento breakfast pop-up, which also included a mochi muffin. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Owners Stacy Tang and Willy Wang say they were floored by the response, as the turnout “definitely surpassed our expectations,” Wang says. They point out that the event—the first of what they hope will be an ongoing breakfast pop-up series—was also a fundraiser to support the movement to Stop Asian Hate (and wound up \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CM_qImUBSR8/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">raising $2,000 for the cause\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">), and so maybe that contributed to some of the buzz. Right now, Tang says, Taiwanese people living in America “want their comfort food, and they also want to support their community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the truth is, the turnout was always going to be huge: Of all the foods that Taiwanese Americans miss the most, Taiwanese breakfast is probably right at the top of the list—all the more so because it’s practically nonexistent in the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can speak personally to that sense of desperate craving. Many, many times I’ve told friends that if I were ever to do something as foolhardy as try to open my own restaurant, it would be a Taiwanese breakfast shop—never mind that I’ve never even attempted to make dan bing at home. After all, if I miss Taiwanese breakfast so much that I’m willing, at the first whisper of savory soy milk, to drive an hour for these dishes, how many other homesick Taiwanese Americans must feel the same way?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897877\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897877\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"A customer leans in to peeks inside Taiwan Bento as she waits her turn during the restaurant's Taiwanese breakfast pop-up. \" width=\"1900\" height=\"1267\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A customer patiently waits her turn. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What Is Taiwanese Breakfast, Exactly?\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The thing that many Taiwanese Americans miss the most is shaobing doujiang (燒餅豆漿), a meal genre centered on fresh soy milk, either sweet or savory, and the flaky sesame flatbreads known as shaobing, which are typically stuffed with fried crullers or scallion-laced eggs. Dan bing and fan tuan are also staples on this type of menu—mostly adaptations of dishes \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/taiwan-breakfast-baseball\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">brought over to Taiwan by transplants from northern China\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. (My standard order always included a dan bing stuffed \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">inside \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a shaobing.) \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When people wax nostalgic about “Taiwanese breakfast,” this is the style of meal they’re usually talking about. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Taipei, the best known and most ubiquitous doujiang dian, or “soy milk shop,” is Yonghe Doujiang, many of whose locations aren’t much more elaborate than a street stall. There were at least three outposts of the chain within a 10-minute walk of my grandma’s apartment in Taipei; one of them was open 24 hours, which meant it was often my first stop after I got off a late-night flight. The first bite into the shaobing’s crackly, sesame seed–coated exterior was the surest sign that I was really and truly home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside tag='eating-taiwanese' label='Eating Taiwanese']After years of fruitless searching, I concluded that there isn’t really anything close to a Yonghe Doujiang equivalent in the Bay Area. You can find versions of shaobing, for instance, on the wheat-based menus of northern Chinese restaurants, but they’re rarely offered as a breakfast item—and even more rarely served with all of the other items you’d find at any basic street stall in Taipei. In most parts of the Bay, dan bing, fan tuan and savory soy milk—served hot in a bowl, lightly curdled with vinegar and streaked with chili oil—are even harder to come by.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> why the line at Taiwan Bento’s pop-up was four hours long—why there was so much palpable excitement for a three-item takeout box. (It didn’t hurt either that the fan tuan and dan bing were both truly excellent.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People haven’t seen fan tuan for ages, and they’re also not able to travel back to Taiwan right now,” Tang says. “They’re so happy that they’re able to get the thing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Uniquely Taiwanese Taste\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It makes sense, however, that if you broaden the definition of Taiwanese breakfast, you might have better luck finding it. After all, in Taiwan, as in the U.S., people eat all kinds of different things for breakfast. For instance, in a few weeks, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cafe Mei\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a new restaurant in Fremont, will introduce Bay Area diners to another morning favorite: the Taiwanese breakfast burger. Sold at little short-order, Western-style breakfast stalls throughout Taiwan, these burgers feature a heavily marinated pork patty and a fried egg, and are garnished with slices of raw cucumber (instead of, say, lettuce) and a swipe of special mayonnaise. Up until now, I’d never seen them in the Bay.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897879\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897879\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast burger, with fried egg, tomato, and cucumber garnish visible, on top of a checker-patterned sheet of wax paper. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toppings for the Cafe Mei breakfast burger include tomato, fried egg, and thinly sliced cucumber. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Owner Kandy Wang says her first job as an 18-year-old kid in Taipei was at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mam.com.tw/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mei Er Mei\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the most famous of Taiwan’s Western-style breakfast chains, known for its tidy ham-and-egg sandwiches as well as those breakfast burgers. Her family immigrated to the U.S. shortly after that, and in the decades since, Wang says, she kept trying to fill the Mei Er Mei void in her life to no avail. “You can only duplicate so much,” she says. “You just miss the taste of home.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, this past summer, Wang finally opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">her own spinoff of the chain\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the first she’s aware of in the United States—initially just on a limited weekly pre-order basis, with the pandemic still raging. Located in a Fremont strip mall, the cafe isn’t officially connected to the Mei Er Mei in Taiwan, but Wang says she secured the official recipes for the chain’s burger patties and mayonnaise from one of its suppliers. (She’s also trademarked the name Mei Er Mei for use in the U.S.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897881\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897881\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Dan bing cut into bite-size pieces with a small container of soy sauce-based dipping sauce.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cafe Mei’s dan bing is also expected to be a top seller. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Cafe Mei officially opens to the public, probably in mid-June, it’ll also serve dan bing—a thinner, more crepe-like version than Taiwan Bento’s—and assorted grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches. For many customers, however, those breakfast burgers will be the blast of nostalgia they won’t be able to resist. True to my memory of them from so many bleary-eyed mornings in Taipei, the patties are uncommonly juicy and flavorful, and the cool, crunchy cucumber slices make for a refreshing addition. They’re part of what makes the burgers taste so uniquely Taiwanese.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Bona Fide Doujiang Dian\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s also not quite accurate to say that the much pined after doujiang dian format is entirely\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">non-existent in the Bay Area. A handful of restaurants in the South Bay and on the Peninsula, like Joy Restaurant in Foster City and China Bee in San Mateo, have long sold fresh soy milk and a handful of other breakfast specials on the weekend. The owners of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yilanfoods/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yilan Foods\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, probably the most widely acclaimed of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new Taiwanese pop-ups\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, say they’re determined to eventually offer fan tuan, fried crullers and perhaps fresh, house-made soy milk when they open as a standalone restaurant, probably in San Francisco. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Tang of Taiwan Bento plans to continue her restaurant’s occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups, with the hope of eventually making the breakfast items a permanent addition to the menu. Already, the scallion egg pancakes are available all week long.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897880\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897880\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Stacy Tang (right), wearing a face mask, prepares scallion egg pancakes, or dan bing, during one of her restaurant's breakfast pop-ups.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Tang prepares scallion egg pancake, or dan bing, during a recent breakfast pop-up. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even now, Tang says, it isn’t strictly accurate to say that there isn’t \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">anyone \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">selling shaobing and doujiang in the Bay Area; it’s just that all of that is happening in the more informal economy within the Taiwanese immigrant community—again, mostly in the South Bay and on the Peninsula. If you know where to look, you can find folks selling all of those dishes from their homes via WeChat and private, Chinese-language-only Facebook groups. “It’s not that accessible,” Tang says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s also one bona fide doujiang dian that’s largely eluded the attention of the shaobing- and fan tuan–loving masses, though it’s well known within the South Bay’s Taiwanese immigrant community. (I’d somehow never come across it in all my years of searching.) Open in Newark since 1996, with a decade-plus stint in Cupertino in between, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chefwuchineserestaurant/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chef Wu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> specializes in all of the Taiwanese breakfast dishes I’ve been craving: The restaurant makes its own shaobing, you tiao and doujiang in-house, and it’s done so for \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">years\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, though it has stayed closed during the pandemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897884\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897884\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman preps the you tiao, or fried crullers, in the kitchen at Chef Wu \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kuo’s mother preps the you tiao in the kitchen at Chef Wu. \u003ccite>(Peter Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lih Chuen Kuo, who owns the restaurant along with husband Kun Dou Wu, comes from a doujiang dian family; her mother’s family ran a popular shop in Taipei’s Shilin district. When Chef Wu was located in Cupertino, from 1997 to 2010, the restaurant started serving breakfast on the weekends, and Kuo says it was very busy, with long lines, from the get-go. In fact, there used to be a running joke in the community: “If you live in Cupertino and never went to Huan Xi Lou (the restaurant’s Chinese name), can you really say that you live in the South Bay?” Kuo says in Mandarin.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ever since the restaurant moved back to the East Bay in 2012, Chef Wu has served its full lineup of Taiwanese breakfast dishes all day long every day that it was open, Wednesday through Sunday—so, customers can score beef shaobing sandwiches, savory soy milk and even rarer offerings like sweet rice milk (mi jiang) five days a week. To Kuo’s knowledge, it’s the only local Taiwanese restaurant serving breakfast that often. And it’s almost certainly the only Bay Area restaurant that’s known \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">primarily\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for Taiwanese breakfast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As such, Kuo says, she was used to having customers travel long distances to get their fix, driving down from Livermore or Sacramento. One customer would fly in from Texas every summer, buy 100 shaobing and freeze them to bring home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897886\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897886\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1.jpg\" alt=\"Shaobing you tiao (fried cruller wrapped in sesame flat bread) on a white ceramic plate against a white background. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Wu’s shaobing youtiao. \u003ccite>(Chef Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kuo and her husband closed the restaurant down last March at the start of the pandemic, and ever since then, Kuo has been peppered with questions from long-time customers asking when they’ll reopen. That’s no surprise, Kuo says, given that she went through the same thing during the two-year hiatus after she closed Chef Wu’s Cupertino location. Everywhere she went, it seemed—when visiting Reno, or at the airport in Taiwan—she would run into old customers. “Why don’t you hurry up and open?” they’d say. “We’ve missed it so much!”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the many Taiwanese Americans who’ve been waiting for years for a reliable Taiwanese breakfast spot, as well as for those outside of the community who haven’t yet had the pleasure, there’s good news: According to Kuo, the restaurant will likely reopen in mid-June. You’ll find me there, at the front of the line, saying a little prayer of thanks that I don’t need to open my own restaurant just to eat the breakfast I’ve been craving for the past 30 years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp> \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Of all the meals that Taiwanese Americans miss most, a shaobing doujiang breakfast might top the list.",
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"title": "Taiwanese Breakfast: One of the Bay Area’s Rarest, Most Coveted Meals | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897870\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897870\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"A bowl of savory soy milk and a sesame flatbread wrapped around a fried cruller, both against a blue background.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/TaiwanBreakfast_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Photos courtesy of Chef Wu; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">O\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>n a Sunday morning in late March, the line outside \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwanbento.us/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Bento\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> snaked all the way around the corner on both sides of the downtown Oakland restaurant, down to Grand Avenue on one end and Webster Street on the other—an entire city block’s worth of customers, face masks on, small children and elderly in tow. They’d all made the pilgrimage to worship at the altar of this rarest and most coveted of Bay Area meals: Taiwanese breakfast.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It was one of the larger crowds I’d been a part of since the start of the pandemic. People kept pulling up to ask what the deal was, then driving off just as confused: “Taiwanese breakfast? What’s that?” After waiting as long as four hours, customers were rewarded for their patience. Taiwan Bento’s takeout box included the sticky rice roll known as fan tuan, which came stuffed with pork floss, a fried cruller (a.k.a. you tiao), preserved vegetables and a tea egg split in half. It included a couple of steamed pork buns. And, maybe most exciting, there was what the restaurant called a “scallion egg pancake,” cut into bite-size pieces—Taiwan Bento’s take on the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://sf.eater.com/2021/2/19/22290174/taiwan-bento-dan-bing-scallion-egg-pancake-taiwanese-breakfast\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">savory rolled egg crepes known as dan bing\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897878\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897878\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"A takeout box with sticky rice rolls, scallion egg pancake, and other Taiwanese breakfast items from Taiwan Bento.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/004_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The takeout box for a subsequent Taiwan Bento breakfast pop-up, which also included a mochi muffin. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Owners Stacy Tang and Willy Wang say they were floored by the response, as the turnout “definitely surpassed our expectations,” Wang says. They point out that the event—the first of what they hope will be an ongoing breakfast pop-up series—was also a fundraiser to support the movement to Stop Asian Hate (and wound up \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/p/CM_qImUBSR8/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">raising $2,000 for the cause\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">), and so maybe that contributed to some of the buzz. Right now, Tang says, Taiwanese people living in America “want their comfort food, and they also want to support their community.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the truth is, the turnout was always going to be huge: Of all the foods that Taiwanese Americans miss the most, Taiwanese breakfast is probably right at the top of the list—all the more so because it’s practically nonexistent in the Bay Area.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I can speak personally to that sense of desperate craving. Many, many times I’ve told friends that if I were ever to do something as foolhardy as try to open my own restaurant, it would be a Taiwanese breakfast shop—never mind that I’ve never even attempted to make dan bing at home. After all, if I miss Taiwanese breakfast so much that I’m willing, at the first whisper of savory soy milk, to drive an hour for these dishes, how many other homesick Taiwanese Americans must feel the same way?\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897877\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897877\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"A customer leans in to peeks inside Taiwan Bento as she waits her turn during the restaurant's Taiwanese breakfast pop-up. \" width=\"1900\" height=\"1267\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1900px) 100vw, 1900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A customer patiently waits her turn. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">What Is Taiwanese Breakfast, Exactly?\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The thing that many Taiwanese Americans miss the most is shaobing doujiang (燒餅豆漿), a meal genre centered on fresh soy milk, either sweet or savory, and the flaky sesame flatbreads known as shaobing, which are typically stuffed with fried crullers or scallion-laced eggs. Dan bing and fan tuan are also staples on this type of menu—mostly adaptations of dishes \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.myrecipes.com/extracrispy/taiwan-breakfast-baseball\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">brought over to Taiwan by transplants from northern China\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. (My standard order always included a dan bing stuffed \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">inside \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">of a shaobing.) \u003c/span>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When people wax nostalgic about “Taiwanese breakfast,” this is the style of meal they’re usually talking about. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In Taipei, the best known and most ubiquitous doujiang dian, or “soy milk shop,” is Yonghe Doujiang, many of whose locations aren’t much more elaborate than a street stall. There were at least three outposts of the chain within a 10-minute walk of my grandma’s apartment in Taipei; one of them was open 24 hours, which meant it was often my first stop after I got off a late-night flight. The first bite into the shaobing’s crackly, sesame seed–coated exterior was the surest sign that I was really and truly home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>After years of fruitless searching, I concluded that there isn’t really anything close to a Yonghe Doujiang equivalent in the Bay Area. You can find versions of shaobing, for instance, on the wheat-based menus of northern Chinese restaurants, but they’re rarely offered as a breakfast item—and even more rarely served with all of the other items you’d find at any basic street stall in Taipei. In most parts of the Bay, dan bing, fan tuan and savory soy milk—served hot in a bowl, lightly curdled with vinegar and streaked with chili oil—are even harder to come by.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">That’s\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> why the line at Taiwan Bento’s pop-up was four hours long—why there was so much palpable excitement for a three-item takeout box. (It didn’t hurt either that the fan tuan and dan bing were both truly excellent.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“People haven’t seen fan tuan for ages, and they’re also not able to travel back to Taiwan right now,” Tang says. “They’re so happy that they’re able to get the thing.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Uniquely Taiwanese Taste\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It makes sense, however, that if you broaden the definition of Taiwanese breakfast, you might have better luck finding it. After all, in Taiwan, as in the U.S., people eat all kinds of different things for breakfast. For instance, in a few weeks, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cafe Mei\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a new restaurant in Fremont, will introduce Bay Area diners to another morning favorite: the Taiwanese breakfast burger. Sold at little short-order, Western-style breakfast stalls throughout Taiwan, these burgers feature a heavily marinated pork patty and a fried egg, and are garnished with slices of raw cucumber (instead of, say, lettuce) and a swipe of special mayonnaise. Up until now, I’d never seen them in the Bay.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897879\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897879\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese breakfast burger, with fried egg, tomato, and cucumber garnish visible, on top of a checker-patterned sheet of wax paper. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/CafeMei_burger-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Toppings for the Cafe Mei breakfast burger include tomato, fried egg, and thinly sliced cucumber. \u003ccite>(Luke Tsai)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Owner Kandy Wang says her first job as an 18-year-old kid in Taipei was at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mam.com.tw/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mei Er Mei\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, the most famous of Taiwan’s Western-style breakfast chains, known for its tidy ham-and-egg sandwiches as well as those breakfast burgers. Her family immigrated to the U.S. shortly after that, and in the decades since, Wang says, she kept trying to fill the Mei Er Mei void in her life to no avail. “You can only duplicate so much,” she says. “You just miss the taste of home.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, this past summer, Wang finally opened \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/cafemeiusa/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">her own spinoff of the chain\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">—the first she’s aware of in the United States—initially just on a limited weekly pre-order basis, with the pandemic still raging. Located in a Fremont strip mall, the cafe isn’t officially connected to the Mei Er Mei in Taiwan, but Wang says she secured the official recipes for the chain’s burger patties and mayonnaise from one of its suppliers. (She’s also trademarked the name Mei Er Mei for use in the U.S.)\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897881\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897881\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Dan bing cut into bite-size pieces with a small container of soy sauce-based dipping sauce.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1440\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/cafe-mei_to-go-11-original-pancake-with-egg-9-1920x1080.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cafe Mei’s dan bing is also expected to be a top seller. \u003ccite>(Cafe Mei)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">When Cafe Mei officially opens to the public, probably in mid-June, it’ll also serve dan bing—a thinner, more crepe-like version than Taiwan Bento’s—and assorted grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches. For many customers, however, those breakfast burgers will be the blast of nostalgia they won’t be able to resist. True to my memory of them from so many bleary-eyed mornings in Taipei, the patties are uncommonly juicy and flavorful, and the cool, crunchy cucumber slices make for a refreshing addition. They’re part of what makes the burgers taste so uniquely Taiwanese.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Bona Fide Doujiang Dian\u003c/span>\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s also not quite accurate to say that the much pined after doujiang dian format is entirely\u003c/span> \u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">non-existent in the Bay Area. A handful of restaurants in the South Bay and on the Peninsula, like Joy Restaurant in Foster City and China Bee in San Mateo, have long sold fresh soy milk and a handful of other breakfast specials on the weekend. The owners of \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/yilanfoods/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Yilan Foods\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, probably the most widely acclaimed of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13897272/bay-area-taiwanese-food-scene-nostalgia\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">new Taiwanese pop-ups\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, say they’re determined to eventually offer fan tuan, fried crullers and perhaps fresh, house-made soy milk when they open as a standalone restaurant, probably in San Francisco. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And Tang of Taiwan Bento plans to continue her restaurant’s occasional Taiwanese breakfast pop-ups, with the hope of eventually making the breakfast items a permanent addition to the menu. Already, the scallion egg pancakes are available all week long.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897880\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1981px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897880\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg\" alt=\"Stacy Tang (right), wearing a face mask, prepares scallion egg pancakes, or dan bing, during one of her restaurant's breakfast pop-ups.\" width=\"1981\" height=\"1321\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021.jpg 1981w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/015_KQEDArts_TaiwanBento_05082021-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1981px) 100vw, 1981px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Stacy Tang prepares scallion egg pancake, or dan bing, during a recent breakfast pop-up. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even now, Tang says, it isn’t strictly accurate to say that there isn’t \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">anyone \u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">selling shaobing and doujiang in the Bay Area; it’s just that all of that is happening in the more informal economy within the Taiwanese immigrant community—again, mostly in the South Bay and on the Peninsula. If you know where to look, you can find folks selling all of those dishes from their homes via WeChat and private, Chinese-language-only Facebook groups. “It’s not that accessible,” Tang says.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">There’s also one bona fide doujiang dian that’s largely eluded the attention of the shaobing- and fan tuan–loving masses, though it’s well known within the South Bay’s Taiwanese immigrant community. (I’d somehow never come across it in all my years of searching.) Open in Newark since 1996, with a decade-plus stint in Cupertino in between, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/chefwuchineserestaurant/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chef Wu\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> specializes in all of the Taiwanese breakfast dishes I’ve been craving: The restaurant makes its own shaobing, you tiao and doujiang in-house, and it’s done so for \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">years\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, though it has stayed closed during the pandemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897884\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897884\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A woman preps the you tiao, or fried crullers, in the kitchen at Chef Wu \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1706\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/ChefWu_youtiao-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kuo’s mother preps the you tiao in the kitchen at Chef Wu. \u003ccite>(Peter Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lih Chuen Kuo, who owns the restaurant along with husband Kun Dou Wu, comes from a doujiang dian family; her mother’s family ran a popular shop in Taipei’s Shilin district. When Chef Wu was located in Cupertino, from 1997 to 2010, the restaurant started serving breakfast on the weekends, and Kuo says it was very busy, with long lines, from the get-go. In fact, there used to be a running joke in the community: “If you live in Cupertino and never went to Huan Xi Lou (the restaurant’s Chinese name), can you really say that you live in the South Bay?” Kuo says in Mandarin.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ever since the restaurant moved back to the East Bay in 2012, Chef Wu has served its full lineup of Taiwanese breakfast dishes all day long every day that it was open, Wednesday through Sunday—so, customers can score beef shaobing sandwiches, savory soy milk and even rarer offerings like sweet rice milk (mi jiang) five days a week. To Kuo’s knowledge, it’s the only local Taiwanese restaurant serving breakfast that often. And it’s almost certainly the only Bay Area restaurant that’s known \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">primarily\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for Taiwanese breakfast. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">As such, Kuo says, she was used to having customers travel long distances to get their fix, driving down from Livermore or Sacramento. One customer would fly in from Texas every summer, buy 100 shaobing and freeze them to bring home. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897886\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897886\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1.jpg\" alt=\"Shaobing you tiao (fried cruller wrapped in sesame flat bread) on a white ceramic plate against a white background. \" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/IMG_1413-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chef Wu’s shaobing youtiao. \u003ccite>(Chef Wu)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kuo and her husband closed the restaurant down last March at the start of the pandemic, and ever since then, Kuo has been peppered with questions from long-time customers asking when they’ll reopen. That’s no surprise, Kuo says, given that she went through the same thing during the two-year hiatus after she closed Chef Wu’s Cupertino location. Everywhere she went, it seemed—when visiting Reno, or at the airport in Taiwan—she would run into old customers. “Why don’t you hurry up and open?” they’d say. “We’ve missed it so much!”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">For the many Taiwanese Americans who’ve been waiting for years for a reliable Taiwanese breakfast spot, as well as for those outside of the community who haven’t yet had the pleasure, there’s good news: According to Kuo, the restaurant will likely reopen in mid-June. You’ll find me there, at the front of the line, saying a little prayer of thanks that I don’t need to open my own restaurant just to eat the breakfast I’ve been craving for the past 30 years.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Why Silicon Valley is Still the Heart of the Bay Area’s Taiwanese Restaurant Scene",
"headTitle": "Why Silicon Valley is Still the Heart of the Bay Area’s Taiwanese Restaurant Scene | KQED",
"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897834\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897834\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"A pair of gua bao, or Taiwanese pork belly buns, on a white plate, against a stylized blue backdrop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Photo by Beth LaBerge; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[dropcap]D[/dropcap]riving down Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, it’s easier to find a boba drink than a Frappuccino. Hungry teenagers roam shopping centers looking for hot dogs wrapped in milk bread. And “bento,” more often than not, means a multi-compartmented Taiwanese feast of pork chop, rice, vegetables and braised egg. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not by chance that Silicon Valley became ground zero for the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene. Santa Clara County’s Taiwanese population is second in the U.S. only to Los Angeles County. Mom-and-pop Taiwanese eateries proliferated along with the rise of personal computers and the internet. Before long, Taiwanese Americans throughout Northern California knew that if they wanted a decent oyster omelet or beef noodle soup, chances were they’d have to trek out to a strip mall in Milpitas or Cupertino.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But just as new start-ups have forced the legacy tech companies to evolve, many of Silicon Valley’s most beloved Taiwanese restaurants now face a turning point as their founders age and the pandemic continues to hamstring their business. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Chens-Kitchen-292054490826/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mama Chen’s Kitchen\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a sunny Cupertino restaurant known for its Taiwanese small bites, including gua bao and stinky tofu—foods best enjoyed fresh out of the steamer or wok and shared with friends. Like Apple’s new offices across the street, however, the dining room’s glossy tables mostly sat empty during a recent lunch hour. “You can imagine how many people work there, I think more than 20,000 people,” owner Bobby Chan says of his depleted customer base. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897843\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1805px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897843\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of fried stinky tofu with a side of pickled cabbage on a white countertop.\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1203\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1805w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fried stinky tofu: a classic Taiwanese street food dish. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chan started the restaurant in 2012 with his mother-in-law, affectionately known in the Taiwanese American community as “Mama Chen.” These days, it’s one of the many Taiwanese spots across the Valley that are struggling to reinvent themselves during the pandemic. But there’s good news too. A second generation of Taiwanese American restaurant owners have taken the reins from their parents, using social media to sell traditional foods in ways no one could have imagined when they first opened their doors. Their restaurants’ continued success speaks to an underlying truth that hasn’t changed in 20 or 30 years: If you want to understand the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food community, you have to spend time in Silicon Valley.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taiwan’s Brain Drain and the Rise of High Tech\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I first moved to San Jose as a kid in the early 1980s. My family was part of a wave of Taiwanese Americans lured by growing companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Apple. Like many immigrants from Taiwan in the 1960s and ’70s, my parents came to the United States to pursue advanced degrees in science and engineering, part of the “brain drain” of the island’s most highly educated citizens who were newly eligible to go to America under the Immigration Act of 1965. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You had a larger number of immigrants that could come from China, from Taiwan,” explains Franklin Ng, professor of anthropology at Fresno State and author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Taiwanese Americans\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. “A very, very fortuitously historic fact was that the United States was beginning to move into what you might call the computer age. And micro-conductors were very important at this time. And it just happened that UC Berkeley, Stanford, Stanford Industrial Park, Santa Clara, this area was important as a sort of petri dish for innovation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But engineers weren’t necessarily good cooks. While there were restaurants serving American Chinese and Cantonese food, there weren’t many that could dish up the sweet and savory flavors, the oysters and squid, or the chewy rice and tapioca confections typical of my family’s Fujianese (or Hoklo) ancestors, who settled in Taiwan beginning in the 1600s. Nor was it easy to find the wheat-based noodles and pancakes popularized by the post-1949 transplants who arrived from China after the Chinese Civil War—the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://ketagalanmedia.com/2018/12/08/history-taiwanese-identity/?fbclid=IwAR0DS4diOwKtO0AC855hk5V0x4BwonqRnmrdNIUAH5e58QfAnWd1PLo92yw\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">self-described waishengren\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (literally, “people born outside the province” or “foreign-born people” in Mandarin).\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My parents drove us all over the Valley searching for the madeleines of their youth: stretchy oyster omelets drizzled with sweet red chili-miso sauce, squid soup zingy with black vinegar or the warm goodness of fresh-pressed soy milk. Eventually, we found these foods and more, ordering xiaolongbao off the menu at a lunch-special joint and slurping pork chop noodles in the back of an ice cream parlor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897840\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1702px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897840\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese oyster omelette on a square plate, on a white countertop.\" width=\"1702\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1702w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1702px) 100vw, 1702px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Chen’s elegant version of an oyster omelet, a popular Taiwanese street food. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luckily, changes in U.S. immigration policies also allowed for family reunification, which proved to be a further boon for the burgeoning Taiwanese restaurant scene. Chin-Shin Yang, known by her married last name “Mama Chen,” was one of the many Taiwanese immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1980s. At first, she started selling \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-09/savory-treat-dragon-boat-festival-and-aunties-who-make-them\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">bah tsàng\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, homemade leaf-wrapped rice dumplings stuffed with pork and other goodies, directly to the Taiwanese American community. By 1997 she developed enough of a following that she and her son-in-law opened their first restaurant in Milpitas, named Southland (“Tainan” in Chinese) after her hometown in Southern Taiwan. A year later, they opened another outpost in the Cupertino Village shopping center, anchored by a Ranch 99 supermarket. Those restaurants have since closed or been sold, but Mama Chen became well known in the community, often donating meals for church events or the annual Taiwanese American Cultural Festival. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897839\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1762px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897839\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"Taiwanese bah tsang (or leaf-wrapped rice dumpling) in a white bowl on a white countertop.\" width=\"1762\" height=\"1175\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1762w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1762px) 100vw, 1762px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Chen started off just selling bah tsang within the local Taiwanese community. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, Chen and her son-in-law opened Mama Chen’s Kitchen at its current location on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Sitting down to a meal there reminds me of the area’s earliest Taiwanese restaurants—tidy family businesses that served small plates to be shared. After Chen herself passed away several years ago, Chan, her son-in-law, has continued to run the restaurant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of Silicon Valley’s oldest Taiwanese restaurants opened in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.southlandcafe.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Southland Cafe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Cupertino, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.queenhouserestaurant.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Queen House\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> opened on Castro Street in Mountain View and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwancafe.me/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Cafe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> set up shop in Milpitas. In 2000, I came back to my hometown after being away for most of the 1990s for college and work, and the changes were unmistakable. Computer chip manufacturers were moving overseas, and internet start-ups employed a steady stream of new immigrants from places like Taiwan. Boba shops had sprung up, selling deep-fried fish balls and five spice–scented popcorn chicken to go along with sweet milk teas, all to a Mandopop soundtrack.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the Valley today, you can eat Taiwanese food from dawn until dusk, beginning with a bowl of sweet potato congee at Taiwan Porridge Kingdom and moving on to Southland’s savory rice pudding steamed in a bowl. You can snack on pillowy baked buns stuffed with taro or pork floss at one of the local bakeries and then finish the day with an icy lager and three-cup squid at a beer house like Red Hot Wok. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">[aside tag='eating-taiwanese' label='Eating Taiwanese']Many of the Taiwanese restaurants which have risen to national prominence in recent years (Baohaus and Win Son in New York, Pine & Crane in Los Angeles) feature mostly “waisheng” menus. These dishes—like rich beef noodle soup and brothy xiaolongbao—often reflect the cattle and wheat of northern China. But Taiwan’s food is as complex and multilayered as its identity. Silicon Valley’s Taiwanese restaurants go beyond the most widely known corners of the cuisine, often emphasizing the foodways of the Hoklo, who make up an estimated 70% of the island’s population. The impact of 50 years of Japanese colonization is also writ large in the current proliferation of bentos, super-sized versions of the pork chop and rice \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2019/01/the-biandang-from-japanese-days-to-the-present/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">lunch boxes sold on Taiwan’s railways\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Another popular dish, Chiayi chicken rice, reflects the legacy of U.S. military presence in Taiwan, spurring locals to create a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiayi.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=530\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">meal using surplus poultry\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s still hard, however, to find the flavors of the island’s numerous indigenous tribes, though a charming restaurant called Cambowan in San Mateo used to serve black rice steamed in bamboo before it closed its doors for good during the pandemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most beloved niche restaurants is less than three miles from Cisco headquarters. Stepping through the doors of Taiwan Cafe, with its brick walls and vintage neon signs, is like entering a village in the island’s rural south. “We like that country flavor, xiāng xià de wèi dào,” says owner Sue Chang, whose mother Lin Lan Chih opened the cafe in 2006. Some menu items are very specific to the family’s Hakka heritage. This Chinese minority group has been in Taiwan for hundreds of years; their culinary traditions, such as preserved daikon and bamboo shoots, often reflect scarcity and agricultural work. Taiwan Cafe’s specialty is Wan Luan pork, a mahogany braised hock served on a bed of tangy bamboo shoots, named after Chih’s hometown in tropical Pingtung County. Although Chang came to America at age ten, she speaks fondly and at length about traditional Hakka foods, including thick handmade ban tiao rice noodles and pork intestines stir-fried with ginger and vinegar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can Tech Save Taiwanese Restaurants? Third Generation and Beyond\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of these legacy Taiwanese restaurants were already in the midst of handing over the reins to the next generation when the pandemic sped up that process. The need to develop new revenue streams, such as deliveries or selling groceries, requires tech skills that the aging founders might not have. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a recent Saturday morning, a steady stream of customers arrived at Taiwan Cafe to pick up to-go orders which can be ordered once a week. These dishes include ready-to-eat bentos of sliced Wan Luan pork fanned over a bed of white rice topped with bamboo shoots in minced pork sauce, Hakka Delight featuring pressed tofu and pork strips stir-fried with celery and leeks, and Hoklo classics such as oyster omelet. Since March 2020, the nostalgic dining room has been closed, and it’s now filled with three industrial freezers holding vacuum-packed pork hocks, translucent pork-stuffed bah ûan and five-spice rolls waiting to be deep-fried. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, the restaurant is mostly focused on selling frozen specialties, which can be picked up locally or shipped to destinations as far-flung as Minnesota and New Jersey. Three generations are now in the business: Chang’s 23-year old daughter Stephanie Tseng handles the online orders and the Facebook page while her mother and brother run Cafe Taiwan in Pleasanton.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even more dramatic are the changes that have taken place at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://liangsvillage.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Liang’s Village\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Cupertino, best known for its beef noodle soup. The family business was first started in 1981 in the San Gabriel Valley as Mama’s Kitchen, a cafeteria featuring braised meats and tofu. The Cupertino outpost was opened by the original Mama Liang’s grandson Austin in 2010, after graduating from U.C. Berkeley. Today, Austin and his siblings Jessica and Erica run the company. In 2018, they raised $26,500 on Kickstarter to start a line of frozen foods inspired by the dishes their father sent with them to college. “Our dad had a restaurant, so we always took sauces home and froze it at school,” says Erica Liang. “Then you boil some noodles and pop it in, and it was just like the best home cooked meal.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897841\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897841\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of takeout dishes from Liang's Village in white takeout cartons.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of takeout dishes from Liang’s Village. \u003ccite>(Grace Hwang Lynch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the beginning of the pandemic, they sold only two items: beef noodle soup and red oil wontons. Now, the newly minted \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mamaliangs.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mama Liang’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> brand has a sleek, English-language website selling 19 products. Customers can get frozen meals like minced pork sauce, stewed pig’s feet and caramelized scallion noodles shipped nationwide. They’ve even dabbled in cooking videos: Earlier in May, Jessica did a demonstration of their beef noodle kit for this year’s online version of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tafestival.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which is normally held in San Francisco’s Union Square. Meanwhile, the dining room remains closed, and Mama Liang’s grandchildren don’t know exactly what the future holds. “It’s a little bit hard to kind of decide on which way we’re going,” says Jessica Liang, who is waiting to see if conditions are ripe to allow restaurants to fully open this summer. “It’s really hard to justify opening a restaurant if it’s not 100% capacity.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile, just a few blocks down Stevens Creek Boulevard, Bobby Chan is holding out hope of filling Mama Chen’s dining room soon. “People love to dine in instead of to-go,” he says. And he has a point. Takeout bentos and meal kits, like Zoom and FaceTime, have helped many people get through this year. But there’s something inherently un-Taiwanese about eating alone in front of a screen. Taiwanese people love to eat together. The sensory experience of trying restaurants with friends, or strolling through a crowded night market together, is as much part of the culture as the food itself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And while it’s hard to know when these restaurants will return to some sense of normalcy, or how much more this next generation of small business owners will shake up the status quo, one thing’s for certain: Taiwanese restaurants in Silicon Valley are here to stay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Grace Hwang Lynch is a San Francisco Bay Area journalist and essayist, with an eye for Asian American culture and food. Her work can be found at PRI, NPR, Tin House and Catapult. She’s at work on a memoir about Taiwanese food and family. Follow her on Twitter \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/GraceHwangLynch\">@GraceHwangLynch\u003c/a>.\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897834\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897834\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg\" alt=\"A pair of gua bao, or Taiwanese pork belly buns, on a white plate, against a stylized blue backdrop.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-1020x678.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/SVTaiwanese_FinalInArticlePhoto-1536x1022.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">\u003cem>(Photo by Beth LaBerge; design by Rebecca Kao)\u003c/em>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\">KQED’s \u003c/i>\u003c/em>Eating Taiwanese in the Bay\u003cem>\u003ci data-stringify-type=\"italic\"> is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/eatingtaiwanese\">series of stories\u003c/a> exploring Taiwanese food culture in all of its glorious, delicious complexity.\u003c/i>\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class=\"utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__dropcapShortcode__dropcap\">D\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>riving down Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, it’s easier to find a boba drink than a Frappuccino. Hungry teenagers roam shopping centers looking for hot dogs wrapped in milk bread. And “bento,” more often than not, means a multi-compartmented Taiwanese feast of pork chop, rice, vegetables and braised egg. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">It’s not by chance that Silicon Valley became ground zero for the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food scene. Santa Clara County’s Taiwanese population is second in the U.S. only to Los Angeles County. Mom-and-pop Taiwanese eateries proliferated along with the rise of personal computers and the internet. Before long, Taiwanese Americans throughout Northern California knew that if they wanted a decent oyster omelet or beef noodle soup, chances were they’d have to trek out to a strip mall in Milpitas or Cupertino.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But just as new start-ups have forced the legacy tech companies to evolve, many of Silicon Valley’s most beloved Taiwanese restaurants now face a turning point as their founders age and the pandemic continues to hamstring their business. \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.facebook.com/Mama-Chens-Kitchen-292054490826/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mama Chen’s Kitchen\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is a sunny Cupertino restaurant known for its Taiwanese small bites, including gua bao and stinky tofu—foods best enjoyed fresh out of the steamer or wok and shared with friends. Like Apple’s new offices across the street, however, the dining room’s glossy tables mostly sat empty during a recent lunch hour. “You can imagine how many people work there, I think more than 20,000 people,” owner Bobby Chan says of his depleted customer base. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897843\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1805px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897843\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A plate of fried stinky tofu with a side of pickled cabbage on a white countertop.\" width=\"1805\" height=\"1203\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1805w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/025_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1805px) 100vw, 1805px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Fried stinky tofu: a classic Taiwanese street food dish. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Chan started the restaurant in 2012 with his mother-in-law, affectionately known in the Taiwanese American community as “Mama Chen.” These days, it’s one of the many Taiwanese spots across the Valley that are struggling to reinvent themselves during the pandemic. But there’s good news too. A second generation of Taiwanese American restaurant owners have taken the reins from their parents, using social media to sell traditional foods in ways no one could have imagined when they first opened their doors. Their restaurants’ continued success speaks to an underlying truth that hasn’t changed in 20 or 30 years: If you want to understand the Bay Area’s Taiwanese food community, you have to spend time in Silicon Valley.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Taiwan’s Brain Drain and the Rise of High Tech\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">I first moved to San Jose as a kid in the early 1980s. My family was part of a wave of Taiwanese Americans lured by growing companies such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Apple. Like many immigrants from Taiwan in the 1960s and ’70s, my parents came to the United States to pursue advanced degrees in science and engineering, part of the “brain drain” of the island’s most highly educated citizens who were newly eligible to go to America under the Immigration Act of 1965. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">“You had a larger number of immigrants that could come from China, from Taiwan,” explains Franklin Ng, professor of anthropology at Fresno State and author of \u003c/span>\u003ci>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Taiwanese Americans\u003c/span>\u003c/i>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. “A very, very fortuitously historic fact was that the United States was beginning to move into what you might call the computer age. And micro-conductors were very important at this time. And it just happened that UC Berkeley, Stanford, Stanford Industrial Park, Santa Clara, this area was important as a sort of petri dish for innovation.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">But engineers weren’t necessarily good cooks. While there were restaurants serving American Chinese and Cantonese food, there weren’t many that could dish up the sweet and savory flavors, the oysters and squid, or the chewy rice and tapioca confections typical of my family’s Fujianese (or Hoklo) ancestors, who settled in Taiwan beginning in the 1600s. Nor was it easy to find the wheat-based noodles and pancakes popularized by the post-1949 transplants who arrived from China after the Chinese Civil War—the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://ketagalanmedia.com/2018/12/08/history-taiwanese-identity/?fbclid=IwAR0DS4diOwKtO0AC855hk5V0x4BwonqRnmrdNIUAH5e58QfAnWd1PLo92yw\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">self-described waishengren\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (literally, “people born outside the province” or “foreign-born people” in Mandarin).\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">My parents drove us all over the Valley searching for the madeleines of their youth: stretchy oyster omelets drizzled with sweet red chili-miso sauce, squid soup zingy with black vinegar or the warm goodness of fresh-pressed soy milk. Eventually, we found these foods and more, ordering xiaolongbao off the menu at a lunch-special joint and slurping pork chop noodles in the back of an ice cream parlor.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897840\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1702px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897840\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"A Taiwanese oyster omelette on a square plate, on a white countertop.\" width=\"1702\" height=\"1135\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1702w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/001_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1702px) 100vw, 1702px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Chen’s elegant version of an oyster omelet, a popular Taiwanese street food. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Luckily, changes in U.S. immigration policies also allowed for family reunification, which proved to be a further boon for the burgeoning Taiwanese restaurant scene. Chin-Shin Yang, known by her married last name “Mama Chen,” was one of the many Taiwanese immigrants who arrived in the United States in the 1980s. At first, she started selling \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.pri.org/stories/2016-06-09/savory-treat-dragon-boat-festival-and-aunties-who-make-them\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">bah tsàng\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, homemade leaf-wrapped rice dumplings stuffed with pork and other goodies, directly to the Taiwanese American community. By 1997 she developed enough of a following that she and her son-in-law opened their first restaurant in Milpitas, named Southland (“Tainan” in Chinese) after her hometown in Southern Taiwan. A year later, they opened another outpost in the Cupertino Village shopping center, anchored by a Ranch 99 supermarket. Those restaurants have since closed or been sold, but Mama Chen became well known in the community, often donating meals for church events or the annual Taiwanese American Cultural Festival. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897839\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 1762px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897839\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg\" alt=\"Taiwanese bah tsang (or leaf-wrapped rice dumpling) in a white bowl on a white countertop.\" width=\"1762\" height=\"1175\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021.jpg 1762w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/006_Cupertino_MamaChensKitchen_05172021-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1762px) 100vw, 1762px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mama Chen started off just selling bah tsang within the local Taiwanese community. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In 2012, Chen and her son-in-law opened Mama Chen’s Kitchen at its current location on Stevens Creek Boulevard. Sitting down to a meal there reminds me of the area’s earliest Taiwanese restaurants—tidy family businesses that served small plates to be shared. After Chen herself passed away several years ago, Chan, her son-in-law, has continued to run the restaurant. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of Silicon Valley’s oldest Taiwanese restaurants opened in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In addition to \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.southlandcafe.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Southland Cafe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Cupertino, \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.queenhouserestaurant.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Queen House\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> opened on Castro Street in Mountain View and \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"http://www.taiwancafe.me/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwan Cafe\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> set up shop in Milpitas. In 2000, I came back to my hometown after being away for most of the 1990s for college and work, and the changes were unmistakable. Computer chip manufacturers were moving overseas, and internet start-ups employed a steady stream of new immigrants from places like Taiwan. Boba shops had sprung up, selling deep-fried fish balls and five spice–scented popcorn chicken to go along with sweet milk teas, all to a Mandopop soundtrack.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the Valley today, you can eat Taiwanese food from dawn until dusk, beginning with a bowl of sweet potato congee at Taiwan Porridge Kingdom and moving on to Southland’s savory rice pudding steamed in a bowl. You can snack on pillowy baked buns stuffed with taro or pork floss at one of the local bakeries and then finish the day with an icy lager and three-cup squid at a beer house like Red Hot Wok. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Many of the Taiwanese restaurants which have risen to national prominence in recent years (Baohaus and Win Son in New York, Pine & Crane in Los Angeles) feature mostly “waisheng” menus. These dishes—like rich beef noodle soup and brothy xiaolongbao—often reflect the cattle and wheat of northern China. But Taiwan’s food is as complex and multilayered as its identity. Silicon Valley’s Taiwanese restaurants go beyond the most widely known corners of the cuisine, often emphasizing the foodways of the Hoklo, who make up an estimated 70% of the island’s population. The impact of 50 years of Japanese colonization is also writ large in the current proliferation of bentos, super-sized versions of the pork chop and rice \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://topics.amcham.com.tw/2019/01/the-biandang-from-japanese-days-to-the-present/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">lunch boxes sold on Taiwan’s railways\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. Another popular dish, Chiayi chicken rice, reflects the legacy of U.S. military presence in Taiwan, spurring locals to create a \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.chiayi.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=530\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">meal using surplus poultry\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">. It’s still hard, however, to find the flavors of the island’s numerous indigenous tribes, though a charming restaurant called Cambowan in San Mateo used to serve black rice steamed in bamboo before it closed its doors for good during the pandemic.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of the most beloved niche restaurants is less than three miles from Cisco headquarters. Stepping through the doors of Taiwan Cafe, with its brick walls and vintage neon signs, is like entering a village in the island’s rural south. “We like that country flavor, xiāng xià de wèi dào,” says owner Sue Chang, whose mother Lin Lan Chih opened the cafe in 2006. Some menu items are very specific to the family’s Hakka heritage. This Chinese minority group has been in Taiwan for hundreds of years; their culinary traditions, such as preserved daikon and bamboo shoots, often reflect scarcity and agricultural work. Taiwan Cafe’s specialty is Wan Luan pork, a mahogany braised hock served on a bed of tangy bamboo shoots, named after Chih’s hometown in tropical Pingtung County. Although Chang came to America at age ten, she speaks fondly and at length about traditional Hakka foods, including thick handmade ban tiao rice noodles and pork intestines stir-fried with ginger and vinegar. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Can Tech Save Taiwanese Restaurants? Third Generation and Beyond\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Many of these legacy Taiwanese restaurants were already in the midst of handing over the reins to the next generation when the pandemic sped up that process. The need to develop new revenue streams, such as deliveries or selling groceries, requires tech skills that the aging founders might not have. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">On a recent Saturday morning, a steady stream of customers arrived at Taiwan Cafe to pick up to-go orders which can be ordered once a week. These dishes include ready-to-eat bentos of sliced Wan Luan pork fanned over a bed of white rice topped with bamboo shoots in minced pork sauce, Hakka Delight featuring pressed tofu and pork strips stir-fried with celery and leeks, and Hoklo classics such as oyster omelet. Since March 2020, the nostalgic dining room has been closed, and it’s now filled with three industrial freezers holding vacuum-packed pork hocks, translucent pork-stuffed bah ûan and five-spice rolls waiting to be deep-fried. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">These days, the restaurant is mostly focused on selling frozen specialties, which can be picked up locally or shipped to destinations as far-flung as Minnesota and New Jersey. Three generations are now in the business: Chang’s 23-year old daughter Stephanie Tseng handles the online orders and the Facebook page while her mother and brother run Cafe Taiwan in Pleasanton.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Even more dramatic are the changes that have taken place at \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://liangsvillage.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Liang’s Village\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Cupertino, best known for its beef noodle soup. The family business was first started in 1981 in the San Gabriel Valley as Mama’s Kitchen, a cafeteria featuring braised meats and tofu. The Cupertino outpost was opened by the original Mama Liang’s grandson Austin in 2010, after graduating from U.C. Berkeley. Today, Austin and his siblings Jessica and Erica run the company. In 2018, they raised $26,500 on Kickstarter to start a line of frozen foods inspired by the dishes their father sent with them to college. “Our dad had a restaurant, so we always took sauces home and froze it at school,” says Erica Liang. “Then you boil some noodles and pop it in, and it was just like the best home cooked meal.” \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_13897841\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"max-width: 2560px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13897841\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"A spread of takeout dishes from Liang's Village in white takeout cartons.\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1020x765.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-2048x1536.jpg 2048w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/LiangsTakeout_GHL-1920x1440.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A spread of takeout dishes from Liang’s Village. \u003ccite>(Grace Hwang Lynch)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">At the beginning of the pandemic, they sold only two items: beef noodle soup and red oil wontons. Now, the newly minted \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.mamaliangs.com/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mama Liang’s\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\"> brand has a sleek, English-language website selling 19 products. Customers can get frozen meals like minced pork sauce, stewed pig’s feet and caramelized scallion noodles shipped nationwide. They’ve even dabbled in cooking videos: Earlier in May, Jessica did a demonstration of their beef noodle kit for this year’s online version of the \u003c/span>\u003ca href=\"https://www.tafestival.org/\">\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Taiwanese American Cultural Festival\u003c/span>\u003c/a>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which is normally held in San Francisco’s Union Square. Meanwhile, the dining room remains closed, and Mama Liang’s grandchildren don’t know exactly what the future holds. “It’s a little bit hard to kind of decide on which way we’re going,” says Jessica Liang, who is waiting to see if conditions are ripe to allow restaurants to fully open this summer. “It’s really hard to justify opening a restaurant if it’s not 100% capacity.”\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">Meanwhile, just a few blocks down Stevens Creek Boulevard, Bobby Chan is holding out hope of filling Mama Chen’s dining room soon. “People love to dine in instead of to-go,” he says. And he has a point. Takeout bentos and meal kits, like Zoom and FaceTime, have helped many people get through this year. But there’s something inherently un-Taiwanese about eating alone in front of a screen. Taiwanese people love to eat together. The sensory experience of trying restaurants with friends, or strolling through a crowded night market together, is as much part of the culture as the food itself.\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400\">And while it’s hard to know when these restaurants will return to some sense of normalcy, or how much more this next generation of small business owners will shake up the status quo, one thing’s for certain: Taiwanese restaurants in Silicon Valley are here to stay. \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-13897264\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-160x25.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/05/Taiwan.logobreak.greyish-768x122.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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