Eating shaved ice with various mochi toppings at Ice Monster in Taipei
“lı́ hó bô? chiah-pá-bô?”
Taiwanese was the “secret” language that my parents used when my sister and I were growing up. While they spoke Mandarin Chinese to us, they spoke Taiwanese to each other all the time.
I still sound like a wako lang (foreigner) when I attempt to speak Taiwanese. However, my parents’ plans for a secret language totally failed. Kids absorb languages like sponges, and we were no different. Surprisingly, though I never spoke a word of it growing up, I can actually understand quite a bit of Taiwanese. This proved to be quite useful many times in my life – talking with relatives in Taiwan, ordering Taiwanese food at restaurants, and just getting around in the streets of Taiwan.
Why all this focus on Taiwan all of a sudden?
I’m pleased to announce that TaiwaneseAmerican.Org, a foundation dedicated to all things Taiwanese American, has published an interview with Tiny Urban Kitchen today at their site. Check out the interview here!
As one who grew up relatively isolated from a large Asian American community, I think sites like these are great for helping fellow Taiwanese people connect and share the love of their country, heritage, and culture.
In the spirit of the interview, I’ve gathered all my Taiwanese content and put them together on a few pages dedicated to Taiwan. Definitely check out the recipes page (where you’ll find mouthwatering recipes for Taiwanese classics such as bawan, lo ba bng, and batzhang), as well as the restaurants page, which describes Boston Taiwanese favorites as well as other restaurants I’ve visited in Taiwan and elsewhere.
Enjoy!
TAIWANESE TAIWANESE
RECIPES RESTAURANTS
A typical Taiwanese breakfast from Yong He Soy Milk Shop
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This post made me realize how connected I am to my Taiwanese background even though I was born and raised in the States. Somehow I still have my favorite foods and managed also to be able to understand Taiwanese even if I can’t speak a lick! Thanks for the link, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Like you, I also don’t speak Taiwanese but understand quite a lot of it just from absorbing it when I was a kid and visiting Taiwan a lot when I was little. Wonderful post and perfect in time for my upcoming Taiwan trip.
Nice interview… I always wondered what your day job was!
Taiwanese breakfast dishes are so charming! Is that ‘you tiao’ that I see there? Really awesome interview, by the way – the photo of the Domo-kun and Totoro stuffed toys got me smiling 😉
I’ve been a longtime reader of your blog and after reading this post, I just had to comment! I feel like your story with the Taiwanese language is exactly the same as mine; my parents also used it as their secret language, but I managed to pick it up as well when I was a kid.
Thank you for highlighting the Taiwanese american community as well as our delightful cuisine 😀
Your blog was recently shared with an online group for parents with kids adopted from Taiwan (you might be surprised by the ever-growing population of Taiwanese adoptees worldwide!). Your recipes will be great for helping our kids maintain a link to their birth cultures. I can’t wait to get cooking!
Awesome! I loved reading the interview!
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wow. I’m from NZ and just moved to Taiwan 4 weeks ago. I might be near Yong He Soy Milk shop, but don’t know where it is.. Where can I get a breakfast like that?