An Adventure on Formosa: My Taiwanese celebration of the year of the mouse

Ya-wen preparing the table with yummy dishes.

New Year's Eve dinner
Near the door Dong-dong startled by loud firecrackers shot into the sky to welcome the year of the mouse. I was invited to Ya-Wen’s house in Zhonghe (中和市) for a dinner on this night of New Year’s Eve. After dishes were placed on the table, Ya-Wen’s dad popped a bottle of champaign for cheers, and we started to savors these delicious dishes bearing names whose sound resembles auspicious word in either Mandarin and Taiwanese; therefore, they are must-have dishes for New Year’s Eve dinner. For instances, fish (yu), fish balls (yu wan), meat balls (rou wan), and Chicken (ji) were on the table tonight. However, I did not remember all what they mean (sorry Ya-Wen). For soup, we had “Buddha jumps over the wall”—very delicious! Ya-Wen’s dad and mom as well as Dong-dong had been entertaining me. At one point, Ya-wen's dad mentioned a situation when he worked as an engineer for various tunnels in Northeastern area of the island, while her mom wanted him to quit the job and come back home because of the job's dangerous nature--diggning a hole into a moutain is not an easy job then; many lives were spared. As we continued savor the dishes, many stories had been shared and I had become stuffed. But....dessert was yummy too! Of course, I had a space for it! At the end, Ya-Wen gave me some of her home-made “cai tou” cake to take home for tomorrow (I guess “cai tou” must refer to something with a nice meaning too). Well, not mention other dishes that would last me for couple days during this break. By the time Ya-Wen and her dad drove me home, firecrackers were even louder because New Year already arrived!

Cheers!

Delicious Dessert

Ya-wen is slicing her “cai tou” cake for me to take home.

New Year Lunch
Wayne invited me to have lunch with his family (mom, dad and a younger sister) in Banciao (板橋市). His mom prepared many dishes to welcome three of his cousins and me. His dad had been to Thailand for seven times, and he loves the country and is a very fun person to talk with. While his mom was preparing dishes, we had a very lively conversation about various subjects—I must admit, he knows about Bangkok much better than I do. He said that every time he was in Bangkok, he went to pray for Erawan shrine, which is one of the most sacred places in the city. One of Wayne’s cousins and his in-law cousin are news anchors in one of TV stations—often the discussion turns into the coming election.

Wayne's family eats spicy food!! All dishes made my tongue so happy! Wayne’s mom had me try a type of Chou doufu, which was different from what I had had earlier. Though it had a stronger smell, it tasted good! After I had been well fed, Wayne’s mom did not let me go home empty handed. She packed me some fruits before I left around 4 o’clock. It was such a wonderful afternoon visit.

Dinner in Raohe night market

New Year evening at Roehe Nightmarket

When evening arrived, TeChing sent me a message and offered to take me out for a dinner at Raohe night market. This market is the one where I made a turn back when I biked on the first evening I arrived in Taipei. After couple rounds of finding a parking space, we lost ourselves in a crowd filling this small street, sprinkled by light rains (I kept taking my camera in and out my jacket). I thought it would not be that many people here, but I was wrong! We had a type of soupy dishes in Chinese herbal medicine, which are very good. Then, we were standing in a snake line for a famous hu jiao (pepper) ping. Although TeChing does not eat it because pepper bing contains meat, he knows it is good. And, yes, it is! But it was very very hot (temperature-wise)! When we arrived at the other end of the street, we went into a temple of Matzu crowded by worshipers.

Thanks to Ya-Wen, Wayne, TeChing and importantly their families for taking me into their home and their heart during this special occasion of my very first Taiwanese New Year celebration.