The Potter's House, Taoyuan: Coffee House Outreach

(Click on photos to enlarge)

We find ourselves as Americans living on foreign soil. We are referred to as expatriate Americans or ex-pats. They call us waiguoren (Why gwo ren) the word is literally translated as outside (wai4) country (guo2) person (ren2) or foreigner. But this is not as difficult a position as one might think. Americans are highly regarded in Taiwan as we have been their allies since almost the moment the country formed. In 1949, when Chaing Kai Shek and his nationalist army fled from Mao Tse Tung’s troops across the Taiwan Strait, they formed a democratic government under Taiwan’s first president Sun Yat Sen. America has stood with Taiwan as an ally ever since, providing the “muscle” when China threatens.

They have tied their economy to ours, in a sense, and have long traded with America. There are many American companies operating in Taiwan. Taiwanese people are eager to learn English and American customs. We are often stopped on the streets, so someone can practice their English or take a picture with us. So this is the environment we find ourselves.

So with that in mind one of the first things we have initiated in Taoyuan City is an English Language Coffee House outreach. Here is the idea in a nutshell. We provide an easy going and fun atmosphere where English is spoken and taught. We use the Bible as a text book. We have interpretation into Chinese to make sure that people understand what’s being taught.

Each Wednesday night we have munchies, usually coffee cakes that we buy from the local cake baker. This woman is our neighbor and has a cake business at her home. We also serve Coffee, Hot Apple Cider and Hot Chocolate.

The current lesson is on the miracles mentioned in the book of John and how they apply to our lives. I have taken it from a Bible Study by Greg Mitchell called Signs from Heaven. I chose this specific Bible Study because of John’s statement that he wrote this book so that we could believe. It was written primarily to Greeks so that they could understand who God is. The Greeks were a foreign culture to Israel and there are some similarities between Greek culture of the time and the Taiwanese culture.

This study has proven to be effective as we have seen participation increase, as well as many visitors coming to see what we’re teaching.

It has breathed life into the church.
There are young people who have come and joined the church. Its always fun to be in a church with a lot of young people. Many of them are excited about the possibilities of God moving in their lives.

Eating My way Through Taiwan: Hot Pot

Hot Pot (Huo3 guo1 [Hwuh gwuh])
(click on the photos to enlarge them)

Today’s meal is Hot Pot. I know I promised to discuss San Bei Tian Ji, but I changed my mind. San Bei Tian Ji is a recipe for cooked frog. The name literally translates as Three Cups Frog and it’s alright but it’s not high on my recommendation list. They make the same recipe with Chicken and it’s much better. So today I’m going to discuss Hot Pot.

Hot Pot is a favorite in Taiwan. It's really a do it yourself soup. The cost is around $200NTD (or $6.40 US).

Here’s how it works. In the table, in front of each diner is a burner and a pot of broth. The waiter will give you White Cabbage, Romaine Lettuce, Mushrooms, sometimes tomatoes, and assorted fish balls. These are balls made from a paste of cooked fish. They are very tasty. He will also bring you shrimp dumplings and a plate of thinly sliced beef, lamb or Pork, depending on your preference.

You turn on the burner and begin to heat the broth, as it is heating you tear the white cabbage into small pieces and toss them into the pot along with the mushrooms and some of the fish balls and dumplings. Hold the Romaine Lettuce until it is almost cooked or it gets too mushy. Then you add the meat and allow it to cook for a while.

Using your chopsticks remove the vegetables, fish and meat from the pot and dip them into a tasty and spicy sauce.
Then eat it. It is without a doubt one of my favorite things to eat here in Taiwan. The place for Hot Pot in Taoyuan City is Cash City. The price is $250 NTD for a filling meal.

Hot Pot is a favorite pastime in Taiwan. You often see large groups of Hot Potters gathered in these restaurants. They're fun, noisy places.
Many people have portable Hot Pot burners that they can take with them on picnics or wherever. We even had a Hot Pot fellowship at Christmas. Here's a group of happy Hot Potters.





Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Japanese Barbeque
Eating My way Through Taiwan:  Pot Lucks
Eating My way Through Taiwan:  Bao zi

Taiwan Travelogue: The Traditional Market

Learning Chinese and about Taiwan

I’m adding a little Chinese lesson with today’s post. The words in parenthesis are the pin yin equivalent of the Chinese character. So if you read pinyin you will be able to pronounce those words. If not I have put the English phonetic spelling as well. In the pinyin the number represents the tone that is pronounced. 1= high neutral that is no accent, 2 = starts low and moves up (like at the end of a question in English), 3 = starts high drops down and then goes back up, 4 = Starts high and drops off abruptly.

Today Elizabeth and I went to the Traditional Market (shi4 chang3 [sheer chong]). It’s like a swap meet but they sell absolutely everything there. We usually buy produce (cai4 [tsy]) at the Traditional market, because it is locally grown and has a much better flavor than you find at the supermarket (chao1 ji2 shi4 chang3). You know how vegetables taste when you grow them at home and allow them to vine ripen. Delicious. But you have to go every couple of days.

We don’t buy beef (Niu2 Rou4 [nyo row]) or pork (zhu1 rou4 [jew row]) at the Traditional Market. And if you look at the picture you’ll see why. It doesn’t matter how hot it is the beef and pork are unrefrigerated. You better eat it that day. The fish (yu3 rou4 [yu row]) is at least on ice. They clean it and filet it after you buy it. The other nice thing about the traditional market is that you can bargain with the shopkeeper (Lao3 Ban3 [lou (as in loud) bahn]). You say “Qing3 yi1 dian3 pian2 yi” [ching ee dien pien ee] ) “Please, a little bit cheaper,” and they will make a decision if they can or not.

We also like to buy fruit (shui3 guo3 [shway gwah]) at the traditional market. Actually we go to one fruit stand (shui3 guo3 dian4 [shway gwah dien]) because we really like the shopkeeper (A female shopkeeper is called Lao3 Ban3 niang4 [Lou bahn niahng]). She always gives us free stuff and is extremely friendly. She’s a Vietnamese girl married to a Taiwanese man and speaks Vietnamese, Mandarin, and English. She works 7 days a week from 9am to 11 pm at the shop.

Here are some photos of the Traditional market.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Taiwan Travelogue:  Old Ceramics Street
Local Color:  The Temples of Taoyuan City
Taiwan Travelogue:  Overlooking Taoyuan City

Eating My Way Through Taiwan: Bao zi

One of the things I have enjoyed most about being in Taiwan is the food. I love to eat food. I am game for just about anything. No limits…at least so far there hasn’t been anything I wouldn’t try. I’m not saying I like everything I eat, but I’ll try almost anything. So I have decided to do a short series I’m calling Eating my way through Taiwan.

I’m going to take you with me to the little food carts and shops throughout Taoyuan and show you what I’m eating. There are a number of things that will surprise you; and others will seem familiar.

Food in Taiwan is very similar to Chinese Food. If you live near Riverside, California and want to taste authentic Taiwanese food try the University Café on University and Iowa Avenues. That place serves authentic Taiwanese food. Including Pearl Tea. Pearl Tea has small balls of Tapioca that slip interestingly up your straw. In Taiwan it is Pearl Tea The University Café calls it Boba Milk Tea. (This shameless plug was not paid for in any way…YET.)



Bao zi

Today I’m going to focus on Bao zi. (Steamed Buns) This is a delicious breakfast meal. You can get Meat (Rou Bao) or Vegetable (Cai Bao). Generally, you will find them frozen in supermarkets. But there are many little shops (bao dian) where they are sold.


What they are is seasoned pork inside a bun made of bread. Steam them for 15 minutes and they are ready to eat. They’re one of my favorite foods in Taiwan. But you have to be careful with these bad boys, if you eat too many of them you’ll look like a Bao zi.

If you want these in the US you will have to look in Chinatown. I searched all over Riverside and never found them there.


Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Japanese Barbeque
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  A Traditional Restaurant
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Hot Pot
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Hei Tong Cuo Bing
Taiwan Travelogue:  The Traditional Market

A New Feature

I have added a new feature to The Taiwan Adventure. TG Daily a news organization in Taiwan will feed Taiwanese news directly to the site daily. These are selected by them and are current topical news. For example, today December 23, there is a report on our recent earthquake and the talks between Taiwan and China. These are what people are talking about, right now, on the street. I thought it might be of interest to people who are following, I know I said it wasn't a political blog, but I my be forced to comment, occasionally. I want you to know I don't select the stories or have any ability to edit them. Let me know if there is an interest. If not I will discontinue it. If so, we'll see how it goes.

The Potter's House, Taoyuan: Merry Christmas