* 2021 Taipei Literature Award
* 2021 Openbook Award

Rising food writer Hung Ai-Chu extols her old-school passions for street food, traditional markets, and home-cooked favorites from Taiwan and beyond.

The significance of food in Taiwanese culture is revealed by the common local greeting: “Have you eaten?” And while tastes among young people may be trending towards international, some old-souled foodies, like author Hung Ai-Chu, prefer Taiwan’s street foods, traditional markets, and home-cooked classics. Let Hung’s writing guide you on nostalgic culinary journey in search of traditional flavors from Taiwan and other nations.

This journey begins close to home with the street stall snacks of Hung’s hometown on the outskirts of Taipei. Her descriptions of beverages like fresh-pressed sugar cane juice and medicinal “green grass tea”, and street snacks like silver needle noodles and assorted organ meat cutlets arrive intermingled with culinary memories from childhood. The second part of the book focuses on family and home cooking. From trips to the local wet markets with her grandmother to the preparation of a traditional meal, Hung’s writing brings these local delicacies to life before the reader’s eyes. In the final section of the book, Hung brings readers along on her culinary travels through the traditional markets and street food stalls of Southeast Asia.

An award-winning writer in many disciplines, Hung Ai-Chu is especially notable for her status as a rising star of food and beverage writing. Direct and intimate, her prose delivers the sights, smells, and tastes of fine food straight to the reader’s senses, making this book a surefire hit with foodies and old souls alike.