A Taste of Vietnam in Taitung

A DAY IN THE LIFE AT THE RESTAURANT

By Nguyen Thi Cam Loan 20 years in Taiwan.

Mình là Nguyễn Thị Cẩm Loan, đến từ Việt Nam, hiện sống tại đài Đông, đài Loan, thôn đô Lan. đây là quê hương thứ hai của mình, Loan đã sống ở đây hơn 20 năm rồi.

bắt đầu ngày mới của Loan là một ngày trời nắng đẹp, Loan cùng gia đình đi leo núi luyện thể lực, hít thở không khí trong lành của núi rừng.

kết thúc chuyến leo núi Loan cùng người trong thôn tham gia nhóm chợ trao đổi ,mua bán ,đồ cũ . các vật dụng được trưng bày ở đây thường là những món đồ gia đình không dùng tới, đến với nhóm chợ đồ cũ vừa được cùng người trong thôn trò chuyện gắn bó tình cảm lại còn được mua bán hoặc cùng nhau miễn phí trao đổi đồ cần dùng, nhằm tránh tạo ra nhiều rác, tác hại đến môi trường.

ở đây Loan còn rất thích tham gia 大地旅人樸門設計 học cách lưu giữ nước mưa để trồng cây hoa quả sạch ,không sử dụng phân hay thuốc, học cách tận dụng năng lượng mặt trời nấu thức ăn, chế tạo và dự trữ ra điện lực cung cấp cho gia đình xài, ở đây còn chia sẻ và tuyên truyền cho nhau cách lấy đất sét trộn cùng gom rạ để xây nhà theo khái niệm về trái đất xanh.

Buổi tối có 都蘭星空導覽 hìn trời đêm trong xanh có nhiều ngôi sao lấp lánh, có được vậy, nhóm bạn rất nỗ lực học hỏi tìm hiểu và thúc đẩy cuộc sống không ô nhiễm ánh sáng.

Loan thường đi đến các trường đại học, và 農會家政班 làm giảng viên dạy nấu món ăn Việt, giới thiệu và chia sẻ văn hóa Việt Nam ,làm nhịp cầu tạo gần gũi thêm cho người Đài hiểu biết về người Việt ta. Nhờ có lần làm thủ công cây cầu tre lắc lẻo và chiếc xuồng với hai mái chèo, mọi người đua nhau chèo thử rất vui rất thú vị. Còn cho học sinh Đài mặc quần áo bà ba và áo dài truyền thống, mặt các em bẻn lẻng ngại ngùng nhưng vẫn hưng phấn tranh giành nhau mặc thử.

I’m originally from the south of Vietnam, on the banks of the mighty Mekong River, a fertile region famous for its rice crop. The scenery is stunningly beautiful and there is a lively floating market which I used to visit daily. I have now lived in Taiwan for nearly 20 years, but still miss my home country and its scenery. Dulan, my second home town, doesn’t have a big river, but it has a similar climate, and there is of course the Pacific Ocean, the lush mountains, and big open skies. I love living here and it is also very convenient, with good schools, healthcare and agricultural products, including delicious rice!

Taitung’s abundance of high quality ingredients was key to the success of Jin Luan Vietnamese Food Restaurant which I founded in Dulan 10 years ago. Back then very few people in Taiwan knew about Vietnamese cuisine and so I took the initiative to use local ingredients to cook authentic Vietnamese food. I had to introduce and promote it to everyone. Vietnamese cooking uses some of the same ingredients as Taiwanese food, and includes some of the same dishes, but there are significant differences—the light, fresh flavors of rice-flour Vietnamese spring rolls are packed with vegetables and taste completely different to traditional Taiwanese spring rolls. We continue to develop new products and introduce new dishes at the restaurant. I also go to universities and farmers associations to teach Vietnamese cooking. By introducing and sharing Vietnamese cuisine, I hope to build a closer relationship between our two countries, and to help Taiwanese people better understand Vietnamese culture.

During my time owning a restaurant in Dulan I have met many people from different countries, who speak different languages, and have different cultural backgrounds, which gives my daily life wonderful diversity. I feel like my life is similar to the blue sky in my backyard, with white clouds, safflower and green leaves offering an everchanging rainbow of natural and wonderful variety. I remember one time, a foreigner insisted on ordering his meal in broken Vietnamese rather than English. We talked chicken and duck for a long time, but he still ended up ordering the wrong dish! Fortunately, food is an international language, and though I still don’t know what he wanted to order, I do know that he enjoyed the seafood cold rice noodles! As the COVID situation gradually improves, I look forward to once again welcoming people from all over the globe and giving them a little taste of Vietnam here in Taitung!

When the restaurant is closed, my family always takes the opportunity to enrich our lives. New days in Taitung often start with sunny skies, and my family and I go hiking in the mountains to exercise and breathe in the fresh mountain air. Throughout history, life here has revolved around the ocean and today it seems like everyone is busy kayaking, paddle-boarding, sailing or surfing. We are no exception and love to take our children to play in the sea. There are beautiful beaches everywhere, and there is even an international surfing competition. Away from the ocean there are markets selling an amazing variety of foodstuffs and handicrafts, plus plenty of live music.

Whilst enjoying the east coast’s magical natural environment, we also feel a duty to protect it, and we often attend the Dulan Flea Market to exchange, buy and sell second-hand goods. Using second hand items is good for the environment, but as well as giving new life to discarded household goods, coming here also breathes new life into the community and is an opportunity to chat with people in the village, make friends and acquire new skills. I am particularly interested in learning environmentally sustainable practices, such as rainwater storage, organic farming, green building techniques and using solar energy to prepare food. At night we enjoy the deep black sky, the twinkling stars and sharing this environment with likeminded friends who are working hard to learn, share and promote a life without light pollution.

Of course there have also been some changes during my time here—ten years ago there were far fewer houses on the mountain, but essentially the scenery is still the same, although we must work together to maintain it. Modern life might offer us better transport, communications and dining opportunities, but we must ensure that it doesn’t come at the cost of the environment—a beautiful, good sustainable life needs everyone's joint efforts. I hope that my children and my children's children can continue to look at the stars in the sky and make wishes and prayers here, and that a “day in the life” in Taitung doesn’t look too different in the future from how it does now!