CAKE SHOPS
cake and pastry business. Though he knew nothing about the trade, he did as advised. His first effort at traditional bridal cakes produced ‘edibles’ so hard that his customers complained that even smashing them against a wall couldn’t break them. “Things have gone much better since then.” Yu Jan Shin’s flagship outlet is in one of Dajia’s most attractive and important heritage buildings, a tourist attraction in itself. The striking Baroque-style work of architecture is embellished with finely wrought wall and column carvings of Mazu and Dajia’s most famous products. On the second floor is the Dajia Three Treasures Museum, which has displays on Zhenlan Temple/Mazu, Dajia’s woven handicrafts, and Yu Jan Shin’s signature product. That product is the naiyou subing or “butter crispy cake.” According to Alan Chen, in Taiwan’s Qing Dynasty pioneering days Da’an Port near Dajia was an important port of entry for immigrants from China. Many carried traditional subing or crispy cakes on the cross-strait voyage, and their safe arrival, plus the name of the port – da’an means “great peace” – eventually lent positive symbolism to the cakes made in Dajia, which became a popular choice in the region for the pastry gifts traditionally given to announce engagements and for offerings to deities. In 1983 the naiyou or butter version was born when Yu Jan Shin began using all-natural butter instead of the traditionally used lard, and made the cakes smaller. The butter crispy cake has since become a Dajia specialty product with an island-wide reputation, and a popular gift item. Crispy on the outside, it has a filling that is elegantly soft, creamy, rich, and aromatic.
English and Chinese Alan Chen 陳穎政 Dajia 大甲 Dajia Three Treasures Museum 大甲三寶文化館 Eric H. C. Lee 李雄慶 Lee Rong-huan 李榮煥 Mazu 媽祖 naiyou subing 奶油酥餅 ping'an turtle 平安龜 pingxi cakes 平西餅 Rita Lee 李佳憓 xibing 喜餅 Zhenlan Temple 鎮瀾宮
Jiu Zhen Nan ( 舊振南 ) Add: (Zhongzheng main store) 84, Zhongzheng 4th Rd., Qianjin Dist., Kaohsiung City ( 高雄市前金區中正四路 84 號 ) Tel: (07) 288-8202 Website: www.jzn.com.tw
Lee Cake ( 李亭香 ) Add: (Main store) 309, Sec. 1, Dihua St., Datong District, Taipei City ( 台北市大同區迪 化街一段 309 號 ) Tel: (02) 2557-8716 Website: www.lee-cake.com (Chinese)
Yu Jan Shin ( 裕珍馨 ) Add: (Main store) 67, Guangming St., Dajia District, Taichung City ( 台中市大甲區光明路 67 號 ) Tel: (04) 2687-2559 Website: www.yjs.com.tw (Chinese)
1. Eric H. C. Lee, president of Jiu Zhen Nan
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2. Lee Cake master baker Lee Rong-huan and his daughter Rita Lee
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3. Alan Chen, Yu Jan Shin manager
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Travel in Taiwan
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