YILAN - A Day with 'Taiwan Old Family' - Part II

Silks Palace Yilan. Red Lantern Room. 

Yilan Bowl & Dish Museum

1852 Map of Kavalan District

During the lunch we were briefed Yilan history starting with the Kavalans - The dominate group of the two who have settled in Yilan (the other the Atayals).   The Kavalans are described as 樂天, 親水, 和善. Optimistic, Water loving, and Agreeable. While Atayals are high-land hunters and aggressive in comparison. 

偕阿篤 Kay A-tok & 偕阿云Kay A-wen

Prominent Kavalan figures in Yilan history are 打馬煙 Damayan Chief 阿篤仔（A-tok,1837-1887 ) who later extended his name by adding 偕 'Kay' after Rev. George Lesile Mackay and his daughter 偕阿云. A-tok's conversion to Christianity was said a somewhat desperate attempt to get Mackay to attend his long-suffered decaying teeth!

Some families in Taiwan today, particularly of lowland-aboriginal Kavalan ancestry, trace their surname '偕' ('Kai' or 'Kay') to their family's conversion to Christianity by Mackay.

The best preserved Kavalan craftworks are "The 20 pieces of wedding costumes and ornaments collected by Rev. Mackay" (preserved in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada)

In the mid-19th century, indigenous traditional materials and craftworks nearly disappeared from the plain villages in Taiwan. This situation is exemplified by the case of the Kavalan, which was the dominate cultural group in the Yi-lan Plain in the past. Only a few of the early and precious Kavalan costumes and textiles have been collected and preserved in overseas museums. The most valuable ones are the Kavalan bridal wedding dresses and ornaments collected by the Rev. George Lesile Mackay in the 1880s, which are now preserved in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.

 The 20 pieces of wedding costumes and ornaments collected by Rev. Mackay provide a general picture of the kinds of dresses worn by the Kavalan in a grand ceremony. These include a set of colorful woven upper long garment, beaded woven loin cloth, woven cape, and beaded woven belt, as well as a gorgeous carnelian beaded headdress, beaded necklaces, bracelets, leglet and anklets, and earrings. These beautiful costumes and ornaments not only reveal the affluence and colorful life in the Yi-lan Plain, but also reflect the remarkable craftsmanship and aesthetic concepts of the Kavalan during that particular period.

 Many of the abovementioned Kavalan wedding dresses have appeared in a black and white photo entitled “A Pepeo Weaver,” which was appended in a book written by Rev. Mackay-- From Far Formosa that was published in 1891. In this photo, a Peopo woman puts on a set of formal ritual dresses and earnestly demonstrates the way of using the Kavalan weaving loom. According to the records of Rev. Mackay’s diary, the photographed weaver was a daughter of A-tok (the head of the Tamayan village at the Yi-lan Plain), whose name was Kay Awen. Based on the image of the woman’s ritual dresses in the photo and the objects collected by Rev. Mackay and preserved in the Canadian museum, we can illustrate the formal wedding dress made for the Kavalan bride in the past. 

Yilan-ans characters are shaped by regional rainy climate - retrospective, introverted and calm, defined by  Taiwan's Schweitzer 陳五福 Founder of Mu-Kuang Rehabilitation Center for the Blind.

Stop 4 
吳沙故居 Wu Sha (1731-1798) Former Residence 
262, Yilan County, Jiaoxi Township, 北門巷39號

1796 Conflicts broke out between Indigenous and Han settlers, Wu Sha abandoned his plan to seize land from the Kavalans.

1797  Smallpox outbreak devastated the Kavalans, Wu Sha having equipped with medicinal knowledge inherited from his father and grandfather, cured several hundreds and consequently in showing gratitude to Wu's contribution to the Kavalans, truce was reached. 

Wife of a sixth Wu Sha generation sells local produce, vegetables from family land.

These are original ballast stones brought from Fujian (possibly Quanzhou, if my recollection is correct)



Stop 5 
The Taiwan Bowl and Dish Museum 
82, Siho 5th Road, Wujie Township, Yilan County (宜蘭縣五結鄉西河五路82號)

My first visit was last March - when it was in THAT condition. Worth checking it out.

Upon hearing the news of their 'trail opening' in May, Han Cheung  interviewed owner Chien Yang-tung (簡楊同) and wrote an informative article HERE. 

I kind of lost for words when I saw what he has done to his collection of more than 30,000 items - and to note, the entire museum is the collection of one person himself.

I can only encourage you go and check out in person, if you are into a - in my opinion- sweet, heartwarming and lovely part of Taiwanese culture. You will be impressed, amazed, and may be overwhelmed and dazzled like I was. 

"It is the only bowl&dish museum in the world" - Chien told us "there is chopstick museum ....and... but this is the only one of the theme in the world"

The unassuming building actually inspire me to look around its surrounding - beautiful Yilan landscape. And then I GET the thoughts and passion behind doing what he does. For example, I noticed the pretty hanging "水茄苳 Barringtonia racemosa".

Chien explaining how difficult to have this WOODEN plate made. 

I actually think this 'Big Red Fish' plate is unique 'Taiwanese', but could be wrong. (Red Fish goes in company of Red Shrimp, that too)


Chien is keen to point out these 'Age of Exploration' Era 大航海時代
and VOC The Dutch East India Company period plates and took time to depict.
Clearly very proud of these items and his rich knowledge of 'Zhangzhou Kiln'  漳州窯

To the left is a bar - sells good coffee. 

林耀堂 painting. Available for sale. 

Chien told us, inspired during a British Museum trip, he invented a device - 
earthquake-resistant hook! 

I can only describe the scene 眼花撩亂! Dazzling!

More 眼花撩亂! Dazzling!

Some rejected imperfects are for sale. I bought four. 

Imperfection makes its own history! Perfect!

And since I don't have magic hooks, they go on the floor for the time being. 

Stop 5
Duxiaoyue 渡小月 Yilan 

No.58, Sec. 3, Fuxing Rd., Yilan City

Duxiaoyue is a famous Taiwanese cuisine restaurant specialising in traditional Yilan dishes. Some of the dishes famously included in President Chen Shui-Bian's 2001 state banquet honouring 'Dominican Republic' statesmen held in Yilan. 

A book based on this state banquet is published both in English and Chinese! 

Chen's benchmarking state-banquet-menu featuring Taiwanese cuisine is covered in our book "A Culinary History of Taipei" page 93.

It probably is top of the list of most delicious meals I have had in the last decade! Really smart innovative dishes nevertheless Taiwan/Yilan root firmly planted. 

Again, wine is Yilan Red-Yeast grape wine

油魚子 Escolar roe (creamy and tasty)

Looks and Tastes to me an innovative Cantonese dish - dimsum, seafood (including sea cucumber) and gravey sauce - slow cooked.

Xilourou is a traditional dish of Yilan. It used to be a make-do in a countryside, a low budget 'Buddha-Jumps-Over-the-Wall' in effect. This is again a smart innovative item - the crisped-up eggs served on top is a Taiwanese old-time 'eggies' called 蛋燥.
We mentioned it on page 91  - to make Buddha Jumps.

The 'deep-fried' course in a traditional Taiwanese banquet menu (page 84 of our book)  - top left jījuǎn , top right kumquat nugget, and bottom emblematic Yilan gāo zhā (described page 138). ALL very tasty and finely prepared. 

I cannot rave enough about this 'Eight Treasure' Soup! Such sophisticated flavours and delicate combinations - with peas, kumquat, taro,... fine quality ingredients including crushed peanut. Mesmerising dish. Taste, Look, and Smell all good.

Duxiaoyue 渡小月 Yilan pioneers almond tofu a Taiwanese dessert course. 

Taiwanese almond (apricot kernel) tofu - 'Taiwanese' as compared to Cantonese because ingredients are different including kernels are traditionally different. (page 66) 

This 'tofu' is not made from agar, nor arrowroot as you would have expected. The texture is actually similar to mochi. And I know exactly why and how from my earliest research for the book. I watched in a Taipei Fine Taiwanese cuisine restaurant kitchen and understood the whole process to achieve that mochi like 'Q-ness'. It literally took 4 men, taking turns stirring the 'milk' for at least 10 minutes under various degree of heat, until that creamy mochi-like consistency is achieved.  It took me by a big surprise then,  and this is only the second time I ate this mochi-like tofu. Intensely laborious process, but that's how it's done. And the result is clear. 

One of the souvenirs from Yilan hosts - Top quality by traditional fermentation process Jiuniang. Yilan is the hometown of 红麴 Red Yeast Rice. And it has a Taiwan Anka Museum. 

Included in the box is a list of recipes  - I made this 'ice cake' with red yeast rice and milk. The sweetness is pure and delightful.