頂好廣場: Diho Square

and the final hours of our holiday sale

This is Yun Hai Taiwan Stories, a newsletter about Taiwanese food and culture by Lisa Cheng Smith 鄭衍莉, founder of Yun Hai. If you aren’t yet a subscriber, sign up here.

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I hope you all had a relaxing holiday weekend, late night flight back home notwithstanding.

I’m writing with a quick reminder that we’re in the final hours of our annual holiday sale, one of the few (and definitely the biggest) promotions we do all year. Use the code TAIWANWEI15 for 15% off sitewide (some exclusions apply). Orders over $75 come with a free pack of dried fruit.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our gift guide, themed around the idea of Taiwan Wei 台灣味, the indescribable essence of Taiwanese cultural identity. We’ve sold out of the Tatung 6-cup green steamers, but we still have red ones and the larger 11-cup size.

A sweet little gift shop in Sun Moon Lake.

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Houston, a Hub of Taiwanese Activism

During downtime this past weekend, I read Texas' Hotbed of Taiwanese Nationalism by Josephine Lee for the Texas Observer. The article explores Houston’s Taiwanese community and its role in Taiwan’s democratic reforms.

I grew up in Houston in the 80s and 90s, where I attended Taiwanese Mandarin Chinese schools and frequented the shops and restaurants of Diho Square and neighboring strip malls in Houston’s Chinatown with my mother and grandmother. Taiwanese immigrants built a thriving commercial and cultural district along Bellaire Boulevard and established organizations like the Taiwanese Association of America (TAA), to advocate for Taiwan’s sovereignty—this cultural landscape was foundational to my sense of identity.

In the '70s and '80s, Taiwanese migrants…settled in Houston seeking freedom from [an] oppressive regime. Many were believers in Taiwanese independence, and they continued organizing for that goal in America. In their 20s, they formed student associations at the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, and other campuses. In their 30s, they established commercial enterprises. In their 40s and 50s, they expanded cultural institutions to welcome the younger generations.

The familiar signs of Diho Square, the center of my weekends growing up as a Taiwanese-American in Houston, Texas. Photo: Houston Chronicle.

I took the vibrant cultural landscape they built in Houston as a given, never questioning how it came to be. The following excerpt captures the stark difference between my experience and my parents' generation:

Oliver Yang, 43, another expat from Houston…graduated from Bellaire High School, where a third of our class was Asian-American, mostly Taiwanese. Along with my cousins, we studied language and culture at the Taiwanese Community Center, and we attended Taiwanese summer camps. Some took student trips to Taiwan that we dubbed 'The Love Boat,' since many teens who participated seemed more interested in making out than learning.

Unlike our parents' generation, the right to assert our Taiwanese-American identity in Houston was an unconscious act, not a rebellion.

I absorbed Taiwanese identity and pride from the hubbub of this community—not just from cooking and eating with my mom and her friends, but through the collective activism of Houston’s Taiwanese immigrants to preserve their identity and values back at home and abroad.

I had my first 肉燥麵 at the Taiwanese canteen with the corner entrance (anyone remember the name) next to the video rental shop featuring the latest VHS hits from the homeland. And I still think back to the Sundays when we’d meet up with friends after Chinese school at May’s Ice Cream, who served what will always be my ideal bowl of Taiwanese shaved ice.

One day, my mom brought home an application to an overseas Taiwanese summer camp in a manila envelope given to her by a friend: Love Boat. Well, not Love Boat, exactly, but a younger kids version we nicknamed Baby Boat. I think the campers were young enough that we weren’t all that interested in making out, but we sure did love sneaking out after the counselors went to bed to go do KTV.

Without experiences like these, I’d never have started Yun Hai. This foundation is essential to my understanding of being Taiwanese-American today. I’m giving thanks this season for those who did (and continue to do) this work, and the opportunities we have because of them.

As always, thank you for lifting us up and supporting what we do here at Yun Hai.

With gratitude,
Lisa Cheng Smith 鄭衍莉

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Thanks to xun.aii for sharing the article with me this weekend. Written with research and editorial support by Amalissa Uytingco, Jasmine Huang, and Lillian Lin. If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with friends and subscribe if you haven’t already. I email once a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. For more Taiwanese food, head to yunhai.shop, follow us on instagram and twitter, or view the newsletter archives.

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