雲海迎新歲: Yun Hai Year in Review
plus a warehouse 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.
I’m writing on this quiet day after Christmas to thank you, dear readers, for all you’ve done for Yun Hai. Over the past five (!) years, you’ve helped us grow a stable business that we can run independently and with joy. As we round the corner into our sixth year, I reflect on 2024 from a gardener's perspective, share our accomplishments, and announce a warehouse sale to make room for all that is to come in 2025.
A year ago, I wrote about gardening (one of my great loves) as an analogy for growing a business. In startup culture, aggressive metaphors for success typically skip over notions of nurture and suggest leaving the earth behind—moonshots, escape velocities, runways, rocket ships. I prefer to think of Yun Hai as a garden, with time and space for cultivation, the eventual reward of flowers and fruit, and most of all, connection and joy. 100% Grandma, 0% Musk.
This sounds idealistic, and it is. We try to tend to the soil, not just the plants. We recognize what our ecosystem gives us, and give back what we can in return. We select plants we expect to thrive, and are focused on creating optimal conditions for them. And, when we bear fruit, we share what we can while staying financially viable. Each season brings different yields, and we have more to learn from the plants we tend. We can always be better cultivators, nurturers, and stewards.
Nothing gives me more joy than meeting customers in our store or hearing from you online about how our work has provided connection and access to Taiwanese culture. Thank you for being our friends and neighbors, for walking in our garden, and allowing us to positively impact your life. We wouldn’t be here without you.
2024: The Year of the Tatung
2024 was the year of the Tatung (my actual Chinese zodiac sign). We launched this little electric steamer in 2022, and took time in the last twelve months to build out its ecosystem: debuting Cooking with Steam, a self-produced cooking show that focuses on steaming in Taiwanese culture; working with a few of our favorite food writers and creators to share Tatung stories; and launching bamboo steamers designed to fit right on top.
I’m so pleased to share that our YouTube series has already clocked over 16,000 views and our bamboo steamers are sold out. Thank you for your enthusiasm! They’ll be back in stock in January.
We used this year’s product launches as an opportunity to highlight contemporary Taiwanese culture, starting with A-Gong’s Table, a vegan cookbook and personal reflection on Taiwanese vegetarian food by George Lee; hand-sculpted mini ceramic red stools by Maji Treats and Chen Mu-Ren 陳牧仁; a Lu Rou Fan travel guide by Taiwanese artist and photographer Chez Kuo; mooncakes by St. Louis-based Taiwanese bakers Foundry Bakery; and a collection of merch celebrating Taiwan Pride, one of the most important cornerstones of contemporary Taiwanese society, in my humble opinion.
It was a quieter year than most as far as new food products went. We were focused on launching items that augmented our existing collections, including a long-awaited Taiwanese Jam Gift Box made with designs from archival newspapers; a shockingly bestselling bag of high mountain dried cabbage (and accompanying stock bundle), and a new dessert kit that explores oolong tea jellies and syrups.
And, finally, it was such a fun year for community events and engagements. We were able to fundraise for Hualien earthquake relief, had the privilege of sponsoring the Taiwan Pride float with Nymphia Wind in NYC’s pride parade, and staged many parties and holiday celebrations in our NYC store, from Mandarin Immersion Nights with Alison Chi to a Mid-Autumn block party with Mama Liang’s and Jeremy Leung.
Big thanks to all who just subscribed to our new paid newsletter, helping us fund more writing and media to highlight Taiwanese culture. We’re making immediate plans with this new source of audience support, and you’ll see more from us in the new year.
Warehouse Sale
In 2025, we expect to turn our attention back to launching new ingredients, while continuing to share cultural writing, personal stories, and instructional posts for our fans. We’re starting off with a bang, kicking off January and February with two new products. (Hint: one is orange and the other starts with R.)
To help clear space before our new shipment arrives, we’re hosting a warehouse sale. Between now and Wednesday, January 1st, save up to 25% on select items. Stock up on dried fruit (perfect travel snacks), shallot oil (featuring crispy shallots), and grass jelly herb ('tis the season for hot grass jelly). Pick up the QQ Dragon shirts we launched at the beginning of the year, the mini red ceramic stools you need to complete your Taiwanese streetscape diorama, and more.
And with that, it’s time for some well-deserved dormancy. Happy New Year, and see you in January.
100% Grandma, 0% Musk,
Lisa Cheng Smith 鄭衍莉
Written with 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.
From the Archives
A short selection of recent and not-so recent posts from this newsletter.
