How are memories captured? What do they carry? Which ones are preserved and passed down? Since 2021, the National Museum of Taiwan History has overseen the Taiwan Cultural Memory Bank, which consists of recollections and stories accumulated over time, written, recorded, and uploaded by the public and serves as a treasure house for Taiwan’s rich, diverse cultural legacy. We believe that each person’s perspective of the world is worth sharing and that when the individual memory fragments that they represent are pieced together, they become our common cultural heritage.

“Food” is used in this exhibition as a point of entry into the cultural treasures amassed within the memory bank. When we present the idea of “eating”, using 15 sets of keywords dealing with food and beverages, as a window into the memories of the people of Taiwan, what can we discover? Will we detect a pulse beating across time?

This exhibition draws from materials from the Taiwan Cultural Memory Bank, museum, private and local community collections, as well as other current materials and information to sketch a picture of the dietary habits in Taiwan. We hope to bring a smile to your face and perhaps even awaken your taste buds as you journey through this flavorful narrative.

Key Word 1   #Ma and pa shops  #Multifunctional

What kind of recollections do ma and pa shops awaken? Ma and pa shops may be tiny, but they pack a huge punch. In addition to selling snacks, dry goods, and cooking ingredients, they serve as super-important multifunctional community centers.

Key Word 2   #Traditional markets  #Haggling experts

What do you think of when you see a traditional market? 

Tradition markets, with the distinct sounds of street vendors peddling their wares, offer the freshest produce. 

Key Word 3   #Convenience stores #Hypermarts #Cultural showcase

What comes to mind when you think of convenience stores and hypermarts? The first hypermart in Taiwan opened its doors in 1969 and was advertised as clean and convenient, redefining the way we shop and interact. This modern collective memory has become a cultural showcase for the time in which we live.

Key Word 4   #Drinking parlors #Japanese era  #Eating isn’t a priority

What types of memories did drinking parlors (Taiwanese-style restaurants) in the period of Japanese governance carry? Drinking parlors back then were much like European salons of the 17th and 18th centuries, in that they were venues offering high-end entertainment. Taiwan’s gentry mingled, talked business, and met up with friends and family there. The four biggest drinking parlors, Kang-san-lâu, Dong Hui Fang, Chunfeng Lau, and Horaikaku, drew streams of politicians, businessmen, and literati.

Key Word 5   #Coffee shops  #Period of Japanese governance  #Quasi-love

What kind of memories do coffee shops during the period of Japanese governance conjure up? They were places that gentlemen came to enjoy quasi-love relationships with waitresses.

Key Word 6   #Shaved ice shops #Matchmaking place 

What memories do shaved ice shops offer? Years ago, they were not just places for enjoying tasty cold desserts, but also important matchmaking venues. Many a young man and young woman found their life partner in shaved ice shops like this with the help of a matchmaker.

Key Word 7   #Tell me who I am from one dish

What can we learn from a dish of food? Memories of food can transport us to other times, spaces, and places. A person can find warmth, identity, attachment, a sense of belonging and identity, and even who they are from a beloved dish that stirs up recollections from the past.

Key Word 8   #Memory is a seasoning #The flavor of Matsu

What stories do seasonings on the table tell about a place? A place nourishes food and nurtures the skills, labor, 

and emotions behind it. Surrounded by the ocean, Matsu, an island abound with gifts of nature, has produced a historically unique small dried shrimp industry.  Small dried shrimps not only make food tastier; they are part of Matsu’s collective memory and history.

Key Word 9   #Crossing the sea  #Changes in flavor

How do flavors change when they cross national borders? Let’s look at some dishes that have been introduced to Taiwan from abroad and others that have spread to other countries from Taiwan and see how they have changed and how they have been incorporated and reinterpreted in local cuisine.

Key Word 10   #Traditional compression molds #Cultural imprints

What kind of cultural mapping do traditional food molds carry? Can a cooking utensil give us a glimpse at customs and culture and the world that their intertwining creates? Gui, cake, candy, and pastry molds draw up a custom and cultural map of Han Chinese residing in Taiwan, connecting the dots between past and present.

Key Word 11  #US aid flour #Launch of a wheat-based dietary culture

What new dietary habits did the US aid policy trigger? Did it cause the people of Taiwan to switch over to a wheat-based diet? In the 1950s and ‘60s, the Taiwanese government promoted eating noodles instead of rice, so that Taiwan could export rice to earn foreign exchange. Encouraging the use of wheat flour in place of rice resulted in the appearance of all kinds of wheat products, from pastries and bread to cookies and cake. This was also the time when Sunlih Men instant noodles was born.

Key Word 12   #Chinese cuisine ambassador #Culinary instructor to women

How did Fu Pei-mei Time shape the face of authentic Chinese cuisine and become the first impression of “Chinese cooking” for many people living abroad? During the 39 years that Fu Pei-mei’s television program aired, she was culinary instructor to thousands upon thousands of women as she demonstrated how to make over 4,000 dishes. You and I might never have had the opportunity to taste any dishes that she personally made, but we most likely have enjoyed food prepared by students who learned from her on TV.

Key Word 13   #Democracy Kitchen #Social movements and culinary delicacies

What kind of symbolic food memories emerged in the pursuit of democracy in Taiwan? Su Beng Ojisan’s Curry Rice, democracy sausages during the Tangwai Movement,and the sun cakes during the Sunflower Movement epitomize political developments in Taiwan from the period of martial law and the slackening of the authoritarian regime to the eruption of social forces and the rocky rise of democracy. While food filled the stomachs of those involved in political and social movements, it was also employed as symbols during the rise of democracy.

Key Word 14   #State banquet dishes #Diplomatic image

How do changes in dishes served at state banquets reflect changes in Taiwan’s politics and its diplomatic image as it shifted from authoritarianism to democracy? State banquets are official receptions hosted by a head of state for visiting heads of state as well as presidential inauguration dinners held every four years. Dishes served at state banquets held during the terms of Presidents Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo stressed the idea that the Kuomintang regime was supposed to be the real government of China. Dishes served at President Chen Shui-bian’s inauguration in 2000 emphasized populism and localization and included traditional Taiwanese light repasts as well as taro and sweet potato cakes to suggest the blending of ethnic groups. Ma Ying-jeou’s state banquets highlighted products from Taiwan’s fishing and agricultural industries and continued to promote the ideas of populism and localization. President Tsai Ing-wen’s menus were simple in design and included information on the traceability of the ingredients. The menu for President Lai Ching-te’s inaugural banquet, held in Tainan for the first time, consisted of special dishes of the five major ethnic groups in Taiwan.

Key Word 15 #Taiwan’s affordable delicacies #Affordable delicacies for people #Street food vendors #

How have Taiwan’s affordable delicacies satisfied her people and created a culinary memory for all? Prior to the war, affordable delicacies, smaller in size, inexpensive, and tasty, were eaten from hawkers’ carts as a sort of comfort food after a hard day’s labor and were sometimes given to children as reward for things well done. Later, with the rise of night markets, affordable delicacies, now sold everywhere in Taiwan’s night markets, have become a symbol of Taiwan’s cultural soft power.