EATING WELL
After a 14-hour flight from the US, I arrived in Taipei on a morning when the sun was hidden behind a cold, grey mist. Dripping wet from the rain, I stepped into a car. It wasn't exactly an auspicious beginning to a vacation I'd been looking forward to for weeks. Before I set off to spend the Christmas break with my brother and sister-in-law in Taiwan, I'd been struggling through an unusually cold, damp California winter, hoping and praying for a sunny holiday. What greeted me was worse than what I'd left behind. A near-constant drizzle and a sky so dark I was convinced the sun had left to take a holiday in another part of the world.
My brother and sister-in-law, wearing several layers of warm woollen sweaters, greeted me with affectionate hugs in their cold _ sans central heating _ apartment. For breakfast, they had heated several kinds of Chinese buns, some with pork filling, others stuffed with vegetables or red-bean paste. There was a stall down the street where a family sold Chinese flat bread layered with omelette. My brother had bought a couple for me because he knew I'd find them intriguing, which I did.
My sister-in-law went into the kitchen to make tea. She came out carrying a small bamboo tray which held a petite, pale blue porcelain teapot, a small, white porcelain jug fitted with a porcelain sieve and a tiny, delicate, pale green porcelain teacup. This she placed near my breakfast plate. She took a seat next to mine, lifted the lid of the teapot and briefly inhaled its contents before replacing the lid. Gently picking up the hot teapot, she expertly poured the light, yellowish liquid through the sieve and into the jug. Then she poured the steaming liquid from the jug into my cup, and urged me to take a sip.
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About the author
- Writer: Su-Mei Yu
- Position: Writer
