Taiwanese Quotes

“Suicide. This is the exact opposite of last time, for this time I'm experiencing a kind of pleasure in life, in being alive, a pleasure in living that I've never experienced before, and I'm hopeful and confident that I can become someone with dignity. I know now why I couldn't change certain characteristics and certain things about myself, but it's not a problem anymore. Certain pathways I failed to open in the past have now opened. My whole self is radiating light. I see with clarity. I understand the cause and effect of the last year. What I had imagined I've now attained. It's as if I can see my life right in front of my eyes, and all I have to do is reach out and draw it in... Now I don't feel the acute pain I felt before; I feel enlightened, at peace. It's as if I've instantly found the secret of "Suffering", how to bear it and how to endure it... Yes, this time I've decided to kill myself not because I can't live with suffering and not because I don't enjoy being alive. I love life passionately, and my wish to die is a wish to live...

Yes, I've chosen suicide. The endpoint of this process of "Forgiveness". Not to punish anyone or to protest a wrong. I've chosen suicide with a clarity I've never possessed before, with a rational resolve and sense of calm, in order to pursue the ultimate meaning of my life, act on my belief about the beauty between two people... I take complete responsibility for my life, and even if my physical body disappears upon death, I don't believe my spirit will disappear. As long as I have loved people fully, then I can be content fading into "Nothingness". If I'm using death to express my passion for life, then I still don't love her enough, don't love life enough. and I will reincarnate in a different form to love her and to be part of her life... So the death of my flesh really doesn't mean anything. Doesn't solve anything.

Is this a tragedy? Will there be tragedy?”
― Qiu Miaojin, Last Words from Montmartre

“I can smell the shrimp broth and garlic!
Mmm! It's so good! It's light yet has a deep, full-bodied flavor!"
"Whoa! I've been eating all day, but this goes right down!"
" Mm! This is the perfect finisher for the day!"
"And the topping is the bun's pork filling!"
"Yep! Listening to customer requests last night gave me the inspiration to try this out."
"Thanks to these noodles, we sold a whole lot more today than yesterday."
"Using bun dough to make noodles... how interesting!
And to come up with it on the spot too..."
"Nah, I didn't really.
See, Taiwan already has a noodle dish a lot like it."
"...?
Dan Zai Noodles!"
DAN ZAI NOODLES
Originating in Southern Taiwan, it is also known as Tan-tsu noodles or slack season noodles.
The broth is generally light and clear, made from seafood stocks like bonito or shrimp.
Then oil noodles are added and topped with items like ground pork, green onions, bean sprouts and shrimp.
Served in small snack-sized portions, it was created with the idea of being a tasty snack that could be eaten over and over.”
― Yuto Tsukuda, 食戟のソーマ 15 [Shokugeki no Souma 15]

“Things to know about me: I'm half English, half Taiwanese, and no, I don't know karate. I'm definitely not good at math and I don't know how to spell your name in Chinese.”
― Vivien Chien, Death by Dumpling

“愛，這世間，曾存有過這樣的感情，曾讓你在瞬間感受到自己絕對的不完整，感受到生命本然的孤獨，感受到對對方「非如此不可」的劇烈激情。”
― 伊格言, 幻事錄：伊格言的現代小說經典十六講

“There is a Chinese superstition that those who commit suicide wearing red clothes will become powerful, vengeful ghosts. They will come back and seek retribution for the injury done to them when they were still alive.”
― Yu-Han Chao, Sex & Taipei City

“The waitress showed up then with our order, and we had to set to arranging our table so that none of the appetizers fell off. I wouldn't want to have lost any of the crunchy cucumbers marinated in a sweet, tangy vinegar, not quite long enough to become pickles but long enough where they weren't cucumbers anymore, or a single bite of the candied pork belly, rich and marinated in sticky sweet soy sauce, tucked in between pillowy buns and scattered with the crunch of peanuts.
Alice pushed the third appetizer, which had only been called Fried Eggplant on the menu, toward me. "Eat this."
I obeyed, closing my eyes to focus. The thin sticks of Chinese eggplant crunched with breading on the outside and melted creamy smooth in my mouth on the inside, made even better with a swipe of the silky, mild tofu sauce coating the bottom of the plate. Every time I when I was starting to feel like it was too rich and I might need a break, my tongue would hit a sprinkle of tart black vinegar and reset the richness levels. "Heaven.”
― Amanda Elliot, Best Served Hot

“The strong urge to give her the biggest hug I possibly could swamped me. But then our entrées came, and sorry, Alice, but they smelled so good I only wanted to hug them. Which I did not do, because then they'd be all over my shirt and not in my mouth. Which was the only place I wanted the beef roll, tender shreds of beef braised in garlic and ginger and soy sauce all chopped up and snuggled tightly inside a flaky, oniony, tender scallion pancake. The effect was something like beef Wellington, but better. Alice and I gobbled it down, using our fingertips to scrape up the last few flakes of pancake in the hot, peppery sauce.
Then we turned to the other dish. "Is this... a doughnut sandwich?" Alice asked, cocking her head and blinking.
"Yes," I said with relish.
Alice's entire face lit up. "Excellent."
And it was. From the outside, it looked like any normal glazed doughnut, shiny with hardened sugar and puffy from the heat. But the chef had sliced it down the middle and filled it with the most delightful combination of ingredients: a salty, savory aged prosciutto-like ham that melted in my mouth; little bits of tart, sweet pickled pineapple, leaves of grassy cilantro. Together, when they came into contact with the sweet, fluffy doughnut, everything crashed into a bite that was sugary and crunchy and tart and spicy and bright, so bright.”
― Amanda Elliot, Best Served Hot