by Ellen Lin
Tai-Yi snack shop (台一牛奶大王) is known to almost everyone at NTU and has frequently been the theme of food columns on the news and in magazines. When a sweets-loaded plate was laid before me, I noticed that Tai-Yi’s interior was decorated by photos of itself in the older days. As I watched the perspiring waiters bustling about, I wondered how the food came to be what it is today, and what it takes to run a prosperous business. These questions prompted me to interview its present owner, who recounted to me the story of Tai-Yi. Not until then did I know that Tai-Yi had rather humble beginnings: the shop was founded as a variety store by the current owner’s father with a Chinese-Indonesian man more than fifty years ago, when old-fashioned buildings still lined the tree-shaded street. The store sold traditional Chinese desserts as well as daily commodities, but their major product was Southeast Asian cuisine, catering to overseas students lodging in the dorm across Xinsheng South Road. After several years of steady business, the shop’s turning point came when the dorm was transferred away and replaced by NTU’s athletic fields. Meanwhile, the other cofounder moved back to Indonesia, leaving the store entirely to the current owner’s father. As more people came in sweating after exercising and demanding icy treats, the shop shifted its staple to ice products, of which the ingredients were all home-made. As business grew, the shop began to receive offers of canned ingredients from processed-food manufacturers, but this would also mean less tasty food. The owner insisted on using the original recipes to preserve the distinctive flavors of fresh ingredients, despite the fact that canned ingredients would reduce costs and simplify the food process. The owner took in suggestions from the multitude of young customers so they were able to make adjustments to their food quickly and constantly. The years passed and more reports about Tai-Yi’s food began to appear in the news, transforming the shop into what we see today. According to the owner, his job is an exhausting one, due to the prolonged working hours. Unlike regular restaurants which work two shifts a day and enjoy a break in the afternoon, snack shops like Tai-Yi serve non-stop from morning to late in the evening. The peak hours start at 8 pm and by the time the gate is pulled down for closure, it’s always past 1 in the morning. Besides long working shifts, the owner takes up a series of tasks from food preparation to the operation of the whole shop. Among other tasks, the most laborious procedure is supervising the ingredient-making process and testing everything personally. As the shop imports only fresh, unprocessed ingredients, quality inevitably varies; say, a newly arrived cart of papayas might not be as sweet as those of the previous day. These subtle flavor adjustments cannot be handled by regular employees, but only by someone with experience. Given Tai-Yi’s popularity, it’s natural to suppose that decline in patronage isn’t one of their worries. Much to my surprise, even such a shop is afflicted by a low season during winter. This is because icy snacks are virtually the only recourse to cool oneself during torrid summers, whereas winter snacks, among many other steaming hot dishes, are just one option for cold weather. As a matter of fact, there were originally four snack shops on the street, but only one has withstood the test of time. To stay in business in a city with distinct seasons like Taipei, the owner explained, a snack shop must make as much as it can in the summer. However, good business management isn’t everything. Intensive interaction with students keeps the shop up to date. Decades ago, when the shop was still spacious enough to house an entire club of students, guitars and records were brought in to enliven the atmosphere, and the small, packed room often rang with the singing of student choirs. But such activities became impossible as the shop grew increasingly crowded, and students rarely received the same familiar greeting when the shop began to hire more employees. The owner nostalgically remarked that he missed these interactions with students the most, but the shop is still generous in its sponsorship of student activities, and it gives considerable discounts to those who donate blood to the blood bus across the street. Though times have changed, the story of Tai-Yi and NTU students continues. a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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