PICTORIALThe Cleaver Quarterlypictorial, Taiwan, Taipei, street food, night market, photography

Vendor Bender

PICTORIALThe Cleaver Quarterlypictorial, Taiwan, Taipei, street food, night market, photography
Vendor Bender

Sweating beneath the incandescent glare, Oyster Omelette Lee pours egg batter onto his massive grill. Beef Noodle Chang scolds her regulars for never trying her other dishes. Stinky Tofu Hsieh surveys the line stretching from his stall, wondering why it’s not longer. Milk Tea Chou casts an anxious glance at her dwindling supply of grass jelly. Duck Neck Tsai clacks his tongs slowly – he’s 80 years old, he won’t be hurried, and the customers can take it or leave it. These are the people Taipei hunts for on a Saturday night.

photos by Iain Shaw & Badr Benjelloun

EXPERT WITNESSThe Cleaver QuarterlyChina, US, American Chinese food, New York City, New York, Museum of Chinese in America, Herb Tam, Kian Lam Kho, Audra Ang, Andrew Rebatta, Sour, Sour Sweet Bitter Spicy, Martin Yan, Cultural Revolution, Jeff Gao, Sichuan, Colorado, Cecilia Chiang, Jason Wang, Xi'an Famous Foods, Chinese supermarkets, Chinese supermarket, Li Ming's Global Mart, Chinese food in Durham, Cantonese cuisine, Farmer Tu's Last Chicken, Gui Jie, Cori Xiong, Singapore Chinese cuisine, Hainan chicken, Wenchang chicken, Malaysian Chinese food, bak kut teh, pork ribs tea, Nixon in China, Wu Zetian, Water Banquet, Xiamen, Fujian soup culture, German Chinese food, Chinese food in Germany, authenticity, authentic Chinese food, Peter Chang, Wenbin Yuan, MOCA

A Taste of Homes

Curators of MOCA's "Sour, Sweet, Bitter, Spicy" exhibit swap tales about Chinese food and identity in America

EXPERT WITNESSThe Cleaver QuarterlyChina, US, American Chinese food, New York City, New York, Museum of Chinese in America, Herb Tam, Kian Lam Kho, Audra Ang, Andrew Rebatta, Sour, Sour Sweet Bitter Spicy, Martin Yan, Cultural Revolution, Jeff Gao, Sichuan, Colorado, Cecilia Chiang, Jason Wang, Xi'an Famous Foods, Chinese supermarkets, Chinese supermarket, Li Ming's Global Mart, Chinese food in Durham, Cantonese cuisine, Farmer Tu's Last Chicken, Gui Jie, Cori Xiong, Singapore Chinese cuisine, Hainan chicken, Wenchang chicken, Malaysian Chinese food, bak kut teh, pork ribs tea, Nixon in China, Wu Zetian, Water Banquet, Xiamen, Fujian soup culture, German Chinese food, Chinese food in Germany, authenticity, authentic Chinese food, Peter Chang, Wenbin Yuan, MOCA
A Taste of Homes
PICTORIALThe Cleaver QuarterlyAnnals, history, China, qingming, Xuanzong, Duke Wen, Jie Zitui, raw food, raw Chinese food, Emperor Xuanzong, Cold Food Festival, joss shop, Hell Bank Notes, joss condoms, joss viagra, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ancestors' Day, Taiwan, Tang Dynasty, Duke Wen of Jin

Hell's Kitchens

Tomb-Sweeping Festival fills a burning desire to eat well in the afterlife

PICTORIALThe Cleaver QuarterlyAnnals, history, China, qingming, Xuanzong, Duke Wen, Jie Zitui, raw food, raw Chinese food, Emperor Xuanzong, Cold Food Festival, joss shop, Hell Bank Notes, joss condoms, joss viagra, Tomb-Sweeping Day, Ancestors' Day, Taiwan, Tang Dynasty, Duke Wen of Jin
Hell's Kitchens