As the Taiwanese language is less and less widely spoken, many become determined to do all they can to keep it alive. One restaurant in Yilan conducts all its business in Taiwanese, with menus, orders and even background music all contributing to the local atmosphere. And customers say the dishes, made in classic style, are worth coming back for.
A little of the house sauce, a spoonful of fish floss. This classic rice dish is the real McCoy. It went down well with this gentleman.
Customer
I finished it in seconds. I'm going to order a second bowl. The texture's great, the meat's not too hard or too soft, just right. I love it! Delicious.
That rice and toppings dish is the restaurant's specialty, but they also do all kinds of Taiwanese favorites. The interior decor is even more unusual, from the posters on the walls, to the music playing and the design of the menu - it's all in Taiwanese. The restaurant staff encourages everyone to order and pay the bill in Taiwanese too.
Customer
We all use Taiwanese to order. The place is very clean. I can read the menu. It's all in Taiwanese. You just translate it directly from Taiwanese.
Taiwanese doesn't roll off the tongue for this customer, but he enjoys ordering from the menu in the language. The restaurant's owner is an Yilan local. He wants customers to use the local language as much as possible, and promotes traditional Taiwanese culture.
Restaurant owner
Lu Tsai-hsiang
We're selling Taiwanese dishes so we think we should present them with a Taiwanese feeling, Taiwanese living culture.
Lu Hsin-liang
Restaurant manager
Lots of families don't speak Taiwanese, so we feel like maybe Taiwanese will die out in 10 or 20 years. But that would be such a shame. We're local kids, kids who grew up speaking Taiwanese, so we want to pass this very important thing down.
This joint is doing all it can to keep Taiwanese language and culture alive. It's a place to nourish your stomach as well as your soul.
