China News Service, Guiyang, February 9th, Title: Taiwan’s “Food Craftsman” Qiu Yiwan: A kitchen warms the world
Author Zhou Yanling
February 9th is the eve of the Chinese Lunar New Year. Qiu Yiwan, the chef of the "Liangshu Youqian" Taiwanese restaurant in Guiyang, is in good spirits. He came to the restaurant early to prepare a Taiwanese New Year's Eve dinner for guests. The menu includes Buddha Jumping over the Wall and Dried Bamboo Shoots and Braised Pork. , five fillet fish, perennial vegetables...
The picture shows Qiu Yiwan busy in the kitchen. Photo by Zhou Yanling
"Buddha jumps over the wall and five-leaf fish are two of the most popular New Year dishes in Taiwan. Buddha jumps over the wall, which means good fortune and longevity, and the sweet and tender five-leaf fish, which means more than every year." Qiu Yiwan, who was busy in the kitchen, was preparing ingredients. The introduction said, "Although the dishes of New Year's Eve dinners vary from place to place, they all pay attention to good luck. These customs have been preserved and continued in both mainland China and Taiwan."
The picture shows Buddha jumping over the wall. Photo provided by interviewee
On New Year's Eve, 66-year-old Qiu Yiwan and his colleagues in Guiyang prepared five New Year's Eve dinners. For him, who loves food research, food is not only for filling the stomach, but also an expression of emotion. Cross-Strait food culture In the same vein, Qiu Yiwan hopes that the food he cooks can not only soothe the "stomach nostalgia" of Taiwan compatriots, but also allow mainland compatriots to taste a different New Year's Eve dinner.
Qiu Yiwan was born in Taoyuan, Taiwan in 1958. After graduating from junior high school, he went to Taipei from Taoyuan to study cooking. I started my career by learning Japanese cuisine. Later, I became eclectic and dabbled in Chinese food, Western food and desserts. I once worked at the Huaguo Hotel in Taipei, and also independently opened different types of restaurants such as barbecue restaurants and beer houses. I was well-known in Taiwan’s business circle. People call him "Awanshi".
The picture shows the dried bamboo shoots and braised pork made by Qiu Yiwan. Photo by Zhou Yanling
As he turns 50, Qiu Yiwan hopes to "go out" and take a food culture journey. Since "landing" in 2009, he has "traveled around" and worked as a chef in well-known restaurants in many mainland cities and Taiwanese restaurants. While carefully cooking food, he also searched for delicious food and beautiful scenery. "The mainland is very big, and every place is unique." I have my own unique food culture and want to have a deeper understanding of the humanities and customs of a place through food.”
In December 2023, Qiu Yiwan came to Guiyang to work as a chef at the "Liangshu Youqian" Taiwanese restaurant, starting a novel journey of Guizhou cuisine. Beef in sour soup, mutton noodles, spicy chicken... When he first arrived in Guiyang, Qiu Yiwan, who calls himself a "taotie man", immersed himself in Guizhou cuisine and feasted on it. He interacted with local chefs, walked around the streets with friends, and felt the The local bustle and unique market atmosphere.
"The spicy and sour Guizhou style food has opened up a new world for your taste buds. The newly developed Taiwanese hot and sour soup and hot and sour seafood soup are new dishes developed after eating Guizhou sour soup beef." Qiu Yiwan said that the dishes he developed are not There are few new dishes, all inspired by tasting delicacies from various places.
Qiu Yiwan, who serves as the chef of this restaurant in Guiyang, in addition to tasting Guizhou specialties, is almost always busy in the kitchen improving and innovating dishes. He has produced hundreds of dishes in more than two months. For him, "Food has unimaginable healing power." It's obvious that he loves and enjoys this job.
During these years in mainland China, Qiu Yiwan also participated in cooking competitions in Jiangxi and won awards, and served as a judge for cooking competitions in Sichuan, Hubei and other places. He likes to share the joy of cooking with others, and often teaches netizens how to make Taiwanese dishes through short videos on social media.
In Sanchi Kitchen, taste all kinds of life; every meal has a story, and every kitchen warms the world. Talking about New Year's wishes, Qiu Yiwan, who is over 60 years old, said frankly that he hopes to return to Taiwan to open a lunch shop after retirement, bringing the traditional flavors learned from the mainland and Taiwan to diners, and using food to promote cross-strait exchanges. (over)