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
LANGUAGEThe Cleaver Quarterlylanguage, China, US, U.S., New York, Manhattan, New York City, hip hop, hood Chinese, sweet and sour sauce, fried rice, Chinese takeout, Chopsticks, Chinese delivery, London, UK, Timmy Chan's, Rapper's Delight: The Hip Hop Cookbook, beef and broccoli, beef and broccoli Timbs, chicken and broccoli Timbs, Dog Meat Festival, Guangxi, Fujian, Chinese food in the Bronx, Chinatown, Chinese diaspora, Kung Pao Chicken Lollipops, Ludacrispy Duck, Chinese Tuesday, MSG, Chinese restaurants in the hood, Brooklyn, Chinese-American food

Dumpling Rappers

Do hip hop lyrics give Chinese food a bad rap?

LANGUAGEThe Cleaver Quarterlylanguage, China, US, U.S., New York, Manhattan, New York City, hip hop, hood Chinese, sweet and sour sauce, fried rice, Chinese takeout, Chopsticks, Chinese delivery, London, UK, Timmy Chan's, Rapper's Delight: The Hip Hop Cookbook, beef and broccoli, beef and broccoli Timbs, chicken and broccoli Timbs, Dog Meat Festival, Guangxi, Fujian, Chinese food in the Bronx, Chinatown, Chinese diaspora, Kung Pao Chicken Lollipops, Ludacrispy Duck, Chinese Tuesday, MSG, Chinese restaurants in the hood, Brooklyn, Chinese-American food
Dumpling Rappers
TRAVELOGUEThe Cleaver Quarterlytravel, reporting, China, Mexico, United States, USA, southwest, Arizona, California, Mexicali, Calexico, Phoenix, Chino Bandido, Chinese food in Phoenix, Sonoran Desert, Sonoran-Chinese, bok cheet gai, ginger-scallion sauce, Chinese quesadilla, Chinese tacos, Mexican-Chinese combos, Mexican-Chinese fusion, fusion, Imperial Valley, La Chinesca, San Diego-style Chinese, chop suey, chow mein, Jiangxia Huang Clan, Wong Surname Clan, Huang Clan of Jiangxia, Jiangxia, antichinismo, cafe de chinos, pollo cantones, orange beef, orange skirt steak, carne arrachera al naranja, Chinese food in Arizona, Chinese food in Mexicali, Chinese food in Mexico, Mexican-Chinese food, Chinese Mexican food, Sonoran-Chinese food, Chinese food in Baja, salsa de soya, Restaurant Victoria, vaquita de res, tieban niurou, carnitas coloradas, char siu taco, fu yong, foo yong, Mexican-Chinese fried rice, fermented bean paste, Salton Sea, Chinese food in the Imperial Valley, Chinese food at the US-Mexico border

Down Mexicali Way

Mexican-Chinese food blurs the lines that divide us

TRAVELOGUEThe Cleaver Quarterlytravel, reporting, China, Mexico, United States, USA, southwest, Arizona, California, Mexicali, Calexico, Phoenix, Chino Bandido, Chinese food in Phoenix, Sonoran Desert, Sonoran-Chinese, bok cheet gai, ginger-scallion sauce, Chinese quesadilla, Chinese tacos, Mexican-Chinese combos, Mexican-Chinese fusion, fusion, Imperial Valley, La Chinesca, San Diego-style Chinese, chop suey, chow mein, Jiangxia Huang Clan, Wong Surname Clan, Huang Clan of Jiangxia, Jiangxia, antichinismo, cafe de chinos, pollo cantones, orange beef, orange skirt steak, carne arrachera al naranja, Chinese food in Arizona, Chinese food in Mexicali, Chinese food in Mexico, Mexican-Chinese food, Chinese Mexican food, Sonoran-Chinese food, Chinese food in Baja, salsa de soya, Restaurant Victoria, vaquita de res, tieban niurou, carnitas coloradas, char siu taco, fu yong, foo yong, Mexican-Chinese fried rice, fermented bean paste, Salton Sea, Chinese food in the Imperial Valley, Chinese food at the US-Mexico border
Down Mexicali Way
BOOKSThe Cleaver Quarterlybook review, Q&A, China, Russia, Canada, Cuba, South Africa, Kenya, Czechoslovakia, France, England, Alberta, Moscow, Chinese food in Alberta, Prairie Chinese, Prairie Chinese cooking, Prairie Chinese cooks, Prairie Chinese food, Chinese food in Canada, Canadian-Chinese food, Chinese diaspora, immigrant food, Yan-kit Martin, char siu, China-Canada relations, beaver diplomacy, train food, Chinese train food, expat, Beijing, western food in China, Western food in Beijing, suzhou, Chinese food in Moscow, Chinese food in Russia, Russian-Chinese food, Chinese food in Edmonton, Edmonton, University of Alberta, Pursuing China, beaver liaison officer, dim sum

Beavering Away

Brian Evans reflects on seven decades of eating Chinese food in Canada and abroad

BOOKSThe Cleaver Quarterlybook review, Q&A, China, Russia, Canada, Cuba, South Africa, Kenya, Czechoslovakia, France, England, Alberta, Moscow, Chinese food in Alberta, Prairie Chinese, Prairie Chinese cooking, Prairie Chinese cooks, Prairie Chinese food, Chinese food in Canada, Canadian-Chinese food, Chinese diaspora, immigrant food, Yan-kit Martin, char siu, China-Canada relations, beaver diplomacy, train food, Chinese train food, expat, Beijing, western food in China, Western food in Beijing, suzhou, Chinese food in Moscow, Chinese food in Russia, Russian-Chinese food, Chinese food in Edmonton, Edmonton, University of Alberta, Pursuing China, beaver liaison officer, dim sum
Beavering Away