My Taiwan friends commented that this portrayal is unlikely in today's Taipei. "You have to be further out to suburban fields to experience the same." She may be right. Maybe I'm nostalgic but I'm impressed with the way the letter was written. So I translated it to share with the readers at large.
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Then, forage crops, the pleasures of the table! Gigantic Zabon! I can't even hold with my two hands. Pummelos are smaller but taste better than Zabon. Colorful persimmons. Sweet sugar canes with juicy syrup. So affluent that we might overlook familiar bananas without intention. In December, citrus of all kinds, including Ponkan, Tankan and Sekkan appear on the fruit markets - side topics to the pleasure of the Japanese expatriates.
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Rice is produced twice in Taiwan, June and October. In January and February, we have cucumbers, green garden peas and bamboo sprouts. We can use plenty of spinach and Japanese cabbage unsparingly, as they are less expensive than in Japan.
Many kinds of fish are also available during winter. Sea breams and tunas among them are caught and shipped to Japan. Meats vary from yellow ox, buffalo, and whale to pork and chicken. Yellow ox's have a distinctive smell. Buffalo meats are said to be a little harder to chew. Whale meat texture depends on how they are cooked. Taiwanese do not eat yellow ox and buffalo much but eat a lot of pork often.
I'm sorry that I talked about foods like a greedy fad. I confessed to you that I'm a gourmet person. Listening to me, I bet you imagine Taiwan as paradise and feel like coming.
It's November here now, and getting chilly somewhat in the morning and in the evening. It's about time to change clothes from serge coat to lined garment. Those of us who live in Taipei and Keelung must prepare one set of winter wear at least. I heard people in the south like Kaohsiung and Pingtong don't need them. Just a combination of yukata and haori may do.
2 comments:
Enjoyable piece of writing from an era when Taipei moved at a slower pace. Thanks/ arigato.
Thanks for the share, I enjoyed reading it. - CTaira
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