Bloody and Blurred Good Fortune Arrives? Fine Dishes at the Beast-Catching Table of the Taitung Slow Food Festival on the 18th

Following the first Taitung Slow Food Festival in July, where the Awakening Food Table lively opened the festival season, the second Slow Food Festival on the 18th (Saturday) at Tiehua Village will take Beast-Catching Table as its theme, showcasing Taitung's diverse meat-based food culture. Among them, the Amis, Paiwan, Puyuma and Rukai peoples all prepare the "bloody and blurred soup" during wedding banquets, and it is the highlight dish of this theme. It is made by simmering freshly slaughtered warm-body pig blood on the day with various fresh pig offal and vegetables and fruits. However, from the way the pork is distributed, to the soup base ingredients, to the timing of putting the offal and pig blood into the pot, each has its own style, fully highlighting the characteristics of each ethnic group. What remains unchanged is the abundant heartfelt blessing. This is a celebration-exclusive delicacy that cannot be eaten at any restaurant. On the day of the Beast-Catching Table, the big pot will be set to boil, wishing together for a beautiful and abundant harvest this autumn.

While conducting themed field research, the Beast-Catching Table team unexpectedly discovered the Yousheng bento, which had disappeared for nearly 20 years. In the 1970s, Yousheng Restaurant, which specialized in bento, was the only bento shop in the Taitung area capable of accepting large orders. It made all kinds of bento suited to different occasions. It not only withstood the test of 1,500 bento a day during the national scout jamboree, but later, because the Chiang Ching-kuo era promoted the simple banquet meal "plum blossom meal," which became popular, its "official bento," packing a luxurious double main course into a bento, was even more beloved by military, government and teaching units throughout eastern Taiwan. The footprints of this bento spread across the entire eastern region and outlying island counties and cities, and it was known as the official bento that had ridden the most forms of transportation (bus/ferry/plane). After much running around and repeatedly confirming the appearance and taste of the bento, the second generation of Yousheng Restaurant, Brother Lu and Sister Zhuang of Yixingyuan Homestay, will bring a reproduced version of Yousheng bento at the Slow Food Festival, limited to 100 portions per day, recreating the warm interactions between Yousheng Restaurant and the people of Taitung back then. This time we will no longer only hear the story with our ears; let our mouths also return together to that innocent era of honestly making a good bento.