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COMPASS MAGAZINE, November 2002.

Cover Story :

THE COMPASS NT$500 CHALLENGE
Enjoying an Evening For Two for Next To Nothing

By Douglas Habecker Translated by Hwang Jia Yi

       Okay, so the stock market's tanked, the economy's gone south and you feel like last person in Taiwan who hasn't headed for a million-dollar job in China. If you're like many residents, you're probably counting your coins a little more carefully than you used to.

       So, you're on your way out the door for an evening on the town. Then you open your purse, or wallet, and see only a single brown bill, the one with the cheerful baseball players on it. End of the story? Time to turn around, crawl into a chair and watch the National Geographic special on tree sloths, or your 437th viewing of "Armageddon"? Absolutely not.

       Thanks to this month's COMPASS NT$500 Challenge, there is now living proof that not just one, but two people can enjoy hours of fun on the town, thanks to the pleasures of a distinctive Taiwan institution. No, we're not talking about the betelnut girls, but the night market. In recent years, despite the modernization and Westernization of Taiwan, night markets have actually increased in popularity, due in no small part to the spread of mobile night markets (see sidebar story).

       For our NT$500 Challenge, we picked four very different couples and took them to the Taichung's original evening market, the Chunghua Night Market, located near the Taichung Park on and around Chunghua and Kungyuan roads. We handed each couple one of those brown bills and the rest was easy. We followed and watched the fun begin.

COUPLE #1: Jeff and Maile Aden BACKGROUND: This is the first-ever visit to the Chunghua Night Market for Jeff and Maile, who arrived in Taiwan from Spokane, Washington on August 2. Maile, who originally hails from Oahu, Hawaii, is the curriculum director at Morrison Academy and Jeff is involved in business. They say they love Taiwan, which reminds them a little of Hawaii.

THE EVENING:
       The Adens start on Kungyuan Road at 7:10 p.m., walking towards the Chunghua Road intersection. At the old Park Movie Theater, they detour onto a side street and visit a shop that sells snake blood, soup and other delicacies, derived from the cage of writhing, live snakes. They also take a look at the unusual variety of clothing, including a stand selling boxer shorts, decorated with everything from Tweety Bird to naked women and mahjong pieces. Stopping at a corner "cheap goods" stand, they wander through an extremely eclectic collection of stuff, from Darlie toothpaste to fly swatters. Here, they make their first purchase of two practical items Maile wants¡Xa plastic funnel ("for discarded cooking oil") and squeeze bottle ("to put soy sauce in").

They continue wandering down Kungyuan Road, stopping at various stands. A shoe salesman tries to interest them in his wares but, upon seeing Jeff's size twelves, shakes his head hopelessly. Other stops include a jade seller, a deep-fried duck parts vendor, a stand selling silver rings, a table of pirated VCD movies, a streetside tattoo parlor, flower potpourri stand, and more shoes, including some six-inch elevated slippers and very long boots Maile seems to like. She also admires some slippers ("I would wear these. They are so cute!"). Jeff tries to decipher the English lettering on the for-sale shirts ("Phat form: Classic America Flava"). At the Chunghua Road intersection, they pause for their second purchase--a bag of savory, peppery, batter-fried crabs. Munching on these, they take time to observe their fellow night market-goers ("There's a 60-year lady in stiletto heels! She has to be at least 60....").

       Turning down, Chunghua Road, they check out the many food vendors but decline to try the exotic variety of down-home Taiwanese night market fare, from whole frogs to chicken hearts and eels. Looping around, they end up on another alley and come to a larger cheap-goods store. There is some debate about purchases. Maile likes a NT$50 wooden pestle and looks at some tea cups ("good gifts"), but Jeff seems less keen, suggesting a return to the ring vendor for another look. In the end, they buy two folding camping stools ("We'll put these on the balcony of our new apartment--it's a very small balcony.").

In the end, the Adens do head back to the jewelry vendors, where Maile tries on some necklaces and rings. After some discussion, she ends up with her final purchases¡Xa set of earrings and a ring. This does take the grand total NT$20 over budget but, after a quick check, the COMPASS representative grants approval (providing, of course, that the Adens cover the extra NT$20 themselves). It is a little after 9 p.m. and the Adens have completed the NT$500 Challenge. Best of all, they seemed to have enjoyed their first trip to the Chunghua Night Market.

JEFF AND MAILE¡¦S PURCHASES/EXPENSES:
2 camping stools (NT$50/each): NT$100
1 bag of 3 fried crabs: NT$100
1 plastic squeeze bottle: NT$10
1 plastic funnel: NT$10
1 set earrings: NT$50
1 ring: NT$250
TOTAL: NT$520

COMMENTS: "It was huge because you just keep walking....It seemed larger than other night markets." "There was no smell of stinky tofu." "There was a good variety of food and clothing...the variety of undergarments and the frogs." "It is funny to have the VCDs of movies out before the movies are in the theaters." "I liked the shoes with the seven-inch heels." "This would be a fun place to take kids." "We were delighted. Thank you, COMPASS!"

COUPLE #2: Rex Lin and Liu Hung-chun BACKGROUND: Rex, a customer service engineer, and Hung-chun both work for Systex Corporation, where they met, prior to getting married over a year ago. They both live in Taya town, Taichung county, but work and play in the city. It has been about a year since they've been to the Chunghua Night Market, as they go to the Feng Chia Night Market more often. However, as this visit shows, they are no strangers to this place.

THE EVENING:
       It is about 7:20 p.m. when the Lins start their evening at the corner of Chunghua and Kungyuan roads. Ignoring the many wares on Kungyuan Road, they head east on Chunghua, straight for the dozens of food vendors that stretch for blocks to Minchuan Road. Along the way, Rex points out the Ling Fen Shou Steakhouse, a second-floor restaurant which, he notes, is known for its tender steaks, made at your table. The first stand they stop at is Wang Ta Milk stand, located in front of the high-rise Gemini Entertainment World entertainment complex. The Lins say that Wang Ta, a long-time favorite, is known its papapya milk shakes and the thick slices of butter-and-strawberry-jam toast. Naturally, they order both of these. In a surreal twist, the milk shake comes in a red disposable cup that reads, "Daddy O's Express Drive-Thru Burgers Fries Shakes".

Crossing Chung Cheng Road, they continue another couple blocks, past more vendors, to another well-known favorite, Lao Guang Chung Hua. This portable restaurant--opposite a massive bingo parlor near the Sunrise movie theater--is run by the friendly Mr. Ju. Ju says that he continues to run his streetside business, despite winning awards for his cooking at Taipei competitions. Among other things, like the noodles and "jaotze" dumplings, this place is known for its delicious steaming bowls of porridge, known as "jou". Rex opts for the Guangdong porridge, which has peanuts, corn, tofu strips, shrimp, "10,000-year-old" egg slices and other delicacies. His wife goes for the seafood version. For an extra NT$10, they get a "you tiao" deep-fried bread stick, which is ripped up and dipped in the soup.

       Just up the road, they sit down at the third famous establishment of the night, the Tantzu Stinky Tofu stand which, according to the owner, has been here for 31 years. Rex says that old city residents all know about these three places. A plate comes piled with the large cubes of tofu and the Lins dig in, pushing pieces of cabbage inside the cubes¡Xa combo that makes it better, they say.

       "When I was a kid, we lived in the countryside. Once a week, there would be a night market and the kids would be very excited because there were lots of games and the local stores all closed around 9 o'clock," recalls Rex as they eat.

"We've only spent about NT$200 and I'm already full," says his wife as they finish up. Nevertheless, goaded on by their sense of mission, they continue, stopping at the Big Watermelon Bar, appropriately shaped like a giant watermelon. Here, they buy another 500 cc shake, this one with guava, lemon, pineapple and sugar, with a little ice added at the vendor's suggestion. Just down the road, they also get a box of "mwo chi"--little doughy cakes made from glutinous rice and filled with peanut powder or red bean paste¡Xat the Chunghua Mwo Chi King.

       Here there is a pause as the couple ponders where to spend their remaining NT$200. Hung-chun notes that she wouldn't buy night market clothing, as she isn't fond of the fashions here and prefers department stores. Back around the Kungyuan Road intersection, they stop at several vendors, looking at a Snoopy name card holder, the potpourri stand, shoes ("very nice-looking but not very comfortable") and a CD by singer David Tao ("I wonder if it's real or not?") who Hung-chun likes. Rex's attention is then drawn to a vendor selling hundreds of mobile phone covers, with designs and motifs that include "The Dog", Astro Boy, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Snoopy and Betty Boop. After some consideration and discussion, he opts for a classy-looking bluish-silver case, which the stand owner promptly helps him install on his Nokia. And that brings the bill to exactly NT$500.

REX AND HUNG-CHUN'S PURCHASES/EXPENSES:
1 papaya milk NT$40
1 strawberry toast NT$20
1 bowl seafood porridge NT$60
1 bowl Guangdong porridge + "you tiao" NT$60
1 box of glutinous "mwo chi" NT$50
1 plate stinky tofu NT$30
1 mixed-fruit milk shake NT$40
1 mobile phone cover NT$200
TOTAL: NT$500

COMMENTS: "It's nice to walk slowly around here. [Chunghua Night Market] is still okay, although not as active as the Feng Chia one." "Taiwan is a good place for eating out; everything's still real cheap." "A lot of people like night markets for the games. They aren't gambling for great prizes but Taiwanese love to gamble."

COUPLE #3: Kasia and Karina Tu BACKGROUND: Kasia Tu originally hails from Gdansk, Poland but now finds herself as a resident of Taichung, where she has been an activities coordinator for the International Women's Association. She met her Taiwanese husband, Ching Kuang, while they were both students at the University of Michigan and they have now been married eight years. Six-year-old Karina, the oldest of their two children, now studies at a local kindergarten and is already fluent in English and Chinese, with a little bit of Polish thrown in. Kasia is no stranger to night markets, although it's been about two years since she's visited Chung Hua Night Market.

THE EVENING:
       It is 7 p.m. when Kasia and Karina start down Kung Yuan Road, towards the heart of the night market. Almost immediately, they stop at a fruit vendor and buy a small box of sliced dragon fruit for NT$40. Using toothpicks, both mother and daughter begin enjoying the juicy fruit. A little further on, they pause at a stand selling a variety of sunglasses. Karina immediately picks up a pair of kiddie shades with flip-up frames, while her mom tries on another pair. Everything is NT$100, but they (or, rather, mom) decides to give it a pass.

       "Now that Karina is getting older, I'm trying to help her learn about responsibility for money," says Kasia, who has started giving her daughter an allowance of NT$50 a week. "If she spends it all right away, I tell her she has to wait until the next week."

       The stroll continues with stops at a shoe vendor. Kasia shows her daughter a pair of silver, sparkling slip-ons--"Cinderella shoes", she calls them. Next door is a vendor selling a variety of wallets and bags. Kasia looks through them while Karina is attracted to the Wedding Barbie bag hanging nearby, and a pile of soft, little stuffed dogs. The vendor says they're NT$99, but Kasia bargains in Chinese for NT$90. "Okay, NT$90. Ma ma, hu hu. ['horse horse, tiger tiger']," says the vendor, capitulating. Karina picks out her dog. "What do you say?" prompts her mom. "Thank you," responds Karina, who decides to name her new friend "Sally".

       A couple of stands down and Kasia briefly looks at a beaded halter top of some sort, hanging from a stand. "I still find Taiwanese fashion a little unusual sometimes," she says, shaking her head. She adds that she would buy night market clothing but the biggest problem is finding sizes that are large enough. The same goes for the footwear, which Kasia tries on but finds too small for her size-eight feet. At other stands, mother and daughter look at a variety of make-up accessories, wigs, perfumes, colorful plastic slippers, stick-on glittery nails and eye shadow, knock-off leather bags ("Esprat", as opposed to "Esprit") and other items.

Kasia leads Karina into a line of dress stores just behind the streetside stalls. She looks through a wide range of gowns and dresses priced from about NT$6,000 and up ("This is nice....We have a Christmas formal coming up at IWAT."), pausing to look through some jewelry and model a feather boa. In the meantime, her daughter is quite taken with some large, colorful silk bows and some of the dresses displayed on mannikins ("She likes anything that is long," says her mom).

       "I like their jewelry; it's really cool stuff. You can't find in the States or Europe and it's very typical Taiwanese," says Kasia while looking at necklaces at one jewelry stand. "When I sent some to a friend in Poland, she was amazed and had never seen anything like it."

       Once again, the pair stops at a fruit stand to buy some fruit--sliced watermelon--for NT$40. Then it's on to a stall with a wide range of hair pins and clips, including stars, butterflies, flowers, Winnie the Pooh, mini-sunglasses (which Karina likes) and a sparkling mini-tiara. Kasia suggests several to her daughter, who has her own favorites. "What she likes I don't like and what I like she doesn't like. We have two different tastes," says mom. After some negotiations, they settle on two sets--a silver beaded dog design (to match Sally) and little beaded squares. A little bargaining and the total price is NT$340. "You're going to look so pretty," says Kasia and a smiling Karina seems to agree.

KASIA AND KARINA'S PURCHASES/EXPENSES: 1 box of dragon fruit NT$40 1 stuffed toy dog NT$90 1 box of sliced watermelon NT$40 2 pairs of hairpins NT$340 TOTAL: NT$510

COMMENTS: "I like traditional markets, especially the area around the train station and the traditional shops. I really like First Square, too." "Look at those dresses--most people would not fit into things like that." "Tonight, I got a doggy and another doggy."