watercolor print

Evocative of simple days, the song of summertime cicadas, and scent of gardenias heavy in the air, this piece is sure to take you back to your best memories of Taiwan. This print features an illustrated homage to Taipei in my signature pencil and watercolor drawings, at once honest and nuanced.

travel guide

Not your average guide to the most crowded tourist spots in Taipei, this curated directory introduces you to hidden gems and personal favorites of mine. The accordion foldout features illustrations originally rendered in pencil and watercolor in a tropical, summer-drenched palette.

Peanuts Peanuts Cake

With the peanut-two-ways concept, I wanted to create a layer cake, one of my favorite forms of dessert. Geometric and celebratory, these classic cake shapes remind me of childhood birthday parties, pure and simple in their flavors.

I approached Lucky Finds bakery who I met last year in a cake-making workshop. We discussed American peanut butter flavor versus Taiwan peanut experience, cake shape and size, and after three rounds of recipe-testing, we came up with a beautiful cake of black sugar chiffon, peanut cream, and peanut feuilletine dulcey crunch with a touch of salt. I also wanted to offer a tea and fruit item, and with Lucky Finds’ expertise and recommendations, we rounded out the menu with a Tieguanyin Oolong Tea Canelé and an Osmanthus Peach Jelly.

These thoughtful pastries were served on vintage dessert plates, sourced over the preceding weeks, reminiscent of what we use in our Taipei home.

Citron Cream Latte

With the original inspiration from Dixielane as a starting point, local coffee favorite Kopê House worked with me to bring together the flavors I could still taste in my memory with the culinary creativity that has become their trademark.

Fresh citron was chosen as the citrus component, with pomelos being out of season, and a recipe was developed to infuse lemony notes in an iced coffee, topped off with a pillowy cream at once decadent and refreshing. Half beverage, half dessert, the summery Citron Cream Latte captured perfectly the essence of the Taiwan drink scene. Their fizzy Lychee Shrub was offered as a companion menu item.

Lun Piánn Káu

The final, and most personal, piece of the puzzle was in fact no design of mine, but a staple in many Taiwanese homes: lun piánn káu.

Throughout my childhood, my mother and grandmother regularly made this for dinner—braised cabbage and bean sprouts rolled in thin, wheat wrappers with the diner’s choice of any combination of sugared ground peanuts, aonori, and cilantro.

Knowledge of the culinary history of Taiwan and his own personal family connection with lun piánn káu made my friend and fellow Taiwanese Henry Hsu, aka Oramasama, the perfect chef to showcase this dish. Infused with his own twist of curry powder, the lūn piánn were served with a side of his signature dried anchovy and skin-on peanuts, a final nod to the Taiwanese love of peanuts peanuts.