Hey.
Welcome to "huang's world."
♪ I like to wear my shades in the nighttime ♪
♪ and I prefer the haze when I light mine ♪
♪ you just might be amazed at what you might find ♪
♪ as we cruise around the city in the g-ride ♪
♪ getting mine ♪ getting, getting, getting ♪ getting, getting mine
♪ y'all in the wrong world ♪ so look here, man ♪ welcome to "huang's world"
♪ world traveler ♪ the food, whoo, good and delicious ♪
♪ shanghai, moscow, check out the pictures ♪
♪ l.A., new york, m-I-a, oh, london ♪
♪ the schedule's vicious ♪ welcome to "huang's world"!
So, uh, we went real ham last night.
I like you.
And I got to meet my parents for breakfast.
And I have a feeling my mom is gonna talk mad shit.
- How's it going? - Good. How are you?
- Hello, mom. - Hey, eddie.
Hello. Oh!
Okay, guys, we should let them film.
You'll have the memory.
- And we should eat breakfast. - Okay.
- Whatever. - Let's do that.
Okay, so, when we get soy milk, We always get my dad the salty one.
My mom is salty enough, so we get her the sweet doujiang.
Oh, my god!
Wow.
This is dan bing... egg pancake.
It's the cruller, fried cruller, egg And then shaobing.
Mom, you waited in line. Was this worth it?
I guess for people of the younger age
That never had it the way I had it as a child, absolutely.
Yeah. But back then, this was pretty much standard?
Everywhere.
Popular. Every street has it.
It has to be this way.
Yo, so when did grandpa come over to taiwan?
1946, '47.
Yeah, when he first left china Because chiang kai lost the civil war in china,
And there is nowhere But the island to come to, you know, so... - Yeah. - Yeah.
There were multiple migrations to taiwan from china.
Originally, in the 1500s, the fukienese came.
In the mid-1600s, the hakka came.
But in 1949, The leader of the kuomintang, chiang kai-shek, Lost a civil war to mao.
A lot of our ancestors were killed in the civil war.
Our families gathered up what they could And fled to the taiwan strait.
Back in china, mao was burning books, Destroying ancient chinese culture.
But the rest of us made taiwan home to chinese history.
Grandpa came early to do the research And make sure taiwan is self-sufficient.
- What kind of research? - Agriculture economy.
I think the best thing chiang kai-shek did
For taiwanese people was the land reform because,
Before he came, japan would make the farmers
Give almost 70% of their crops or money to the japanese.
And when chiang kai-shek came, he redistributed the land,
Let the farmers own the land, And they gave up much less.
Your grandfather was one of the important economists That developed this system.
It was always really cool to hear stories
Because I felt like he was part of a really big thing, Doing good things for taiwan.
He led a good life.
Well, he also was... he was very religious, you know.
He served the church.
What happened to you?
I was torn between... The bee gees and the bible.
How do you feel about your connection to taiwan?
I love... I love the people.
- I love the culture. - Yeah.
You know, I was born and raised here.
This is in my blood.
No matter where I go, I'm... I'm a taiwanese.
But when you come to taiwan, it's like welcome home to me.
- The real louis huang. - Yeah, yeah.
It's cool to meet in taiwan.
So we're gonna come here to breeze food court At taipei main station.
It's one of my favorite food courts in the world.
Well, goddamn.
I don't remember this statue from the last time I came here.
Oh, god!
Cómo se dice, "not cool, bro."
We do not condone the pedophile friendship statue.
This is the taiwan section of the food court.
This one specialize in giant pieces Of pork and bamboo shoots.
Oh, we got to peep this.
This is the curry area.
We have meats, raw chicken, pork, mutton, beef,
Bacon, seafood and a vegetable curry.
English is on point, man. You've got good english.
Uh, thank you.
Yeah. Good english, good english.
Thank you.
Beef noodle soup is to taiwan what pizza is to new york.
It's the most cherished food item in the entire country.
And so they have dedicated an entire area in the food court
To beef noodle soup vendors selling the exact same thing.
And everyone competes to see Who has the best beef noodle soup.
They got to be making fresh pineapple cakes here.
I smell it. Wow.
Here it is, look.
This looks kind of crazy. What is this?
Not fire.
Discus man.
Oh, my god.
I'm sorry.
The most popular product.
Very good.
What's in there? I drooled.
It's so good, I drooled.
Oh, my god. Bro, I got wet.
If you want to understand taiwan's identity and culture,
You have to start with the aboriginals.
Before the kmt, hakka, and fukienese people Came to taiwan from china,
The original taiwanese aboriginals Were here for almost 8,000 years.
So we're gonna go to the mountain, Meet one of these ogs and try to trap a boar.
Somebody should've prepared me better for this Than a throwback cb34 mesh hoodie.
Any animal can bite through this shit.
And I got fuckin' chili stains all over these champion sweats.
- Nice to meet you. - Ni hao, ni hao.
Oh, oh, oh.
Okay.
We are hunters preparing, Gonna make an offering to the mountain gods.
Are you leaving a cigarette for them 'cause,
Since they're gods, there's no threat of cancer.
We got to pour it out for the gods.
That's why when I'm in the club, I'm always pouring on the floor.
Oh.
All right.
Quiet, quiet.
Okay.
Whoo!
- Okay. - Whoo!
Oh.
And you can see the tracks. There's wild boars through here.
Original trap boys.
This is how you trap a boar.
Wha! Ah.
Wha!
Ah.
Whoa, crazy.
Yo, so right now, We're on the atayal tribe old street.
Pretty much everyone's selling the same thing.
You'll see they have the 1,000-year-old egg, Grilled rice cakes, grilled sausage,
Also fried small fish, and then fried shrimp.
All of it is, like, mountain food, Aboriginal food.
But we've chosen this spot, atayal grandma restaurant.
We're gonna come eat here.
Bro, they got wild boar.
They got a lot of good vegetables.
You're gonna see the whole range here..
This is like a 100-dish aboriginal restaurant.
It's very simple. Everything here is done In the wok, very fresh, fragrant.
Ni hao.
I'm gonna cook with her.
We're gonna make wild boar right now.
Sliced wild boar.
Dui, dui, dui.
Ni hao.
- Hi. - Ni hao.
This is the wild boar we made.
I really like this wild boar.
Warrior's soup. It's only men.
The thing that's the most remarkable about this food... It looks really rich.
Like, this is a pig foot.
This is a pig foot, and this is black bean.
But everything tastes super clean and sharp.
Dui, dui, dui, dui.
I like rom-coms. You like rom-coms? Yeah.
I like all the gosling films, all the john cusack films,
Pretty much all the meg ryan, tom hanks.
What about matthew mcconaughey?
- Oh, I like mcconaughey. - Yeah.
Oh, I like hugh grant.
- Big hugh grant fan. - Interesting.
Oh, they got chicken wings up in this bitch?
Yo, we're at shinli daya.
And this is a fukienese restaurant.
We're here because fukienese people Are basically like the pilgrims of taiwan.
They were the first people to migrate here 500 years ago
From the fujian region of china.
And they spoke hoklo.
And they're kind of the dominant culture.
So we're gonna check this out.
We came in here.
And she was helping me look at the menu.
And then we became friends.
So she's gonna eat with us now.
Dui, ah.
Even right on the top of the menu, They say it's important to the cuisine
Is vinegar, sugar, and red yeast.
Light it up.
He's coming with jellyfish into the wok.
So he did a little garlic, a little scallions.
Fukienese brown sauce has a little bit more sugar And a little bit more vinegar.
Saltwater eel, red yeast, they got flour.
Dui.
Yo, this is, like, The best eel fish and chips I've ever had.
You see how crispy it is?
It's almost kind of like a beer batter.
But then the eel has a really soft, Fleshy consistency.
Mm!
I actually prefer this to cod.
And I love fish and chips with cod.
Mm!
This is so good, really acidic, Perfect sweetness, and then a lot of umami
With that soy and the shellfish.
Mmm.
- Fried sesame baos. - Yeah.
Very good.
"very good."
Three generations of taiwanese people On "huang's world" eating fried sesame baos.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, finessing.
That's that "huang's world" shit.
Yeah, get 'em.
We're gonna go meet dj yin now.
And she's one of the activists for hakka people here in taiwan,
Preserving a lot of the tradition, culture And especially the language.
Hakka means "guest people" in chinese.
And they're an ethnic minority that have migrated across china
As well as other southeast asian countries.
In the 1600s, the hakka came to taiwan.
And, even to this day, they're facing a lot
Of challenges maintaining their language, culture, And identity.
Okay, and everyone now listening Hakka radio, fm 97.1.
To the hakka people coming, migrating, Then the japanese occupation,
Then post 1949 chinese immigration, And then coming to understand
What is today's taiwanese identity.
Dui.
It's very, very important to know
Where everything comes from, 'cause you have to give credit
To the people who start these cultures.
Very deep.
Dui, dui.
You can see that, in a lot of the hakka culture,
Food, and the tea, a lot of it comes from the fact
That you guys are looked at as outsiders.
Do you feel like an outsider in taiwan?
Or do you feel like, "hey, we are taiwanese people"?
I feel I'm taiwanese people, yes.
Okay.
Every single mom in taiwan, Whether you're chinese or hakka or fukienese
Or aboriginal, japanese, They will make this dish in variations.
Dui, dui, dui.
Dui.
It's just one of those things people ate to stay alive.
Mm.
All right.
This is pig intestine, ginger, and chili.
Whoa!
This dish, it is delicious.
It's really cool to see the parallels Between people around the world and the food
That they make to adapt to their geography, climate, And economic situation.
It comes from something real.
So this is a re-enactment Of the expulsion of the oppressors,
Also known as the japanese, who occupied taiwan Up until the end of world war ii.
With the help of our american friends, Ryan firth, christopher velona,
We will expel the japanese from taiwan via basketball.
We actually have found some taiwanese players Who are actors/basketball players.
And they will be playing the parts of the japanese.
It's hard to find japanese in taiwan, bro.
- Yes. - Not welcomed.
2's and 3's to 21.
Whoo!
There we go.
Whoo-hoo!
All right. Let's go.
♪ Dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun ♪
Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Flag. Go with the flag.
Oh.
- Oh!
- Whoo-hoo! - Let's go.
Whoo, whoo!
Yes! Taiwan wins!
Good acting, guys. Good acting, good acting.
The japanese have been expelled.
Taiwanese cuisine is very distinct, And the japanese influence is undeniable.
Even with something as reprehensible as occupation,
The one positive is that many japanese cooking techniques
Were applied to the local food.
It's like throwing uniqlo heattech drawers On taiwanese balls.
Nowhere is this more evident Than sushi principles applied to local taiwanese fish,
Like the purple amberjack.
Oh, cool.
Okay.
We got to say that before we kill it, always.
I think a lot of times, when people see fish getting killed,
You don't have the same emotions and feelings,
But I still get bummed out when I see a fish dying.
It's really cool to come back to taiwan And see sushi done at this level
Because, when I was a kid, I would come back and eat sushi.
The temperature would be lower.
You'd get, like, icy chips.
Sometimes, they don't put the vinegar in the rice.
It just felt off to me.
The flavors weren't sharp and consistent.
All that work, one piece of purple amberjack.
The first thing you taste with this fish, It's very much like jasmine tea.
That's the aroma.
And then it's super, super tender.
So this is purple amberjack sushi.
Right on cue with the music when it hit the lips, just...
Mmm.
It was very taiwanese.
This is like an innovation and a regionality.
The palate here wants a little bit of sweetness, So that's what they did.
Do you have champagne?
'cause, honestly, I think champagne opens up the fish.
It's in the budget.
Oh, this is saba... japanese mackerel.
And, honestly, I don't recommend Getting this in american sushi restaurants
Because it doesn't stay fresh.
Well, here we go.
There was one moment When my tongue hit the bloodline.
And it pulled a little bit, Just a little bit of the funk of the fish.
But overall, one of the best pieces of saba I've had.
Saba!
Right now, we're in dongmen shichang.
And this is a very famous market in taipei.
You come here. You can buy fish.
You can buy chestnuts.
You smell the stinky tofu.
They got roasted ducks and chickens, sticky rice.
But we are here to meet the famous pork belly princess,
Who's known all around taiwan for finessing pork.
Yeah.
- Dui. - Yeah.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Iguana.
On the head.
So flames.
That's the illest piece of headwear I have ever seen in my life.
So, geng mian is a style of noodle.
It's, like, soup-based. You put a little shallot oil.
You may put a little bit of vinegar, cilantro.
It comes from, like, Hakka and fukienese cuisine from fujian.
And this is... This is fish paste.
It's very good.
The signature flavor of this is white pepper,
Cilantro, and a bone stock playing with each other.
Okay, okay.
Yeah.
So we here at the, like, art, warehouse, park district.
It's kind of like a giant ace hotel park.
We met this girl on tinder.
And I think she's over here right now.
So we're gonna meet her up.
And, uh, hopefully, this goes well.
We shall see.
Learn something about myself, learn something about taiwan.
- Ni hao. - Ni hao.
- Rachel. - Oh, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you. - Have you been here before?
- Never. - Do you come here often?
- Never? - Never.
First time, first time.
- Maybe we'll walk around? - Sure.
We'll walk around? We'll go for a walk?
- Yeah. - Yeah?
Yeah.
You meet nice guys on tinder?
Sometimes.
Yeah?
What kinda guys are you into?
Like, funny-type guy.
Funny guy? Okay. We can do funny.
What about husky? You like husky?
- Husky? - Husky.
Like, chubby, husky?
Yeah, that's okay.
Yeah, yeah. You're a chubby chaser.
What do you do out here?
Uh, I work for citi bank right now.
Oh, wow. So you're very professional.
No, no, no.
I'm just a, you know, paying secretary.
Oh, you're a secretary. Okay.
- Yeah. - That's still... Still professional, though.
- Not really. - Yeah?
You want to eat?
Yeah, sure. Let's go.
So, yo, for real, cashbox Is the most popular karaoke out here
And also the most popular beef noodle soup.
This is chili oil, mustard green, noodles.
Oh, sorry.
- It's okay.
- I'm a clumsy date.
We'll share one, save one for later.
Mmm.
- I think so. - Yeah.
The best beef noodle soup in taiwan Is at cashbox, for real.
Yeah. This a real chick.
She's a real chick.
She'll drink from the bowl.
Did you go to an english school?
No.
- I learn it by myself. - Oh, yeah.
- How? - I listen to a lot Of western song, a lot of hip-hop songs...
- Yeah? - ...Since I was in high school.
- Oh, that's cool. - Yeah.
Who's your favorite rapper?
- Rapper tupac. - Tupac?
Okay, okay. That's a good choice.
1 out of 10... my behavior on this date, What do you think?
10.
Oh!
I got the 10, emoji flames!
That's good.
One of the most important culinary skills you need Is, of course, knife skills.
Out here, they got this knife massage, Chopping the booty like groceries.
♪m Oh, damn. Oh, whoops.
Oh, my bad. It's not that... It's not that kind of knife massage?
Oh.
Oh, I feel so tender right now.
They turning me into beef tartare.
This is a 2,500-year-old massage technique.
Damn, I had no idea this was part of my history.
Taiwanese sovereignty has always been a very tricky issue.
After 1949, a flood of chinese nationalists Came to taiwan seeking refuge.
A lot of those chinese people That came would like to reunite with china.
They have family in china.
They have business in china.
A part of themselves is in china.
But many other people in taiwan feel they're independent,
That they have an intrinsic individualistic identity Separate from china.
Nowadays, china has a one-china policy
In dealing with taiwan, considering it a part of china.
One person that has a lot Of opinions about this is wu'er kaixi,
An exiled chinese dissident Who feels taiwan should be independent.
Wu'er kaixi was one of the leaders
Of the tiananmen square student protest in beijing In 1989.
He escaped, and he now lives in exile in taiwan.
This is one of the best massages I've ever had.
- Really? - I feel like a new man.
All right. All right.
Yeah, whoa. It's kinda crazy.
You look up, and then there's Just this dude's crotch and jeans.
Kind of an awkward... awkward position.
- How do you like it? - I'm gonna go back.
Okay, let me put it back in a different position, then.
I'm gonna go back down, man.
Well, well... - We've heard a lot about you. - Thank you.
What was it like for you When you first arrived in taiwan?
What really spoke to you?
When I first landed in taiwan, I was, like, uh, tiptoeing without...
Not trying to say too much.
I feel like they won't trust me.
But then I realize taiwanese people Have a very open, welcoming mentality.
Here in taiwan, you can find the lost And destroyed chinese culture.
But most... one thing that I value the most Is freedom.
This is a place that's one of the oldest joints.
It has been around for, I don't know, forever.
- It's called ah tsai de dian. - Okay.
- Look at this place. - Ah tsai's restaurant?
Ah tsai's restaurant. Hello.
- Hey. Ni hao. - Hey. Ni hao.
Oh, wow. This is cool.
It feels like taiwan Because there's elements of taiwan.
There's elements of fujian and china - And then japan also. - Yeah.
This is our existence, though, bro.
- This is us, taiwanese people. - I'm glad you like it.
Yes.
This is a chinese fried cruller.
Usually, you would eat this fried dough with soy milk.
But now they're using this in a savory dish with oysters.
Yes.
I told you.
It's awesome.
Yeah, I told you. Your fragrant, crispy duck.
Yes. Oh, xie.
Bu ke qi.
Fragrant crispy duck is braised and then fried.
Mmm.
This duck is extremely tender And then super crispy on the outside.
Really, really good.
You know, people ask me, "so what's the deal with taiwan and china?"
And I'd say, "it's almost like your parents are separated,
But they don't want to tell everyone they're divorced." yeah.
They didn't sign the divorce papers. Yeah.
Nowadays, the kids have grown up into the level
That they want to form their own home.
Young generation of taiwanese, They don't think they're chinese.
Taiwanese people believe it's independent.
It has it's own government.
It has own judicial system, army, tax system.
Do you feel, though, that taiwan isn't independent or free?
Not in the state department's official policy.
In the most inclusive event... let's say, olympics...
Taiwan cannot carry its own flag.
But from everyone I've talked to And my understanding, one-china policy
Doesn't affect you on a day-to-day basis.
Well, there is 1,000 missile pointing at taiwan as we speak,
As we're having this fine dinner.
We tend to forget about it.
We don't have to think about it every second.
But it is also a fact that you cannot totally ignore, right?
This is, to me, a distraction.
Like, what do we talk about, Carrying a flag and being in the un?
And to remove the missiles pointing at us.
That is much more eminent.
My thing is this, If taiwanese people want to say, "we're independent.
We demand to carry our flag at the olympics,"
But the result is a fight with china, That's a pretty bad trade.
Mutual recognition. That's all I'm asking.
I'm not asking for taiwan to claim independence.
I don't think using consequences to... Especially to say, "there is a big bully.
Let's not irritate him."
Let's not use that kind of an argument.
Do I think it's right? No, I don't.
But what's the alternative?
You cannot use worst alternative to end an argument.
Why not?
There is a real claim Because taiwan was under chinese control.
The first migrants here... - Oh, yeah. - ...Were from fujian.
Who came and did the land reform and gave the land back
- To the farmers? - Oh, yeah.
Kuomintang. The republic of china government, yes.
I have no argument over history. Yeah.
The only argument I'm standing for today Is the will of taiwanese people.
And, you know what, I won't fight you on that.
I feel taiwan has its own identity.
We may never agree about this, But the one thing we can do is... Yeah.
We can do the most taiwanese thing here.
All right. All right, man.
This is taiwanese sorghum.
This has only, like, less than 60 years of history.
Baijiu.
- Oh. - It's good, though.
Golden door is kinmen, Is the small island off china's coast.
And china decided not to liberate it, To remain the, uh...
Bro, you got to drink some more kaoliang And shut the fuck up.
Wu'er's position on independence has many effects, Especially with the economy.
Taiwan is a small country with very limited space And natural resources,
Making china a very valuable trade partner,
Just 150 miles away, with a shared history.
While independence is enticing, And the possibilities are endless,
It would leave taiwan out to sea on their own,
Seeking new trade partners without a shared history, Such as america.
To bring a little more clarity to taiwan's economic situation,
We're meeting some businessmen in the night market.
Yo, let's try this.
I smell what the rock is cookin' right now.
You know what you're about to roll into, stinky tofu.
This is the smell of taiwan.
You smell it as soon as you touch down.
It's not because we hang-dry our clothes.
It's because we eat stinky tofu.
So we'll do one steamed, one fried, yeah.
How has business been in taiwan recently?
- The economy or what? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Ah, man. - It's been bad.
It's been, like, stagnant for, like, 10 years, dude.
Taiwan as an area, it's a great place.
But you get stuck in this point where,
Like, people argue for the sake of arguing, you know? Yeah.
'cause there's so much history here, When you get from, like...
When you start talking about the japanese,
You start talking about the chinese influence... - Yeah. - ...Start talking about
The aborigines who were here from the very beginning, right?
- Yeah. - Now, you have this issue
Where, like, people are capitalizing on the situation.
So, like, as businessmen, as people that...
That do business here, we get the general consensus
That it's kind of like nothing positive Will ever really happen until people
- Get on the same page, right? - Yeah.
People putting themselves before the country.
Right, exactly. Right?
And I feel like they drum up a lot of controversy
That doesn't affect people's daily lives.
- Hundred percent. - Like the independence thing, It dominates the political talk.
It dominates the conversation about taiwan around the world.
- Exactly. - It used to be taiwan Was, like, a technological monster... Dude.
Like, semiconductors and things like that.
And now I feel like we're stuck in this one debate
That's kind of manufactured by politicians
- To stay in office. - A hundred percent.
Everybody wants a piece of taiwan, But nobody actually...
- Wants to give back to it. - Yeah.
Or really give what it needs.
They're trying to exploit it.
- Anyways, politics talk... - Nah, this was... yeah.
I think y'all should grub, man.
And these are the things that happen eating stinky tofu.
That's pretty damn good. Yeah.
That's real good.
- That's pretty stinky. - Yeah.
Most stinky tofu, it's stinky on the tip of your tongue.
This one is kind of in the middle.
It's like a different taste bud.
- It has that umami. - Yeah, yeah.
It's a deep-bass stink.
It's not just, like, the hi-hat.
Let's do it. I'll order.
What do you think needs to happen economically in taiwan For it to, like, come back?
All the people now has to trade with china freely.
It's about finding common minds that share - Different strengths... - Yeah.
And working together and building - That to the next level. - Yeah.
'cause it's gonna be hard to do it on your own, man. Definitely.
People need to create industry.
And they need to be able to make sure People can share in the success
- Once that industry is built. - Right.
- You know? - Absolutely.
So we in kenting right now.
Kenting is the southernmost part of taiwan.
And we weren't gonna leave taiwan Without bringing you here.
This is one of my favorite places in taiwan, man.
The surf culture started here in taiwan about 50 years ago
When american gis came, vacationed,
And saw the surf breaks and started surfing them.
And after their vacations, they left the boards For the local taiwanese cats.
And they started surfing themselves.
I've never liked a sport as much as I like basketball.
But boogie boarding's kind of close, man.
What's up?
I'm making beef noodle soup.
This is probably my favorite dish to make.
You got to figure out beef noodle soup for yourself.
I learned from my moms, and this is what she taught me,
But then I added a few things.
So I'm always playing with the recipe
But not in a way that changes its character identity.
I don't think we have an official national dish.
But if you ask any taiwanese person, It's beef noodle soup.
People talk about freedom.
But the idea is very elusive.
I want the freedom to be a taiwanese-chinese new yorker
Who likes basketball, beef patties, thick women,
And believes killa cam is the greatest rapper of all time.
Some taiwanese people think they're chinese.
They speak mandarin.
They eat chinese food and would, one day,
Like to be reunited with their ancestral homelands.
Other people see themselves as taiwanese, independent of china,
With distinct identities and cultures and ways of life.
Everyone should have the freedom to believe these things
Because it's possible that taiwan is big enough For these opinions to coexist.