Beimen Wuwang Bridge Roasted Sweet Potato Introduction
Tu Zhushan (born in 1947), from Oieliao, worked in fish ponds and was involved in salt drying. After the salt fields stopped drying, he went to Fengshan, Kaohsiung to learn sweet potato roasting skills from his older brother Tu Zhuqing (born in 1943). After mastering the technique, his brother gifted him a roasting oven. Tu Zhushan then sold sweet potatoes at a fixed spot in front of Yong'an Temple in Oieliao. Later, he thought of selling in farther places, so he rode his "Lazi Car" to the Xujia vegetable market in the morning and to the current site of Wuwang Bridge in the afternoon. As he got older, he stopped going to Xujia market and set a fixed selling point at the north end of Wuwang Bridge. He has lunch at 10 AM and then heads to the market; at home, he roasts a batch of sweet potatoes first, and upon arriving at the market, he roasts one or two more batches while selling. After selling out, he closes up and goes home, sometimes around 2 PM or 3 PM. The selling hours are not fixed; he doesn't sell on rainy days, when sweet potatoes are bad, or when he has other matters to attend to. To enjoy Tu Zhushan's roasted sweet potatoes, one really needs some luck. A solitary "Lazi Car" stands at the Wuwang Bridge head, with no barriers or coverings, it’s very hot in the scorching summer and quite cold in the harsh winter. However, Tu Zhushan finds no bitterness in this; as long as the conditions allow, he will set up to sell under the blazing sun or against the cold winds, hoping that loyal customers...
