Lilai Residence - Taomi Academy Introduction
The "Taomi Workshop" education center, designed to cultivate and preserve Taiwan's traditional rice-based food culture, is a brick building with red-tiled roofs that has quietly stood in the Taomi community for nearly 60 years. Chen Guo-Ming, who has run the Lai Lai Jiu handmade udon restaurant in Taichung for 20 years, was appointed as a part-time assistant professor in the Department of Tourism, Leisure, and Hospitality Management at National Chi Nan University in 2011 and fell in love with the beautiful landscape of Puli. In early December 2012, guided by the villagers, he encountered this dilapidated old house located at No. 1, Zhuangua Road, Taomi Li. Teacher Guo-Ming recalls the situation at that time: "The dilapidation of the old house is beyond words; not only did it have no doors or windows, but miscellaneous items were scattered all over the floor; due to severe roof leaks, weeds and small trees were spread throughout the interior. The cement flooring in the courtyard was already occupied by weeds; the low brick wall in the backyard had collapsed and was inaccessible; the awning on the side yard had also completely fallen down; back then, friends advised me that tearing it down and rebuilding was the best option!" At this moment, standing in front of the old house and observing its current appearance truly makes it hard to connect with Teacher Guo-Ming's memories. The restoration of the Taomi Workshop's old house must have required immense effort from him. As the first person dedicated to passing on the technique of handmade udon in Taiwan, the Taomi Workshop not only offers appointment-based experiential services, but Teacher Guo-Ming is also the first to openly teach the craft of handmade udon making in Taiwan. Over the past decade, countless free udon-making workshops have been held throughout Taiwan, and he has made two trips to Puli to volunteer at "Gan Zi Ren's Shop" - "Wuwei House" located outside Hualien Fengtian Train Station. The brick low house has become a base for the transmission and education of traditional rice-based food culture. What does a rural village look like? Brick houses, red-tiled roofs, spacious courtyards, old stoves for burning materials, floral scents throughout the seasons, and the sounds of laughter from residents are the everyday life at the Taomi Workshop. A small rice threshing area has been set up in front of the Taomi Workshop; "When I was a child, the threshing area in front of my house was the liveliest place! Besides being the playground for me and my six siblings, we threshed rice in the spring and autumn, dried Melon in midsummer, and prepared turnips before the New Year..." This is a cherished memory from Teacher Guo-Ming’s childhood. Since 2014, the Taomi Workshop frequently invites community partners to hold table events and initiate market activities in this small threshing area and brings students from Chi Nan University to share his expertise and joy there. Having been born in a rural Sanhe courtyard, Teacher Guo-Ming has a deep emotional attachment to old houses. Various rice-based foods made during festivals, such as red turtle cakes, taro cakes, turnip cakes, and zongzi, as well as steamed buns and mantou, are happy imprints from his childhood spent beside his mother, which are also vital reasons for nurturing the Taomi Workshop. Teacher Guo-Ming smiles and says: "These traditional snacks that were often seen during festivals in Taiwan, if not passed down and recorded, will eventually become a World Heritage (cultural heritage forgotten by the world)!" Creating a learning space for Taiwan's traditional rice-based food culture has become an essential mission for Teacher Guo-Ming in the future! In addition to traditional rice-based food production, the two-hour handmade udon production experience is one of the main services of the Taomi Workshop, continuing the 20-year operation of the Lai Lai Jiu restaurant. Using water from the Ailan Spring, where Puli Shaoxing wine is brewed, and flour, the process combines kneading, foot-stomping, rolling, and cutting to create fresh, Q-shaped noodles that embody time, memory, and effort, redefining your perception of noodles. If time permits, you can stay in the old house for a night to enjoy a 15-hour noodle-making experience for deeper learning. The "Taomi Workshop" education center currently offers experiential activities that include making traditional rice-based foods (such as cakes), taro balls, sweet potato balls, and coffee roasting; seasonal activities include harvesting sweet bamboo shoots, hibiscus flowers, and farm tours in coffee plantations. Guests are welcome to invite friends and form groups to reserve the "Table in the Courtyard" experience. "The Table in the Courtyard" is an activity where you cook with your own hands, representing the best option for tasting the local flavors of Puli; the four-hour experience combines handmade noodle production, a tour of the paper church park, a trip to the eco-village coffee farm, making hibiscus buns, and cooking on an old stove, which is very popular with tourists.
