Liyu House - Taomi Academy Introduction
The "Tao Mi School" education center, a brick building with red tiles, has quietly stood in the Tao Mi community for nearly sixty years. Chen Guoming, who has been running the Li Lai Ju handmade udon restaurant in Taichung for 20 years, was hired as a part-time professional technical teacher at the Department of Leisure and Hospitality Management, National Chi Nan University, in 2011, and soon fell in love with the good environment of Puli. In early December 2012, guided by the villagers, Professor Guoming stumbled upon this dilapidated old house located at No. 1, Zhuanggua Road, Tao Mi Village. He recalls the situation at that time: "The old house was so dilapidated that it was hard to describe in a few words; not only was there no door or window, but debris was scattered everywhere inside. Due to severe roof leaks, weeds and small trees were everywhere inside. The cement yard was completely taken over by weeds; the low brick wall in the back had collapsed, making it inaccessible; the rain shelter on the side had also completely fallen down. At that time, my friends advised me that tearing it down and rebuilding was the best choice!" At this moment, as we stand in front of the old house, it is indeed hard to connect it with Professor Guoming's memories, and he must have invested immense effort into restoring the old house of Tao Mi School. Dedicated to being the first person to pass on the technique of handmade udon in Taiwan, Tao Mi School not only provides reservation-based experience services daily but Professor Guoming is also the first to publicly teach the craft of making Taiwanese handmade udon. Over the past decade, countless free udon-making workshops have been held across Taiwan; just outside the Hualien Feng Tian Train Station, he has volunteered to teach at "Nai Zi Ren's Shop - Wu Wei House" twice. The brick-built low house has become a base for the preservation and education of traditional rice food culture. What does a rural landscape look like? Brick low houses, red-tiled roofs, spacious yards, old stoves for burning firewood, the fragrance of flowers year-round, and the sound of residents' laughter - this is the daily life at Tao Mi School. In front of Tao Mi School, a small rice drying area has been set up; "When I was a child, the rice drying area in front of our house was the most lively place! Apart from being where my six siblings and I played, it was also used for drying rice in spring and autumn, drying Meilong melon in midsummer, and drying radishes before the New Year..." This is a cherished memory from Professor Guoming's childhood. Since 2014, Tao Mi School often invites community partners to host dining events and initiate market activities in this small rice area, bringing students from Chi Nan University to share his expertise and joy. Professor Guoming, born in a rural Sanhe courtyard, has a deep affection for old houses. The various rice food preparations during festivals, such as red turtle cake, taro cake, radish cake, making zongzi, and dumplings, are happy memories that accompanied him beside his mother in childhood, and are significant reasons for nurturing Tao Mi School. Professor Guoming smiles and says: "If these traditional snacks, often seen during festivals in Taiwan, are not passed down and recorded, one day they will become a world heritage (forgotten assets)!" Creating a learning field for Taiwan's traditional rice food culture has become an important mission for Professor Guoming in his future life. Handmade udon making experience and garden table dining. In addition to traditional rice food production in Taiwan, continuing the management of Li Lai Ju Restaurant for 20 years, the two-hour handmade udon making experience is a main service offered by Tao Mi School. Using the water from Ailan Spring, which brews Pu Li Shaoxing wine, and flour, we combine kneading, foot-treading, rolling, and cutting to create fresh, elastic noodles that combine time, memory, and effort. The texture and taste will refresh your perception of noodles. If you have ample time, you can stay in the old house for one night to gain a deeper understanding of noodle-making through a 15-hour experience. The current experience activities at the "Tao Mi School" education center also include the production of traditional rice foods (snacks), taro balls and sweet potato balls, coffee roasting experiences; seasonal tours include picking sweet dragon bamboo shoots, hibiscus flowers, and coffee plantation trips, among other agricultural experiences. Guests are welcome to gather friends and make reservations for the "Dining at the Garden Table" experience. "Dining at the Garden Table" is an activity where participants cook their own meals, making it the best choice for tasting the local flavors of Puli; the four-hour experience event combines handmade noodle making, a guided tour of the Paper Church park, a visit to an eco-village coffee farm, hibiscus flower bun making, old stove cooking, and other popular experiences among tourists.
