A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

My guest on this episode of Talking Taiwan, Lisa Cheng Smith, has channeled her love of Taiwanese food, cooking and premium ingredients into creating Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry. Yun Hai sources premium ingredients for Taiwanese cooking, directly from artisans, farms, and soy sauce breweries in Taiwan.

In this interview Lisa not only talks about how and why she started Yun Hai, and her vision for the business, but she shares her favorite Taiwanese restaurants, cookbooks, and some great resources for tips on Taiwanese cooking.

Taiwanese food lovers, this episode is definitely for you!

I initially spoke with Lisa earlier this year but so much has happened with Yun Hai since then, so a week or so ago we spoke again to get some updates. Be sure to listen to the end of the interview to hear about all of the exciting developments.

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in the podcast:

What inspired Lisa to start Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry
Where Lisa's love of Taiwanese food comes from
The chili sauce that inspired her to start Yun Hai
The slow food movement
What Lisa loves about the food in Taiwan
How long it took Lisa to set up Yun Hai
The story behind the name Yun Hai
The challenges of running a small online business
How Lisa met her business partner
Yun Hai's collaboration with Rose Bakery for the Lunar New Year
Lisa's favorite Taiwanese holidays and festivals
Lisa's Taiwanese cookbook recommendations
Other sources recommended by Lisa for Taiwanese recipes (blogs, YouTube)
Products offered by Yun Hai
New products
How Lisa choses products for Yun Hai
Yun Hai's connection to Win Son
Lisa's Taiwanese restaurant recommendations
Future plans for Yun Hai
The short documentary that Yun Hai produced about soy sauce makers in Taiwan
The newest developments with Yun Hai since the initial interview with Lisa earlier this year
Yun Hai's Kickstarter campaign for Yun Hai Selection Dried Fruit Line (pineapple, mango, guava)
New products that Yun Hai is introducing
How Yun Hai has been growing
Yun Hai's plans to open a store in East Williamsburg Brooklyn, NY
The Yun Hai Stories newsletter

Related Links:

Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry website: https://yunhai.shop/

Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yunhaishop/

Sign up for the Yun Hai newsletter: https://yunhai.substack.com/

Yun Hai's mini-documentary, Time, Terroir, Taiwan: Soy Sauce Brewing in XiLuo:
https://youtu.be/UhJ5wU1jY0E

Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yunhaishop

"9 Recipes for a Vibrant Lunar New Year Celebration" by Lisa Cheng Smith for Bon Appétit Magazine: https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/lunar-new-year-menu-lisa-cheng-smith

Taipei Times article about Yun Hai Pantry: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2019/07/13/2003718573

Yun Hai + Rose Bakery Year of the Ox Collaboration: https://yunhai.shop/blogs/articles/year-of-the-ox-yun-hai-rose-bakery

Dover Street Market: https://www.doverstreetmarket.com/

Alice Waters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Waters

Food of Taiwan by Cathy Erway: https://www.amazon.com/Food-Taiwan-Recipes-Beautiful-Island/dp/0544303016/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Food+of+Taiwan&qid=1623571715&s=books&sr=1-1

All Under Heaven cookbook by Carolyn Phillips: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=All+Under+Heaven&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

Carolyn Phillips' blog, Madame Huang's kitchen: https://www.madamehuang.com/blog

Choochoo-ca-Cchew (Taiwanese recipes with locally sourced ingredients): https://www.choochoocachew.com/

Taiwan Duck (Taiwan Cooking) on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TaiwanCooking

Win Son Restaurant and Bakery: https://winsonbrooklyn.com/

Trigg Brown and Josh Ku of Win Son: Taiwanese Restaurant in NYC: https://talkingtaiwan.com/trigg-brown-josh-ku-win-son-taiwanese-restaurant-nyc/

Ho Foods restaurant: https://www.hofoodsnyc.com/

886 restaurant: https://www.eighteightsix.com/

Happy Stony Noodles (restaurant in Elmhurst Queens): https://www.happystonynoodle.com/

Q Town restaurant: https://www.qtownasiancuisine.com/

Pulau Pinang restaurant: https://menupages.com/pulau-pinang-malaysian-and-taiwanese-cuisine/82-84-broadway-elmhurst

Taipei Times Columnist Michael Turton Talks About the Taiwan Pineapple Ban by China: https://talkingtaiwan.com/taipei-times-columnist-michael-turton-talks-about-the-taiwan-pineapple-ban-by-china-ep-119/

Taipei Times article about China's ban of Taiwan's pinapples, "PRC bans import of Taiwan pineapples":

https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2021/02/27/2003752913

Yun Hai's Kickstarter campaign for Yun Hai Selection: Dried Pineapple, Mango, Guava from Taiwan: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/yunhaishop/dried-fruits-made-in-taiwan

Ep 135 | Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry: Our Talk with Founder Lisa Cheng Smith

Talking Taiwan

Ep 135 | Yun Hai Taiwanese Pantry: Our Talk with Founder Lisa Cheng Smith