For centuries, meat has been a focal point of Hakka cuisine. Braised pork belly, salt-baked chicken, and beef-ball soup are commonly served along with Hakka noodles and various vegetables.
However, Taiwanese Hakka celebrity chef Ted Liao has radically revised this concept at Monsoon restaurant in Zhubei City in Hsinchu County.
“In Taiwan, Hakka cuisine all uses meat, but we are vegan and plant-based,” Liao tells Pancouver over Zoom. “So actually, we are—in Taiwan—the first that has vegan Hakka cuisine.”
In the heart of what’s often described as the Silicon Valley of Taiwan, Monsoon serves artfully prepared, animal-free, seven- and eight-course meals, as well as seasonal desserts. Diners often enjoy these culinary treats with alcohol-free wines or 100 percent fermented kombucha created with fair-trade and certified-organic ingredients.
It wasn’t always that way. When Liao and his Hakka husband, Phil Han, were operating their restaurant in Taipei, they offered meat-based Hakka dishes. But during the pandemic, Liao decided that he wanted to serve healthier food.
“I said, ‘Hey, Phil, next week I want to change my menu to plant-based, hot vegan,’” recalls Liao.
According to Liao, his husband was shocked. Then Phil asked Liao if he feared that no one would visit the restaurant.
“I said, ‘I think this is what I want to do. I want this now because COVID-19 made me think more about the future,’ ” Liao says. “Now in Taiwan, Hakka cuisine is very salty and very oily.”
As a result, he insists that many people will only dine on this food in restaurants once or twice a year. He worries that without modernization, Hakka cuisine could one day disappear off menus. That’s another motivation for him to take this food in a new direction.
Liao overjoyed by Michelin recognition
Moreover, his innovative approach and engaging personality have made Liao a popular figure on Taiwanese TV. He has already hosted one cooking series and is now filming a second series
In fact, Monsoon received the Michelin Bib Gourmand in two consecutive years. Liao and his husband were thrilled because this designation honours restaurants that offer outstanding multi-course meals at reasonable prices.
“We don’t create food from faraway or with overseas ingredients,” Liao maintains. “It’s more farm-to-table.”
On August 29 to 30, Liao will present a series of cooking workshops called Collective Island as part of Toronto TAIWANfest. To register for these sessions at Harbourfront Centre, visit Showpass.com.
He tells the Toronto Spark that participants will learn to create handcrafted cola beverages by combining Canadian ingredients—such as maple syrup and seasonal fruits—with Taiwanese components. According to the TAIWANfest website, these elements include grass jelly herb, shiso, Lei cha, and shell ginger.
“More than a cooking class, ‘Collective Island’ is a shared exploration of memory, place, and the future of food,” the Toronto TAIWANfest website states. “Drawing from Ted’s ongoing work in sustainable cuisine, Hakka culture, and plant-based gastronomy, the workshops invite participants to experience Taiwan through flavour, conversation, and collective discovery.”
Chef’s vision impresses his mother
The Hakka are a Han Chinese sub-ethnic group with a distinct, six-toned language, nomadic history, and rural tradition. The word means “guest” because that’s how Hakka people have often been viewed, even though they have lived in such far-flung locales as India, Mauritius, Jamaica, and Canada for generations. There are about 4.4 million Hakka people living in Taiwan.
Liao grew up in Miaoli County, which borders Hsinchu County on the west coast of the island. His mother is an extremely hard-working Hakka woman who always made meals from food raised on their farm. Liao confesses that as a child, he wasn’t comfortable killing animals. And as a chef, he didn’t even like killing fish.
Liao acknowledges that his mom was skeptical when she heard that he was making vegan Hakka food at Monsoon.
“But when she arrived in my restaurant and saw all the customers enjoying the food, suddenly she changed,” Liao reveals. “She said, ‘I understand why you work so hard on the plant-based Hakka cuisine because people need more healthy food.’
“We are doing a unique thing in Taiwan,” the chef continues. “When people talk about Hakka food, they all talk about meat, about pork, about chicken—about any protein for meat. But we are talking about plant-based.”
Toronto TAIWANfest will present a series of Collective Island 共飲之島 workshops with Taiwanese Hakka chef Ted Liao in Tent D at Harbourfront Centre. These workshops will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, and end at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 30. To register, visit Showpass.com.
Toronto TAIWANfest takes place at Harbourfront Centre from August 28 to 30. To learn more about the programming, visit the website. The Toronto Spark is on Bluesky @torontospark.bsky.social.
