shinyshine的部落格

To demonstrate our friendliness and hospitality, we three Hakka people decided to introduce our honorable visitor, Chris, a very special place rich in unique Hakka traditions. Thus, the trip to Beipu was scheduled. Featured by the practice of Hakka ground tea, the one-of-a-kind development of township as well as the authentic flavor of Hakka delicacy, Beipu has been the first choice on our visiting list before we returned home from England last year. Thanks to Chris’ visit, the dream of the trip eventually came true.

        為了表示我們的友善和熱情，我們三個客家人決定介紹一個富有客家人傳統的地方給克里斯認識認識，北埔之旅因此成行。北埔的特色除了客家擂茶、獨特的城鎮發展歷史背景、還有就是道地的客家佳餚。去年從英國為來之前，北埔就是我們就很想造訪的第一選擇。感謝克里斯幫我們讓這個夢想之旅成真。

Beipu is located along a green hillside where Hakka people and aborigines used to have numerous bloody conflicts, and that is why the township of Beipu develops in a special way. Hakka people living in this town construct Beipu for two specific purposes: one is to facilitate the business development, and the other is to defend the constant attacks from aborigines. That is why there are two to four avenues leading to the town center, where locates a Hakka temple, but meanwhile the rest of the streets are extremely crooked and occasionally leading dead ends. In the past, the “invading” aborigines might not be familiar with the surroundings of the town, and then they could be trapped and struck to death. Now, of course, Hakka people and aborigines live in harmony and peace, but the feature of the township remains the same.

        北埔座落在山邊，從前是客家人和原住民屢屢發生流血衝突的地方。住在此地的客家人依照兩個特定的目的建設北埔：除了促進商業發展，還有就是抵禦來自原住民的持續攻擊。這就是為什麼有四條大道通向城鎮的市中心----客家廟，而剩下的街道卻大多是彎曲難行，三不五時通到死巷的路。過去，不熟悉情形而入侵的原住民們常常因此困死在這裡；現在儘管大家已經和平相處了，這種城鎮發展的特色依然存在。

The trip to Beipu won’t be complete without sampling the two most prestigious teas: Hakka ground tea and the Oriental Beauty Tea. In addition to the Hakka ground tea that requires lots of efforts, the Oriental Beauty Tea has been wonderfully brewed and served during our visit to the Teahouse of Well. The only thing we have to do is enjoy the aftertaste of sweetness and the amazing story behind the tea.

如果不品嘗一下客家擂茶和東方美人茶，到北埔之旅就不算完整囉。在北埔的水井茶房除了可以品嘗到得來超級費工夫的擂茶，東方美人茶倒是不需我們動手，早就已經煮好的。我們所要做的就是仔細品味美人茶的香醇回甘，以及茶背後的故事。

Also named the “Pengfong” tea, the Oriental Beauty Tea is seemingly a production of coincidence. Legend has it that a tea grower missed the proper tea-selling season but still carried his oolong over to Taipei to sell. Amazed at the quality the delayed oolong presented, the distributors in Taipei paid 20 times the price what the grower and his competitors normally charged in their hometown. The unexpected experience was looked upon as brag by the grower’s competitors and neighbors and the tea got the name of brag as a result. Later, the “Pengfong” tea is reported to have abundant vitamins and other ingredients very beneficial to girls’ beauty, and therefore it is also named the Oriental Beauty Tea.

        東方美人茶又稱作膨風茶，似乎是碰巧機運下的產物。傳說中，一個茶農錯過了適當賣茶的時節，然而仍然把種植的烏龍帶到台北去賣。意外的是，台北的批發商驚豔於這種後栽茶的好品質，付了20倍高於原本本地茶農和競爭者會付的價錢收購。回去之後，這段不被預期的經驗被視為是吹牛，”膨風”茶因此得名。後來，”膨風”茶據稱富含維他命，對女生的美麗大有幫助，因此又稱” 東方美人茶”。

    Aside from tea, the Hakka cuisine provided by local restaurants is something we should try and does stimulate our taste buds. We ordered several famous Hakka dishes, including the Hakka stir-fry, the chopped steamed chicken with Hakka tangerine sauce, the bamboo shoots steamed with soy sauce, the Hakka fried wide noodles, together with the not-greasy clam soup, to feed our desperate appetite. Decorated with old-fashioned Hakka furniture, the local Hakka restaurant seems to add some more special flavor into their dishes. I don’t actually know how other people feel about the four dishes, but at least I feel perfectly content. Blending perfectly with knowledge of culture and exceptional taste of delicacy, the trip to Beipu is definitely worth our memory.