Exuberant fishmonger’s broken English goes viral online

Exuberant fishmonger’s broken English goes viral online

2026-02-24

A video of a fishmonger trying to use English to communicate with foreign travelers has gone viral in recent days. It starts with the vendor enthusiastically greeting a tourist and trying to offer them a drink, but his broken English and good humor compound to make the video a sheer delight. His cheer infectious, it lends proof of Taiwan’s unparalleled hospitality.

This fishmonger stays busy preparing his wares, but when he sees a foreign traveler walk by, he springs to life.

No sooner had he finished listening to his wife’s impromptu English lesson than he promptly forgot how to say “have a drink.” He even has trouble saying “sugar.” His introduction is even sillier.

Kao Chen-chieh
Fishmonger
Everyone in the world knows about birthdays. If you sing Happy Birthday, then there’s cake, so it just came to mind in that moment.

Kao has always been funny and sharpwitted, and especially loves talking with foreign travelers. The bowl cut has been his signature since childhood.

Kao Chen-chieh
Fishmonger
When we were young, everyone was into styling their hair, but we had no clue how to do it. Even if you did manage to style it, it would be ruined by wearing a helmet. So I figured, if I just keep it like this, when I take my helmet on and off, it’ll stay neat.

Wu Ching-hui
Fishmonger
He loves chatting and is super friendly. Especially when there’s a foreigner, he’ll always greet them and offer something to eat. It’s pretty local.

Su Chen-hsi
Drink vendor
It doesn’t matter if they’re from the US, Japan, or wherever, he just loves to chat. He’ll go on and on. I really admire how outgoing he is.

Kao isn’t the only personality hidden in this market. Just across the way is a retiree who looks just like the Hong Kong actor Sammo Hung.

Liu Kuo-tung
Market vendor
I’m the Sammo Hung lookalike in this market, and he’s the Chu Ke-liang!

Founded during the Japanese era, this seafood stall has been passed down through the generations in Kao’s family. It was a no-brainer that he would take over when he finished his military service. He might be Taiwan born and bred, but his spirit is as international as they come!

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#fishmonger #English #brokenEnglish #welcoming #market #hospitality #friendly #local #traditionalmarket

"英文不輪轉"藏不住熱情賣魚哥招待外國客影片爆紅

2026-02-24

最近網路上一段台灣賣魚郎，和外國遊客的對話影片火紅。起因只是這位台南鴨母寮市場市場賣魚郎，熱情的招呼外國遊客，要請他喝杯飲料，沒想到賣魚郎的彆腳英文，跟他藏不住的熱情幽默，讓整段影片趣味橫生，也吸引不少網友點讚，直呼台灣人情味，真的不是蓋的！

影片裡忙著整理攤位的魚攤老闆，突然想要招待外國客人。

才剛聽完太座的即時教學，這位魚攤老闆馬上忘記，喝飲料該怎麼說。連要不要加糖都很難翻譯，接下來的自我介紹，更有創意。

[[百年魚攤第四代店東高楨傑]]
“全世界的人應該都知道生日，要是唱生日快樂歌就有蛋糕，所以我當下靈感突然就想到這樣喊。”

招牌的馬桶蓋髮型，也是從年輕到現在的標配，個性就是幽默風趣，就愛跟外國遊客搏感情。

[[百年魚攤第四代店東高楨傑]]
“我們年輕的時候人家不是都要抓頭髮，抓造型我們又不會，就算會抓要是戴安全帽，髮型就會癱掉，想到就乾脆留這個髮型，剪成這樣安全帽戴上拿下，還是這樣的造型都不用整理。”

[[百年魚攤老闆娘吳靜慧]]
“很愛說又很熱情，要是外國朋友來，他都會向人家打招呼，然後會請人家吃東西，是有比較local一點。”

[[飲料店老闆娘蘇貞希]]
“不管是美國人日本人都愛聊，都很愛聊，然後就亂講亂講，很崇拜他就是他很敢講。”

期時市場裡可是臥虎藏龍，斜對角還有外商企業退休的洪金寶。

[[市場攤商劉國棟]]
“菜市場裡我是洪金寶，他是豬哥亮，哈。”

魚攤從日治時期開始，就在當地經營，從祖輩經營至今，讓當初剛退伍的高楨傑，也理所當然的繼承家業。出身很LOCAL，心態可是INTERNATIONAL！

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Now there’s a noodle shop in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District that doesn’t need a single employee. From cooking to serving, a robot takes care of the entire order, whether it’s beef noodles or pork noodles. The owner said he got the idea because the labor shortage has made hiring difficult.

A robotic arm places down a bowl of piping hot noodles, ready for pickup.

The milky white pork broth looks like it’s been simmering for hours. Another bowl of beef noodles comes with big chunks of meat. Would you believe it was all made by a robot?

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Every bowl is prepared fresh. The flour is kneaded into dough, then cut into strips and immediately cooked into a bowl of hot noodles.

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Wang Chun-hua
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Because of the increasingly severe labor shortage, it’s getting harder and harder to hire staff, which impacts service quality. That’s what inspired us to develop this AI noodle-making system.

As hiring becomes more difficult, restaurants have to adapt to survive. Like this one, some are turning to robots. Automation might be all the rage right now, but traditional restaurants aren’t worried about losing business.

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Restaurant owner
Of course traditional shops have a human touch. You can interact with people and chat.

These chefs might not be worried, but others are. Now that robots can cook, there might be even fewer jobs available in the future.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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69-yo restaurant employee found dead in walk-in freezer

The owner of a well-known restaurant in Taipei’s Wenshan District was left in horror on Tuesday, when she opened up shop for the first time after the Lunar New Year break. While fetching ingredients from the walk-in freezer, she found the body of a 69-year-old employee inside. The police worked out that the employee had locked herself inside the freezer on Monday night. Because she was only found 12 hours later, she had long passed away from hypothermia.

Soon after lunchtime, the restaurant pulls down its security shutter.

Eyewitness
Wenshan District, Taipei
There was an ambulance and a fire truck. The police also entered the alleyways, probably to do a quick inspection. It seemed pretty serious.

Shopkeepers nearby are in chatters over what transpired. It’s only the second business day after the Lunar New Year break, but a great number of police officers and medics had gathered around the front and backdoor of the restaurant.

Eyewitness
Wenshan District, Taipei
An employee was found in the walk-in freezer, to which the door was locked and couldn’t be opened. They probably wanted to save her, but by then she’d already passed away. It was already too late.

The restaurant is located in Taipei’s Wenshan District, a well-known, 40-year-old establishment. According to the police, the woman trapped in the walk-in freezer was an employee.

Ma Sheng-chieh
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The large walk-in freezer is right by the kitchen at the restaurant’s backdoor. The owner was about to prep for the day, but couldn’t get the freezer’s door to open. She later broke in, and was shocked to find her employee’s body inside.

The employee was a 69-year-old woman surnamed Liu. She had been with the restaurant for more than 20 years. The restaurant was not open on Monday. At 11 p.m. that day, she told her family members that she was going out to meet friends, but actually headed to the restaurant alone. She then went into the walk-in freezer, which is set at -10°C and has enough room for three to four people. Once inside, she locked the door. Strangely, the door actually has an emergency lock-breaking mechanism that can be activated from the interior. The woman also had her phone with her, but she did not reach out for help in the 12 hours she was inside the freezer and there weren’t any traces that suggest she may have tried to escape. She died from hypothermia, and her body was found by the restaurant owner the very next day.

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She was exposed to a temperature of -10°C, so she wouldn’t have lasted more than four hours or perhaps not even two. One is prone to dehydration in freezing temperatures. You would lose consciousness quickly and wouldn’t be able to save yourself.

The police ruled out the possibility of murder. They also found that the deceased had large debts, and are determining whether she may have intentionally taken her own life.

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Commuters in Taipei were in for a fright on the first working day after the Lunar New Year break: someone called Taipei Metro and threatened to kill passengers in a specific train car between Nanjing Sanmin and Songshan Stations on the Green Line during the evening rush hour. Fortunately, the threat turned out to be a hoax, and the person who made it, a 35-year-old man from Kaohsiung, was subsequently arrested for threatening public safety. Turns out, the man, surnamed Cheng, had a history of making prank calls to public services. More chillingly, the threat was made as Taipei was still recovering from the attacks in December last year.

Fully armed Police officers are deployed to Songshan Station on the Taipei MRT. They charge ahead, sparing no time and effort to respond to a killing threat.

On the platform, officers are urging passengers not to enter. They remain on high alert, until they’re sure that the threat was entirely a hoax.

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I’m here to pick up my granddaughter. I had no idea. There were so many police officers, so I left. I’m worried about the kid. The Zhongshan Station attack is still very fresh.

Passengers were in for a fright with so many officers inside the MRT station. After investigating, the police determined the threat to be false. The prank caller was a 35-year-old man in Kaohsiung surnamed Cheng. He’d threatened to kill passengers on a train car between Nanjing Sanmin and Songshan stations.

Ma Sheng-chieh
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The man in question made the threat via an AI customer service on the MRT app. He also specified the train car where he’s supposedly carrying out his threat. It’s not the first time he’s tricked public services this way.

Just last month, he submitted a false report with the Taipei MRT in the same way. Back then, he claimed that there was a fire in a train car on the Brown Line. The police had summoned him for questioning afterwards, but he didn’t show up. In July last year, he also threatened attacks at the Kaohsiung High Speed Rail station.

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Memories of the Taipei attacks in December last year remain fresh and the public is still on high alert. So even though the killing did not take place, it still rattled commuters.

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At clock-in time, Little White automatically boots up and rolls away from its charging area to the first stop of the day.

- Hello Little White. Which floor is the press office on?

Just say “Hello Little White” and this little robotic employee will give its full attention. But aside from answers about city services, it doesn’t have too much to say.

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Even when asked some lighthearted questions, Little White is quite the conversationalist.

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Volunteers cover a stranded pygmy killer whale with towels and douse it with water to keep it wet as they try to soothe the stranded animal. It is weak after running ashore on the beach, but the saddest part is, it’s not alone.

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Local fishermen discovered the whales coming ashore and reported it.

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Efforts are underway to rescue the seven whales that are still alive, and we’ve cordoned off the area.

The area has been cordoned off in response to the mass stranding event. Coast guard officers and experts have rushed to the area to help. They conducted medical checks on the whales, and ensured that they stayed upright on the shore, to not injure their pectoral fins.

Pan Fang-chuan
Pingtung County Councilor (DPP)
When I was little, there would often be strandings, more than now. There were times when there were 20 or 30 whales. There aren’t as many nowadays.

A local councilor says strandings used to be more commonplace in the past. Pygmy killer whales are social animals, and it is thought that they were being given chase by a bigger predator. It’s also possible that the leader of the pack simply got lost, causing them to end up on the beach. So what should you do if you discover a shored cetacean?

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You should hold them upright, and keep them wet. Then, experts take their heart rate and breathing.

Wang Hao-wen
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If they are in good health, we try to release them on the spot. But if they are injured, we bring them in to a rescue site.

Everyone is helping out to return the beached whales back to their home in the sea.

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