Expensive artisan menu board for tofu pudding shop raises questions

Expensive artisan menu board for tofu pudding shop raises questions

2026-07-21

While preparing to open a shop in Tainan, an entrepreneur approached an artisan to carve the menu out of wood in the traditional inlay style unique to the old capital. For a shop selling inexpensive tofu pudding and grass jelly, spending over NT$100,000 on the menu board seems to be an odd contrast, although somehow fitting for the over-the-top city.

Carving tool in hand, an artisan focuses intently on chiseling floral patterns to fulfill her commission. This is no ordinary carving, but a special kind of wood inlay craft unique to Tainan. An entrepreneur hired a specialist to create this menu board for his future tofu pudding shop.

Wang Yu-chien
Woodcarver
We usually just print it like normal. Using a craft special to Tainan for the menu will make this place unique.

Items on the menu include tofu pudding and grass jelly, all for only NT$30, yet the custom board alone will easily run into the hundreds of thousands. Only someone from Tainan could be crazy enough to wrap something so ordinary in pure luxury.

Liu Chin-wen
Woodcarver
I was surprised. You’re selling tofu pudding for NT$30, but this board will be over NT$100,000. Do you really want to do it? But he figured that reflecting the history was more important.

The order came by introduction from a friend of Liu Chin-wen who works in the food industry. The entrepreneur opened a well-known restaurant in Tainan that has received Bib Gourmand recognition for many years. Now, he’s preparing to open a tofu pudding shop. As the location happens to be next to the birthplace of this carving style, he decided to integrate it into the design.

Chou Jung-tang
Restaurateur
The innovative part is carving my photograph directly into the menu board in the special Tainan style. We hope to be able to hand it down through the generations.

It’s not cheap to make a menu board this exquisite, which has left people wondering: If prices go up, will they have to remake the sign? Chou said the specially crafted board isn’t just to drive business—more importantly, he hopes it will hang proudly over the old street as a part of Tainan’s rich history.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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#Tainan #tofupudding #craftsmanship #culturalheritage #woodcarving #artisan

台南豆花店打造"天價木雕價目表" 十多萬元工藝品驚豔民眾

2026-07-21

台南有位老闆要開店，請來木雕大師，用府城特有的傳統工藝”茄苳入石柳"，製作價目表。這塊價目表，要價至少十幾萬，對比店裡銅板售價的手工豆花、青草茶，價目表超華麗的打造價格，讓民眾驚呼，果然台南人就是狂。

雕刻師拿起磨刀，一刀一鑿專注雕花趕工，這可不是普通工藝，而是歷史悠久的傳統木雕工法”茄苳入石柳"。台南有餐飲業者，打算新開豆花店，竟想到來向木雕師訂製，茄苳入石柳的價目表。

[[雕刻師王郁茜]]
“一般通常都是我們直接用印刷的，台南的一個特色工藝，跟價目表去結合在一起，會跟其他地方不太一樣”

看看價目表上，豆花、青草茶等品項，一杯才定價30元，但費工特製的價目表，光是製作費，可就要價10幾萬。用華麗包裹尋常，讓民眾驚呼，果然只有台南人這麼狂。

[[木雕大師劉進文]]
“很訝異，你一碗豆花賣30塊，這塊(招牌)坦白說十幾萬耶，真的要做這塊嗎，(但)他覺得歷史的見證比較重要”

原來這筆訂單，源自劉進文做餐飲朋友的一場邀約。業者在台南開設知名的台菜餐廳，連續多年榮獲米其林必比登推介，近期準備開賣豆花，地點恰好就在”茄苳入石柳"的發源地，索性就把傳統工藝，融入店鋪設計。

[[餐廳業者周榮棠]]
“(創新在)有把我的相片，刻進”茄苳入石柳"這塊價目表招牌裡，最主要是我們希望，可以讓這塊招牌流傳好幾代”

華麗價目表製作費不便宜，民眾也好奇之後豆花漲價要重新製作嗎？業者說，特殊工藝的招牌，不只為了做生意，更是要把屬於府城的時代記憶，牢牢高掛在，這條老街上。

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As the AI wave is here to stay, science education is taking root at a younger age. National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University is hosting a semiconductor summer camp, which this year welcomed students from Ukraine who communicated with the participants entirely in English. The curriculum also incorporates interactive devices designed in Taiwan, transforming difficult chipmaking principles into interactive activities that students can actually touch and play around with.

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Taiwan is incorporating semiconductors into the curriculum ahead of schedule, giving students the chance to enter the industry on more solid footing.

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Mr. Chung
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