A bowl of beef noodles

Three more hours and Father's Day in Taiwan will soon be over. Since my dad is away on a trip, what I can do is draw a beef of noodles as a way to say "Happy Father's Day" to my very own dad.

When it comes to materials, I am rather adventurous and fickle. My family is not one with many traditions. But we do have a very important one which has been there for decades, that is, expressing our love for each other with a bowl of beef noodles, only and specifically from the restaurant "Tao-yuan Street" near the Rebar Department Store. It is a taste that forms my lifelong memory. When I was a child, going to the beef noodle restaurant represented an array of sentiments. For example, we celebrated our birthdays there. And when driving by Taipei First Girls' High, my mom would repeat her expectations for me in the future. Or we ate beef noodles simply because we were in a good mood. This food stood not only for the need to please our tastebuds but also hopes, joy, and most of all, love.

The first time I went abroad, what obsessed me day and night after a month of eating hamburgers was beef noodles. Every time I talked to my parents on the phone, I would tell them how much I missed the unique yet satisfying taste that couldn't be found anywhere else in the world. Then, miracles happened, or to be more precise, we started a new family ritual. Whenever I come home from abroad, there would be a bowl of beef noodles waiting for me at home. A forty-minute drive from the airport to the taste that follows me wherever I go. Friends say I am the luckiest girl in the world. I think so too.

Even in a country like France, my weak stomach has got used to cold salads that differ much from the green veggies I eat at home. Yet I still think of beef noodles. At least I am not alone now. I've wanted to draw a bowl of beef noodles for you. It might not resemble in any way the taste you crave for day and night. It is a symbol of my affection for you.

Je suis heureuse que tu sois tombé amoureux des nouilles de boeuf car tu sais combien cette nourriture est important pour moi. Bien que l'on puisse s'aimer en étant très différents, il y a du plaisir ultime en pensant aux nouilles de boeuf avec le même sentiment. Lorsqu'elles nous manquent, on peut se réconforter. La nostalgie ne serait pas aussi aigre lorsque l'on a un compagnon. Si je pouvais rester en rêvant avec toi le goût de nouilles, je préférais plus que tout ce choix. Dès maintenant, lorsque j'en mange, je penserai à toi, comme si tu pouvais ressentir la sensation de moi. Je n'en mangerai pas seulement pour moi-même. Je crois que tu comprends.

En aimant les nouilles de boeuf, félicitations, tu fais officiellement partie de ma famille. On n'a pas grands mots d'amour entre nous mais un bol de nouilles de boeuf nous réchauffe et comble le faim mieux que tous les plats exquis. Je ne te donnerais pas les fleurs ou le chocolat lors de jours de Saint Valentin. C'est trop banal pour moi. Je t'enverrai un bol de nouilles de boeuf et tu sauras combien je t'aime. Ou voire les jours où tu crois ne pas pouvoir t'avancer, j'ai toujours des nouilles de boeuf pour toi.

Now I've found someone who loves the beef noodles as much as I do. They become a strong link between us. Beauty and youth abandons us when they find better candidates, but love and food can last for a whole life, if we are lucky enough. And why not believe that you or I can be so lucky?

Two bowls of beef noodles for two special occasions this week...