Chang Yu-Jeng

Chang Yu-Jeng

Since I stepped into Howgi Tan-a-Mi, I found the genuine Taiwanese flavor is tastefully light instead of heavy. A little salted and sweet, the delicious noodle soup tempts people to have another bowl. Howgi owner's human touch makes customers feel like eating their mothers' noodles at home, and it deeply touches customers' heart. Most important of all, the owner and staffs of Howgi treat customers like their old friends. At Howgi, there's no complaint. You can only see customers smiling and taking pictures to memorize the dining experience. That's why Howgi succeeds in attracting customers by Taiwanese flavor and Taiwanese friendliness.
Wang Rung-Chi

Wang Rung-Chi

When I first came to Howgi Tan-a-Mi, I felt as if I had gone back to early Taiwan. I was impressed with the traditional interior design of Howgi. Howgi also gives away many kinds of souvenirs, like Howgi Ocean Dru, Howgi Delicacy Pokers, Howgi Slang Calendar etc. These are very useful souvenirs and remind adults of their own childhood memories. Howgi Tan-a-Mi has an unforgettable taste. The broth is stewed with pork ribs and shrimps for a long time without any MSG and the natural flavor of Tan-a-Mi is brought out completely.
Huang Hsiao-Wei

Huang Hsiao-Wei

The most impressive experience is that we interviewed customers with questionnaires several times to know why Howgi Tan-a-Mi is attractive to them. Although we were exhausted, we have learned some valuable experience that can't be learned at school. I was very nervous when I first interviewed customers. If the customers didn't want to take our survey, I still had to thank then friendly. However, I have realized the meaning of the old saying, “easier said than done” through interviewing all kinds of customers. Besides delicious food, friendliness is also a major element that makes Howgi so popular. The owner strived to create a restaurant full of traditional sense through its decoration, dishes, tables, chairs, music and even the washrooms. I think that's the reason why the owner succeeded.
Wang Ting-Ruei

Wang Ting-Ruei

I dined at Howgi Tan-a-Mi for the first time when I was eight. I was surprised the owner decorated the restaurant with so much traditional elements, such as antique tables and chairs as well as its interior design. Early Taiwanese atmosphere is floating everywhere in Howgi. The smell of Tan-a-Mi is good, and its soup stewed with pork ribs and shrimps without MSG is very delicious. Customers are always tempted to have another bowl. Of all dishes at Howgi, I like tofu most, because it is juicy and tasteful. Eating tofu and drinking soda at Howgi is my favorite combination. I think that Howgi is indeed worth introducing to people as a Taiwanese Tan-a-Mi restaurant.
Tsai Ji-Wei

Tsai Ji-Wei

Before joining this research project, the name of Howgi Tan-a-Mi was strange to me. Now the name is famous abroad and become a symbol of Taiwanese food and Taiwanese culture. Each dish of Howgi represents Taiwanese flavor and the owner's sincerity. Although I never get to taste the real Tainan Dou-siao-yue Tan-a-Mi(the first Tan-a-Mi stall), I think Howgi Tan-a-Mi is the best I have ever tasted. If I have a chance to introduce traditional Taiwanese food to foreigners, Howgi Tan-a-Mi would definitely be my first choice. We asked the owner about his management, and he said, in the beginning, Howgi was just a small stall, and later more and more customers are attracted to Howgi because of their ideas of managing the restaurant: age-old flavor, Taiwanese flavor, and friendliness. Now many foreigners come to Howgi, and we ask them about opinions of Howgi to help our research and witness the success of Howgi together.
Chang Yung-Wen

Chang Yung-Wen

From 2005 June to 2006 February, we had been doing a project research titled Taiwanese Flavor, Taiwanese Friendliness for seven months to know the reasons why Howgi Tan-a-Mi is so popular that it can sell 2,000 bowls a day and how the owner expresses Taiwanese culture to customers through food. I observe the Howgi staffs' efforts preserve Taiwanese tradition. Howgi staffs are also friendlier than that of other restaurants. They treat customers as friends, and this is the reason why customers keep coming over and over again.
The reason I like Howgi is not only the delicious noodles, but also the traditional decoration, great dishes and sentimental visual effects of its interior designs. All these have impressed and inspired me a lot.
Liao Wei- Shiun

Liao Wei- Shiun

I was lucky to able to come to Howgi for the first time because of this research project. I came to Howgi with my team members and Miss Huang. When I walked into Howgi, I was profoundly attracted to its traditional interior decoration, from its antique tables and chairs to early Taiwanese artifacts. I could feel a strong sense of Taiwanese tradition immediately. When I heard that Howgi sells out 2,000 bowls of Tan-a-Mi per day, I wanted to taste it right away! The manager introduced us the process of making a bowl of Tan-a-Mi and the origin of Tan-a-Mi. We saw two old images of Tan-a-Mi hung on the wall, which touched me very much. Later, we did a survey on Howgi's customers and found that almost everyone liked Howgi for its extremely delicious dishes and its creative traditional interior designs.
Liao Yo- Shiuan

Liao Yo-Shiuan(Left) and Bai Bing-Bing(Middle)

Where can we find a place with Taiwanese flavor, Taiwanese friendliness, age-old flavor and delicacies from land and sea? The answer is Howgi Tan-a-Mi. The owner of Howgi carefully fills his restaurant, which serves genuine Taiwanese cuisines, with early Taiwanese atmosphere. We were all stunned by the interior design of the restaurant and the toilet leaves us a fantastic impression. Workers of Howgi are very friendly. The nickname of the owner's brother-in-law is Uncle Dong Gwa, and the name is friendly, too. Impeccable service is another advantageous feature of Howgi.
When we interviewed madam Bai Bing Bing, she told us an interesting fact about Howgi: Howgi is a typical family business. For example, the owner's brother-in-law also works here. This is a quite unique feature of restaurant business, because this may not be common outside Taiwan.

Background Music: Yellow-bellied Prinia, Yang Hsiao-Ping, Our Songs, Taiwanese Songs, Golden Penguin Records

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