Well, it’s two weeks after the dinner and coming up on a month after the day itself, but a Robbie Burns night in Taiwan, complete with haggis and deep-fried eggs, does need to be reported, even if it’s after the fact.
It may only be the second time they’ve held the event, but it went off fairly well. The poems were read, the history given, the haggis paraded, and the music played. There were no bagpipes this year – they had a piper, but the closest the pipes got was Taipei, unfortunately. However, this did not put too much of a damper on the evening.
Food: we had an appetizer of deep fried eggs with brown sauce. Egg wrapped in meat and then deep fried – sounds Scottish to me! The brown sauce is classic – they tried a fancy one and it was OK last year, so they went with the original this year. Perfect match.
After the ceremony of parading the haggis about, the food was serves. The tatties and haggis were there, but no neeps (turnips, if you remember from Scotland). Yams were served instead. The haggis was good. Peppery and with onions, it was different than what I had had in Scotland. I think I prefer the highland version given the choice, but for haggis in Taiwan, it was terrific.
Not many stayed around for the singing of Auld Lang Syne at midnight (we didn’t), but the evening was fun and full of good food and was considered a success by everyone there, as far as I’m concerned.
A Taste of the World 