There is a class of restaurants in Taiwan where the owner tries to impose his/her own philosophies, ideologies, world views, and personality on the diners who visit his/her restaurant. The owner is usually charismatic, often spewing out his or her own personal words of wisdom (sometimes personal words of culinary wisdom) to anyone that enters the restaurant. If the owner is often absent from the restaurant, her (or his) words of wisdom will most likely be plastered all over the walls, tables, dining utensils, or any other object in the restaurant that words can fit on.

“Tumu” Puli restaurant happens to belong in this class of restaurants. It serves traditional Taiwanese cuisine that hails from Puli township, which happens to be the landlocked geographic center of Taiwan. I’ve been to this restaurant several times over the years, and I quite enjoy the food that it serves…but I usually ignore the…