I look forward to bringing educational and fun experiences in Asia to my granddaughter Mila, who lives in Oklahoma, USA. She can learn about the world vicariously through all my adventures. I got a flat stuffed toy to join me. She is reversible. One side is a little girl, with angel wings and the other is a ladybug. I call her LadyB. I sent the same toy to Mila, which she can name as she sees fit. My Chinese name is Gonggong (公公), which means grandfather in Chinese.

I want to also share my China life with other youngsters and adults, so enjoy the stories. Hopefully you can show them around.

I posted the first 15 on Facebook and got many complaints from fans who hate it, don’t use it or got banned, of which there are more than you realize. Not just them, but Facebook – not to mention Instagram, Reddit, Quora, SoundCloud, StumbleUpon/Mix, Substack, TikTok, X and YouTube – all heavily shadow ban/block me, as you can see below. Therefore, I decided to start posting them on China Rising Radio Sinoland, where I have the artistic freedom that you deserve to fully enjoy. Catching up with #13 here.

Typical Facebook censorship. All three of their explanations are utter BS. It’s there, but you have to dig to get to it.

ADVENTURES IN ASIA WITH LADYB AND GONGGONG
Story #14: Taiwanese are N-U-T-S about hotpot!
Puli Town, Nantou County, Taiwan Province, China.

Dear Granddaughter Mila,

I thought Mainland Chinese liked hot pot, but Taiwanese have a love affair with this style of cooking. Hotpot restaurants are very popular, from low budget to more fancy venues.

Our Taiwanese friends invited us to one of the better ones in Puli. We’ve seen some good places over the years across China, Thailand and elsewhere, but we have never seen one with rows and trays of self-service ingredients, various meats, vegetables, fruits, tofus, mushrooms, other dishes, beverage bar and desserts! It was mind boggling to see it all. Also, each guest gets their own private hot pot, embedded in rectangular tables, not the big communal one in the middle of a round one. They even have a cheese broth, but we settled on good old-fashioned chicken, and going to the extensive condiment bar, also the biggest we’ve ever seen, to load up on hot peppers and soy sauce.

One dish caught our eye. They had a farmer’s corn chowder soup with a lovely puff pastry cover that was as good as any in France. Impressive and YUMMY! Or should I say “bon appetit”!

How much did this sumptuous, all-you-can-eat buffet with beverages cost? Less than €/$15.00. That’s value for money. What a memorable meal. We will definitely be going back!

Love, Grandfather Gonggong