【Article by Office of International Cooperation】

On November 22, 2025, National Chengchi University’s (NCCU) Office of International Cooperation (OIC) hosted its first Taiwanese “Ban-Doh” (辦桌)banquet for 200 exchange students from around the world. There were 19 tables at the banquet and the meal was provided by the famous “Tofu Master Banquets.” The event began with a dish of white-cut poached chicken (白斬雞), followed by Deluxe “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” (佛跳牆), a soup with abalone, sea cucumber, and scallops, and ten additional classic Taiwanese foods, leading all the students to exclaim, “Taiwanese flavors are so delicious!”

In attendance from NCCU were President Tsai-Yen Li,  Vice President for Academic Affairs Chi-Ping Lin, Vice President for Student Affairs Yen-Lung Tsai, and Vice President for International Cooperation Yi-Ning Chen. To promote international exchange collaborations with NCCU, leadership from additional schools attended the banquet including: The Affiliated Experimental Elementary School of NCCU’s Principal Chin-Chuang Chen, Affiliated Elementary School Director of Educational Affairs Division I-Ling Tai, The Affiliated High School of NCCU’s Director of Educational Affairs Division Hui-Chiu Chen, and Li Sing Elementary School’s Director Yuan-Xi Luo.

At the banquet, President Li delivered a few words, emphasizing his hope that through this banquet event, international exchange students from around the world would warmly experience Taiwan’s tradition of gathering around the table. President Li expressed his hope that the foods shared today would forge bonds and that the students would consider NCCU “to be their second home.” Finally, President Li raised a toast on the stage, leading everyone in a “Cheers!” to officially begin the feast. 

The event’s display of traditional Taiwanese culture did not stop at food, the venue itself was adorned in the signature hues of the Taiwanese Ka-tsì bag. Commonly referred to as a “Grandma’s Bag,” the Ka-tsì bag has three colors: warm red, vibrant green, and clear sky blue. Red round tables were arranged with red plastic chairs, authentically completing the retro-chic aesthetic.  

Presented on a large screen was a series of bilingual Chinese and English short videos introducing signature points of Taiwanese banquets, and displaying images of exchange student life in Taiwan, NCCU’s English teaching program, and international student career advice. The videos encouraged exchange students to consider returning to NCCU to pursue further studies, or even return to Taiwan to find a job, and start a life here.  

In accordance with Taiwanese banquet tradition, President Li, in his role as host, went to each table one-by-one to raise a toast and serve tea. For many students, this was their first experience with a ceremony of sitting around a round table sharing a communal meal. At every table, a Taiwanese student fluent in both Chinese and English assumed the role as the table’s host, introducing every dish’s ingredients and the blessings they symbolized.  

NCCU specially invited “Tofu Master Banquests” to cater the event. Tofu Master Banquets employed great efforts to complete the event. Starting from the day before, Tofu Master Banquets erected an outdoor cooking area, and on the day of the event, Tofu Master Banquets began their work before dawn. At around 4:00 AM in the morning, Tofu Master Banquets was preparing ingredients and cooking the food for the grand meal. 

At the end of the meal, Tofu Master Banquets’s Executive Director Jia-Yu Huang approached the stage, welcomed by ardent applause. Executive Director Huang warmly invited the students to tour the outdoor kitchen space to experience the special charm of Taiwanese banquet catering. Finally, in the lively atmosphere Executive Director Huang exclaimed in Taiwanese Hokkien “Banquet!” and the students replied in a loud cheer using Taiwanese Hokkein, “So yummy!” 

In an interview, Russian student Valeriia said, “I really like understanding different cultures. I’m so happy that today’s banquet helped me immerse myself in Taiwanese culture.” Valeriia shared that her favorite dish was steamed glutinous rice with dried sakura shrimp and the white-cut poached chicken. German student Sara shared with us, “The group banquet’s atmosphere left a deep impression on me. Everyone sat together eating and talking, eagerly sharing their own local cultures and stories.” One Taiwanese student table host Yu-Zhen Wu shared, “International students have few opportunities to attend events such as Taiwanese banquets, so having the banquet on campus makes it very convenient to attend.”

The OIC reports that students from at least 26 nationalities and Mainland China attended this event. Almost every table finished their meals, and some students were able to take left-overs home. The OIC was deeply thankful that the students came to support the event, and developed an affection for Taiwanese flavors. The OIC was happy that the students experienced NCCU’s warm welcome and expressed its hopes to see them again in the future.
[Translator: Chelsea Anglin]