A Story of Traditional Family Flavor Bringing Chiayi into the Limelight Chiayi is a place filled with rich history, deep-rooted traditions, and vibrant people. Chiayi’s distinctive identity comes from its proud cultural heritage, warm hospitality, relaxed pace of life, and long-established traditional industries, especially food. Chiayi has many stories to be told, one of the most inspirational stories being that of the Lin family and their rise to prominence as a culinary representation of Chiayi over the last three generations. Their restaurant, which began in 1953, has been so successful that eating at Lin Congming Fish Head Stew, or Smart Fish, has become synonymous with visiting Chiayi. Their reputation, however, was built on a story of humble beginnings, hometown flavor, and decades of local patronage by the residents of Chiayi, to whom they still remain committed. Led by Grace Lin, the third generation to continue her family’s culinary legacy, Smart Fish is continually marching into the future while remaining true to its origins. Grace is said to embody the spirit of her grandmother, from cheerfully introducing the stories of their family and making everyone feel at home, to ensuring that the stew is not only made following the family recipe with the best ingredients, but also with the love and care found in a home kitchen. Grace’s story, however, is not only that of the history of her family’s restaurant, but also how she maneuvers their traditions and values into the modern era while not losing touch with their roots. In 2019, for example, Smart Fish was chosen as a representative of Taiwan in the Netflix series Street Food, which has brought on new challenges and opportunities in Grace’s story. As Chiayi moves into the international eye, anyone who meets Grace will quickly see why the city could not be more fortunate than to be represented by her. In addition to being incredibly hard-working, thoughtful, and creative, Grace is passionate about protecting the special traditions of Chiayi by using Smart Fish as a means for this preservation. She also hopes to use Smart Fish as a conduit to introduce and encourage visitors to enjoy all that Chiayi has to offer, which is evident when looking at the self-made Chiayi tour maps on the walls of her restaurant. Grace’s story is more than an account of her family history and how Smart Fish got to where it is today. It’s one of enthusiasm, ingenuity, and an intense drive to show Chiayi to the world. Using her signature fish head stew as the bridge, Grace hopes that her family’s story and recipe will allow her an opportunity to let everyone know the city she loves dearly, Chiayi. Reed Giovannetti(Toah Tours創辦人)