New LNY Experience
Breathe New Life Into
Multicultural Cooking
1111 Union St
Feb 7th & Feb 15th
2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
New LNY Experience
Breathe New Life Into
Multicultural Cooking
“[It] was a magic potion, even if the cans held only browned meat (thịt chà bông): a kilo of roasted pork shredded fibre by fibre, dried all night over the embers, salted, then salted again with nước mắm obtained after two days of waiting in line, two days of hope and despair.”
— excerpt from Ru by Kim Thuy
Every fusion cuisine carries a story — of life, migration, and even national history. Contemporary Canada is a vibrant laboratory for fusion cuisine, and Taiwan is no different. The movement of people and cultures, both local and immigrant, continues to create new flavours and new stories.
We invite cross-cultural culinary practitioner Josie Chang, who bridges Vietnamese and Taiwanese cultures through food, to guide participants through an exciting culinary experiment.
This workshop is divided into two parts. Participants will “read” food — exploring fish sauce, considered a soul-stirring seasoning in Vietnamese cuisine, and tracing its “relatives” across the globe. These variations in different cultures that resonate with one another, reveal how culinary traditions travel and merge across Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and even unexpected places.
The second part is “a collision of flavours.” Bring along your own favourite sauce, and join Josie Chang, owner of Taiwan’s Vietnamese restaurant 小夏天 petit été, to taste the diverse layers of fish sauce and create your own personalised dipping sauce.
In this workshop, you will be able to experience the following:
- Learn about fish sauce through literary works and Josie Chang’s cultural explorations
- Taste fish sauce from different countries and traditions
- Create your own signature fish sauce dipping sauce
- Enjoy and take home Josie Chang’s exclusive recipes, including:
- Specially crafted fish sauce
- Taiwanese-Vietnamese style hot pot
- Salt and pepper chicken herb salad
petit été - Josie Chang
Josie Chang is a cross-cultural practitioner who uses food as a medium to connect people and cultures. Through years of hands-on culinary experience, she has turned everyday ingredients into a doorway for understanding others and exploring the world.
Her relationship with fish sauce began during her student years, cooking alongside Vietnamese international students in a shared apartment kitchen. In that space, Vietnamese fish sauce met Taiwanese soy sauce, and she discovered an important truth: understanding a flavour often comes from understanding its culture. What some call a “strong smell” can transform into a deep, layered taste when approached with knowledge and care.
To truly understand Vietnamese cuisine, Josie travelled extensively through Vietnam — even before it became a common destination for Taiwanese travellers — learning directly from local families and professional chefs. Since then, she has continued to observe how fish sauce and Vietnamese dishes adapt and transform across different countries and cultures, building a rich, cross-regional perspective on culinary traditions.
These experiences culminated in the founding of her Vietnamese restaurant in Taichung, petit été, now approaching its 15th year. The restaurant is more than a dining space; it is a platform for experimentation and cultural dialogue. Over the years, Josie has collaborated with scholars, advocacy groups, and community organizations, leading festivals, cultural walks, culinary events, cooking classes, and talks that help participants “read culture through food, and rediscover food through culture.”
For Josie, fish sauce embodies the spirit of cultural fusion — you in me, me in you; when elements truly understand one another, conflict can transform into harmony and depth of flavour.
Sponsors & Partners
About LunarFest
An annual celebration of the Lunar New Year through arts and storytelling. We invite the diverse communities of Canada to join us in creating new traditions to welcome a new year, together!
LunarFest Vancouver is grateful to be held on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam Indian Band), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish Nation), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). We acknowledge our privilege to be gathered on this land, and commit to work with and be respectful to the Indigenous peoples whose cultures and stories inspire us to bring communities together.