“My apron is my costume.” - Kada Mushrooms
Hualien Markets - Exclusive Interview with Kada Mushrooms
#ChongqingMarket
#BeOptimistic
#TheMostBeautifulCorneroftheMarket
August 26th, 2020
Text/ LI Shan
Translation/ LIU Yi-Chun
Photography/ LEE Te-Mao
People called her Mushroom because she sell mushrooms. Fifteen years ago, when she left her previous job as a full-time assistant, she visited almost every mushroom farms in Taiwan and realized this was what she wanted to do for living. She decided to start the mushroom business since there wasn’t a stall for mushrooms in the market.
More than twenty kinds of mushrooms, prepare yourself to get surprised
Speaking of the Japanese name “Kada,” in fact it has nothing to do with Japan. The owner, Mushroom, is simply fond of the word itself. Mushroom works at the Chongqing Market in the morning and at the Jian Market in the afternoon to sell fresh mushrooms. She will go to various places in Taiwan to find mushrooms with better quality, and she will visit their farms once a year. Now, she accumulates a wealth of knowledge about mushrooms. For example, some people think that the older the Lingzhi is the better, and the Lingzhi in the mountain is the best. However, the farm owner told her that the Lingzhi will be lignified if it is overripe. The Lingzhi that is 80% ripe will contain the most nutritional value. Mushroom likes to select new products with good quality. The customers will always be surprised when visiting her stall. They may find up to twenty kinds of mushrooms, some mushrooms are rarely seen such as wine glass mushrooms, chicken leg mushrooms, Brazilian mushrooms and fluffy monkey head mushrooms. She also sells vegetables sometimes. When visiting Kada Mushrooms, it is like walking into the Grand Garden of the market. It makes people look forward to being surprised.
She managed through the first half of the year with her creative ideas
From completely unfamiliar with this field to be able to talk about it with confidence, it took Mushroom a lot of time to explore about mushrooms. When she first started the business at the market, she chose a location where people said she couldn’t make it through the first half of year. But she successfully managed through it and is still running the business now. Mushroom said the key is to be attentive and creative. For example, she likes to create name for her products. She once sold a combination of several popular ingredients for making hot pot in winter, and named it “Winter Sonata.” It turned out to be a huge success! Another time she came up with a different combination called “Colorful Life,” which combines cauliflowers of different colors, purple, yellow, white and green, because the colors of the cauliflowers are as bright as life. Mushroom has a warm personality that reflects on her way of treating customers. Her endless creativity brings joy and happiness to the customers and makes them closer to each other.
She never compromises with the quality and is glad to make friends at the market
Mushroom is always seeking new things and challenges. However, making friends at the market is what gives her sense of accomplishment. Some of her customers visit the market often just because they want to catch up with her. They always light up her day. If she hasn’t seen some elder customers for a long time, she will be worried. When they meet again, Mushroom will greet them enthusiastically as if they are her family. If the customers don’t know how to handle certain kind of mushrooms, she will patiently teach them the best recipe to encourage them to try new ingredients. Mushroom was deeply influenced by her father. She never compromises with the quality of her products and she always does her best. With the spirit of craftsmanship, she ensures the customers can buy the mushrooms with high quality. She will inspect the farms to confirm the environment is non-toxic and safe before purchasing their mushrooms for sell. This is how she gained trust from the customers.
She treats other vendors as friends instead of enemies, and they share food all the time
Chongqing Market is different from other markets. It is neat and clean and divided by different aisles. The location of Kada Mushrooms is nearby some stalls of native aboriginal food which are popular among visitors. Since Kada Mushroom always sells special mushrooms, many customers like to take photo of her stall and ask her for contact information to place order in the future. Mushroom treats other vendors as her friends not enemies, so if her customer can’t find the vegetables they want from her stall, she will recommend them to buy from other stalls. In addition, the vendors enjoy sharing food with each other all the time. Mushroom said she gained weight after working at the market.
Wanna try something special? Chongqing Market and Kada Mushrooms will not disappoint you
Mushroom said the customers can find everything at the Chongqing Market, especially something rare and interesting. In her opinion, food connects people with the local culture and the market reveals the local people’s way of living. The market also shows how the vendors live their lives. Kada Mushroom is the most beautiful corner of the market. She hopes the customers can experience her way of living while chatting with her and enjoy visiting her stall.
