Pilgrims and tourists visiting the Daija Lann temple in Taichung, dedicated to the sea godess Mazu, often frequent nearby Yu-Jan-Shin stores to buy their celebrated pineapple cakes, moon cakes, and wedding cakes. Their shortbread pastries are baked at the Yu-Jan-Shin Foods factory in the area, and filled with various fruits, beans, taro or pounded sticky rice.
Yu-Jan-Shin Foods is a family owned company run by Mr. Yu-Hsien Chen. The company was established in 1966 by Mr. Chen’s father, who started out baking and selling biscuits at the market adjacent to the Daija Jenn Lann temple. Today, the company employs around 270 people, including Mr. Chen’s brother and their respective children. Yu-Jin-Shin Foods also owns a smaller factory nearby, as well as two stores in Taipei and nine sales points located in some of Taiwan’s most exclusice departments stores.
“The story of the sea godess is very important to me and my business. It deals with courage and kindness and the importance of giving back to society. I only want to offer my customers the best products. I make cakes with quality in mind in every step of the way – from the choice of suppliers and the ingredients – to the production setup. Revent ovens were the obvious choice because they are extremely reliable and the results are consistently exellent. Plus, the service company is located nearby if I ever need any help or service.”