By Laura Rancie.
As The Australian Good Food Guide celebrates Asian Week, I sat down with my good friend Sam Hayden-Smith to learn all about his experiences as an Australian living in both Chinese and Australian cultures, his acting career and his love for Asian cuisine.
Welcome to The Australian Good Food Guide. Now, you and I have known each other for quite a few years, but introduce yourself to AGFG readers…
My name is Sam Hayden-Smith, I am a bilingual actor, business owner, brand ambassador, husband and father of four. I have lived in the USA, Taiwan, Japan and China and travelled extensively throughout Asia.
My first trip to Asia was when I was four years old. My Dad worked in the garment industry and had business partners in Singapore and Hong Kong. Even though I was only young, I still remember the muggy air in Singapore, the red lanterns, street signs and dinner on a boat on the harbour in Hong Kong. I moved to Taiwan when I was 20.
When you returned as an adult, do you remember your initial thoughts those first few days and weeks?
What took the most getting used to in the first few weeks was traffic: scooters EVERYWHERE, cars, buses and trucks, yet it worked. It’s not like when you go to Southeast Asian countries and it is just gridlocked. In Taiwan, it flows. It is organised chaos.
And the SMELLS – you can walk a hundred metres and smell the fragrant aroma of tea leaves drying in the sun, then be hit by the smell of an open sewer, then saved by aromatic sandalwood incense burning at the shrine and then made hungry by the most fragrant fried street food you’ve ever smelled…all in the space of 30 seconds.
Later in life, 2009 to be specific, I was an out-of-work actor living in Sydney with two young children in a global financial crisis. Fun times. But I always had Chinese friends and found myself in situations where good fortune would find me and I was presented with an opportunity to move to China and start a business so I jumped at it.
Using my acting skills, I sold the idea to my wife and she agreed to go for a couple of years, max. So in 2009, I moved to a little city (only 4 million people) in China called Xiamen with my wife and our two kids aged four and two. It was an exciting time in China; the economy was exploding
You talked about the intense smells of street food in Taiwan. Describe the food scene.
I am pretty adventurous so I would try everything. There is this thing called 'stink tofu'. The first time I smelled that indescribable stench from a street vendor on the streets of Taichung I said to my friend, ‘what on earth is that smell?’ He responded, ‘It smells bad, but it actually tastes very delicious’. It is not, trust me!
(Sidenote - they ALL say that as if there was a class in school that taught you how to respond to foreigners if they ever ask you about stink tofu).
(Sidenote - they ALL say that as if there was a class in school that taught you how to respond to foreigners if they ever ask you about stink tofu).
I kept trying things and came to LOVE Taiwanese food. My absolute favourite is beef noodle soup. The bone broth is made with a combination of spices – star anise, cinnamon, fennel, cumin, tomato, ginger and pepper; it’s a fusion that creates a taste like nothing you have experienced before. The beef shank is so soft it melts in your mouth.
How are China and Taiwan different?
Taiwan has had much more American influence over the past 70 years than China. After World War II China was cut off from the West and has really only opened up in the last 20 or so years so.
So, even though my 20-year-old self thought there was a culture shock when I arrived in Taiwan, I only realised when I moved to China (some 10 years later) that Taiwan is actually pretty Westernised…in comparison. Despite the Western influence, food culture and tradition are very strong in Taiwan and it’s famous for its food.
China is something else. China is so huge. What even is 'Chinese food’…? I will tell you what it’s not, not honey chicken, sweet and sour pork or combination chow mein. These are Westernised, bastardised versions of Cantonese dishes, as Canton (now we say Guangzhou) was the biggest port and where most of the overseas Chinese came from until China opened up in the early 2000s.
Real Chinese food is different in every province across China but can be categorised into eight culinary cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang. There is a saying which translates to ‘you can travel all over China, but you’ll never be able to taste all the food’.
What’s the food scene like in both?
The food scene is INCREDIBLE in both places because they are all about food. In Australia, we may grab a quick lunch at the servo but still call ourselves foodies. Chinese people are ALL foodies; they LOVE food, they CELEBRATE food, it is an ART, it is their CULTURE and part of their identity.
Different foods are eaten at different Chinese holidays and festivals throughout the year. They often make the food together, for example, the dumplings at Chinese New Year, as a family, and then they eat together which brings families closer. When Chinese people travel within China, they don’t go to see the sights; they go to EAT the local food and if they have time might visit some sights!!
In Taiwan, it is the same. Taiwan is famous for its 'little eats' which are basically street food. In Taiwan, there are street vendors and night markets where people go to eat themselves silly.
When you finally returned to Australia what foods did you miss?
Where do I start? In Taiwan, they have amazing breakfasts, just on the street and it’s CHEAP. Things like a steamed bun with a fried egg in it and this brown sauce I don’t even know the name of. Also, a thin crepe with an egg on it rolled up. Delicious. Or even just a good congee with those long fried bread sticks. It was depressing coming back to Weet-Bix.
And the FRUIT, oh my gosh have you ever seen Taiwan mangos? They are HUGE and the seed is super thin. Lychees. Watermelon. Pineapple. Papaya. All the fruit tastes WAY better in Taiwan. And in the Summer you can go get a bing, which is shaved ice loaded with fresh fruit and then condensed milk on top. NOTHING on this planet beats a mango bing on a hot day in Taiwan.
When I lived in Sydney I had decent access to ‘real’ Chinese food in the city in Chinatown, or Chatswood, or Ashfield but now I live on the Gold Coast I really struggle to find authentic Chinese. I have finally found a local Taiwanese place that is legit.
I also missed the WAY Chinese people eat: at a round table so everyone is facing each other and everyone can talk. I love that the food is on so many plates and shared by everyone. Fun fact, I recently bought a round dining room table!!
What’s the strangest thing you have ever eaten?
I wouldn’t say I have eaten anything ‘strange’ in China. The strangest thing I have ever eaten is crickets and other fried insects in Thailand.
That sounds pretty strange to us Aussies though!
Actually, I also had snake congee in Guangzhou and turtle soup once, which made me sad to be eating a turtle… People in Guangzhou eat EVERYTHING. There are some things that I can’t stomach though: I don’t like the flavour of intestines, don’t like the texture of pigs' feet, or chicken feet…I don’t get it; there is not even any meat on there.
There are things I got used to because I was tricked into eating them, like 'field chickens' - so here I am thinking free-range chicken right? No, it is a frog, served in a vat of red chill oil soup with a type of pepper that makes your whole mouth numb.
How did you get into acting?
I was always into acting. I was one of those kids that put on shows for family and friends. I did Drama all through High School, but I didn’t feel like it was a viable career choice and I don’t think my parents wanted me to pursue it either.
After high school I just kind of stopped…I started modelling while at university and always did well in auditioning for TV commercials, but it wasn’t until I was 30 that I really had that epiphany that this is what I wanted to do. I felt like I had wasted a whole decade, but I did some courses at NIDA and started taking it seriously.
Then there was a global financial crisis and we moved to China.
After we came back from China I got an agent again and one day my agent called me and said, ‘Hey, you’re never gonna believe this but there is this Sony Pictures production and they are looking for a Caucasian that can speak Mandarin.’
I thought my stars had finally aligned and everything had prepared me for that moment. I put down an audition and a couple of months went by and I didn’t hear back. Later found out, I had auditioned for a supporting role, but when they saw my tape they wanted me to play a lead role.
There was a character named John Henry, an ex-military retired guy who was supposed to be older. They changed his age and made him speak Chinese…just for me!! CHOSEN was the first Chinese-Australian co-production to be sold to Netflix and that led to a Chinese series filmed in Las Vegas called Seven Days and then a historical drama in China.
Do you ever miss those places you lived? Would you want to go back?
After COVID, I couldn’t go back to China for three years! It was the longest time in the past 20 years that I had spent away and it was really hard. I feel like it’s my second home and I was homesick. When I was finally able to return recently it was THE BEST. I ate so much food. I love Chinese food because the smells and tastes trigger wonderful memories and emotions.
To keep up to date with Sam Hayden-Smith's acting and modelling career, and sneak peaks into his family life you can go to his instagram @samhaydensmith
