Liao Shih-hua (first right) teaches some visitors how to prepare his legndary tea eggs.

Hollywood suggests police work is non-stop car chases and shootouts. Mundane reality suggests it's mostly routine paperwork. One extraordinary police chief has transformed it into a daily culinary treat for anyone who comes near enough to get a whiff and into more than 180,000 acts of kindness that inspire us all as a shining 'eggsample'

The Chihyi police sub-station sits in a mountainous area of Tainan County, a remote law enforcement outpost that on the surface is anything but remarkable and mostly serves people on their way up to nearby scenic spots.

Rarely does it have to solve high-profile crimes that catapult it into the headlines, but it may have one of the most loyal followings of any police station in Taiwan, thanks to its chief's charitable sideline.

Every day for the last eight years, police chief Liao Shih-hua has prepared tea eggs (a very popular Chinese snack - eggs boiled with tea leaves, soy sauce and some other spices and best served warm) for his colleagues, tourists and cyclists exploring the mountainous neighborhood, in the process having given away more than 180,000 of the hard-boiled eggs stewed in a tea liquid worth some NT$500,000 ($15,600).

"I just wanted to offer something for co-workers who rushed to the office without having breakfast because of its remote location," Liao said in explaining why he got started. "Instead of sandwiches, I opted for tea eggs because they could be kept longer," he explained.

In the beginning, he prepared 60 eggs a day with his own special recipe in an electric wok to give his colleagues some extra nourishment and energy.

Leftover eggs were offered to visitors who dropped by the police sub-station on official business, such as prosecutors or judges.

Though Liao's generosity was widely appreciated, it was his eggs' flavor that kept people asking for more and made his station one of the area's hot spots.

Residents in the neighborhood were lured by word of mouth to get a taste of the delicacy, and gourmets from other parts of Taiwan or overseas also succumbed to the temptation. One overseas Chinese even wrote to him asking for the recipe.

To prepare the soft but springy eggs for his many new fans, Liao had to use a big ceramic wok in order to get them ready, a policeman at the Chihyi police station said.

"The gas stove at the office was always switched on from early morning till midnight to cook the eggs, and many were always stored in the refrigerator in case strangers came by for a taste," Liao's colleague said.

The police chief has made as many as 400 eggs in a day, a number that he could never have imagined when he started.

"I never expected the tea eggs to turn so popular. It was totally a surprise," he said. Reflecting on the earliest days, he said, "At first, even dogs were reluctant to smell the eggs that I messed up," he admitted.

Liao's hobby may have given a lot of people a taste of pleasure, but it also has had some unexpected rewards.

Liao's eggs helped him renew his friendship with a junior high school classmate, with whom he had been out of touch for 36 years.

"A little egg has helped shorten the distance between strangers," he said.

The cyclists attracted to the neighborhood by the eggs have also helped improve public order in the district, Liao said, with the number of burglars there on the decline.

"Night patrols wouldn't be so tiring if cyclists could also go on night tours in the neighborhood," he joked.

In October last year, Liao also passed on his experience in preparing the tasty eggs to a group of single mothers to help them start up their own business under the sponsorship of the Tainan branch of the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families.

"Fresh eggs, Coca-Cola, traditionally brewed soy sauce and a bag of seasoned gravy are the secrets for making delicious tea eggs," he revealed.

"I really hope to help them find a new lease on life with this transfer of my own skill. I do believe they'll be able to make as tasty an egg as I do to pull themselves out of poverty," Liao said, "because people will succeed in something they truly are devoted to."

China Daily/CNA

Liao (first left) offers a bowl of the irresistible snack he is known for to trail cyclists who stop by expressly for it. CNA

(HK Edition 01/23/2010 page4)