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New Paris was originally the first Western-style bakery in Xindian District. Back when Western pastries were still a novelty, it was a fashionable and trendy shop. The private-recipe braised dishes that earned such a great reputation came about by chance after the bakery switched to selling traditional luwei. The father of the current owner, Li Zheng-chao, could bake bread and was also a fine cook; he often made braised snacks for his children. One day, a regular customer happened to taste Li’s private luwei and was amazed. Word spread, and soon people were coming to the bakery asking for braised dishes instead of bread—New Paris’s delicious luwei became famous, and the shop transformed from bakery to luwei specialist. With vanilla and mala in the mix, the luwei became even more flavorful. When the second generation took over, the Li brothers handled the bread while sister-in-law Huang Su-li took charge of the luwei. She studied under her father-in-law for more than a year before officially becoming the chef. Noticing that traditional luwei relied heavily on star anise and other strong spices, and inspired by the then-trendy herb cuisine, Huang tried adding lemongrass and verbena to the braise and discovered they gave a pleasant, sweet aftertaste. Later she introduced Thai bird’s-eye chilies for a mala kick. At first her father-in-law doubted customers would accept spicy luwei, but patrons loved it, and the vanilla-mala luwei became New Paris’s signature dish.