The year of rams and ewes

With Lunar New Year on us again, the loyal horse gives way to the gentle ram. Well, at least at its most simplistic. But all that is really necessary is a quick chat with anyone interested in astrological signs, and the meek sheep gives way to a maze of character types who are supposed to be represented by this animal, which is in itself given to complexity -- after all, the easiest way to start a debate about Lunar New Year trivia is to ask whether it is the year of the goat, sheep or ram (which presumably incorporates ewes, but from a strict perspective of political correctness, must be seen as somewhat suspect).

The Taipei Times, despite the associations of lascivious goatishness -- a word that Hugh Grant did much to reintroduce into usage after his now largely forgotten solicitation of the oral services of Stella "Divine" Brown -- has opted, in the spirit of a robust practicality, to go with the goat.

But for some, any of the above are simply too generic. In this age of giving everything a Taiwan identity, there are those who want to see the 12 Chinese zodiac symbols given an identity more closely associated with this land of ours. At the Web site for the Frontier Foundation, an organization that strongly promotes a new Taiwan identity, a number of the zodiac symbols have been deemed too "Chinese" and have been replaced by animals indigenous to Taiwan. For this year, it should be, if Frontier were to have it their way, the year of the Formosan serow, a hairy sort of antelope that is indigenous to the island and said to be found in the foothills around the Hsuehshan massif. It is unfortunate that few Taiwanese have ever heard of this beast, let alone seen it.

It is also unfortunate that what most people think of when sheep or goat is mentioned is a medicinal hot pot, which coincidentally is particularly appropriate for the current cold weather. We can be assured that what is served up is not Formosan serow. Much of the meat for these dishes is specially bred for the table, either locally or imported from Australia or New Zealand.

Given that the closest that most people are likely to get to this year's zodiac animal is at the dinner table, it might be as well to talk a little about where you can get your teeth into some. While there are hundreds of ram (goat, sheep -- take your pick) hot pot establishments all around the city, Taipei Times has found that Teh-Keh Lamb Hot Pot (德哥羊肉爐) does a particularly fine job. (台北市林森北路109號, tel 02-2511-8491). Owner Chang Hsien-teh (張賢德) expressed himself in an interview with reporters as wanting "to share his love of the tender flesh of Taiwan's goats with others." What better way to welcome in the Lunar New Year?

A very different experience of eating goat can be had at the Chang-bai Bistro (長白小館), which is as northern Chinese as Teh-Keh is Taiwanese. Owner Sung Tse-ming (宋子明) brings the taste of the northern steppe to warm the hearts through the chill of the Taipei winter with his pickled cabbage hot pot which goes beautifully with thin slices of mutton that can be cooked in seconds submerged in the rich broth (台北市光復南路240巷53號, tel 02-2751-3525, 02-2711-2643).

For more variety, there are a number of establishments, specialize in serving lamb in every conceivable manner. One of the best of these is the Yu Yang Restaurant (魚羊小集), which in addition to hot pot, will offer you choices ranging from Mongolian lamb chops to lamb bone marrow soup, sheep's kidneys and their signature dish of lamb fried with fish, quite the most amazing and unexpected combination. (台北市新中街41號, tel 02-2747-1655).