Tucked down an alley behind the Shin-Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Tianmu and just two doors away from the Spice Shop, another Indian restaurant, is a jewel box of a restaurant, Saffron. It's fine Indian dining, but in a very elegant yet comfortable atmosphere.
Sandra, one of the owners, said they spent six months before the restaurant opened just working out the design, decor and menu. That attention to detail clearly paid off. Open just under a year (mid-March is the anniversary), Saffron quickly became a favorite of Tianmu residents and word-of-mouth has ensured that plenty of downtown denizens are willing to make the trek north to try it.
While not an extensive menu, there are between four and eight options each for appetizers (averaging NT$170), tandoori chicken and lamb dishes (ranging from NT$290 to NT$540), vegetable dishes (average of NT$250), breads (NT$75 and up) and rice dishes (around NT$200). The drinks include a small wine selection (NT$200 a glass), beers, soft drinks, lassis, juices and teas.
PHOTO: DIANE BAKER, TAIPEI TIMES
The chef has a very light hand with the oils and ghee; even the fried appetizers such as samosas and pakoras are crisp without being greasy. Diners can watch the tandoor chef at work because his glass-enclosed cubicle is at the front of the restaurant, which is a great way to keep the children entertained while they are waiting for their food or after they eat as well as a good advertisement for Saffron.
I have never had a bad meal at Saffron, but must-tries for anyone would have to include the methi pakora as an appetizer (feenugrek, onion, potato and green chiles all finely diced and mixed together into small patties, which are then deep fried) or the punjabi tikki (a mix of ground lentils and potato deep fried in a small patty); the baigan bharta (charcoal-flamed eggplant, which is diced up and mixed with garlic, coriander and onion), the sak paneer (a fine rendering of the classic creamed spinach and cheese dish) and the tikki masala (chicken marinated with herb-nut mix and cooked in the tandoor oven).
The dessert list is short, just two dishes, but I can't make a recommendation. I'm sure they are both good, but despite best intentions, we have always been too full to actually order them.
While reservations are not required, they are recomended for both lunch and dinner on weekends because Saffron fills up quickly.
The Taipei Times last week reported that the rising share of seniors in the population is reshaping the nation’s housing markets. According to data from the Ministry of the Interior, about 850,000 residences were occupied by elderly people in the first quarter, including 655,000 that housed only one resident. H&B Realty chief researcher Jessica Hsu (徐佳馨), quoted in the article, said that there is rising demand for elderly-friendly housing, including units with elevators, barrier-free layouts and proximity to healthcare services. Hsu and others cited in the article highlighted the changing family residential dynamics, as children no longer live with parents,
It is jarring how differently Taiwan’s politics is portrayed in the international press compared to the local Chinese-language press. Viewed from abroad, Taiwan is seen as a geopolitical hotspot, or “The Most Dangerous Place on Earth,” as the Economist once blazoned across their cover. Meanwhile, tasked with facing down those existential threats, Taiwan’s leaders are dying their hair pink. These include former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁), among others. They are demonstrating what big fans they are of South Korean K-pop sensations Blackpink ahead of their concerts this weekend in Kaohsiung.
Taiwan is one of the world’s greatest per-capita consumers of seafood. Whereas the average human is thought to eat around 20kg of seafood per year, each Taiwanese gets through 27kg to 35kg of ocean delicacies annually, depending on which source you find most credible. Given the ubiquity of dishes like oyster omelet (蚵仔煎) and milkfish soup (虱目魚湯), the higher estimate may well be correct. By global standards, let alone local consumption patterns, I’m not much of a seafood fan. It’s not just a matter of taste, although that’s part of it. What I’ve read about the environmental impact of the
Oct 20 to Oct 26 After a day of fighting, the Japanese Army’s Second Division was resting when a curious delegation of two Scotsmen and 19 Taiwanese approached their camp. It was Oct. 20, 1895, and the troops had reached Taiye Village (太爺庄) in today’s Hunei District (湖內), Kaohsiung, just 10km away from their final target of Tainan. Led by Presbyterian missionaries Thomas Barclay and Duncan Ferguson, the group informed the Japanese that resistance leader Liu Yung-fu (劉永福) had fled to China the previous night, leaving his Black Flag Army fighters behind and the city in chaos. On behalf of the
RSS