Mention xiaolongbao (小龍包), or steamed dumplings, and the name Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) is bound to enter the conversation. But any dumpling aficionado is just as likely to tout a cheaper and even better alternative.
One such place is Mingyue Tangbao (明月湯包, Mingyue Steamed Dumplings), which enjoys a loyal following. During busy times it’s not uncommon to find a line of people waiting outside this modest shop near the Tonghua Street (通化街) night market. The interior feels more like the typical Taiwanese noodle joint, sparsely decorated and with room for about 20 people. Wooden blocks on the wall list each menu item, and medals won by the chef hang proudly at the back of the room.
Both connoisseurs and newcomers should try the house specialty, mingyue tangbao (明月湯包, NT$120 per basket of eight), the shop’s name for its xiaolongbao. The marks of a good dumpling were all there: the outer flour wrap was delicate and thin but didn’t break when picked up with chopsticks; each dumpling had a good proportion of soup, meat and dough; and the minced pork was lean and tasted fresh.
There are different ways to enjoy xiaolongbao, which is part of the fun. Some like to eat a whole dumpling in one bite and let the broth trapped inside explode in the mouth (let the dumplings cool for a few minutes so you won’t burn yourself). A slower method is to savor the flavors separately. Dip a dumpling in soy sauce and vinegar, place it in your spoon, nibble a hole in the wrap and sip the soup that spills out. Finish the rest after adding a few slithers of ginger, which the waiter brings to your table on a tiny sauce plate.
Mingyue’s unique pot stickers (鍋貼, NT$120), also a house specialty, could rekindle affection for this old standby. Each serving of 10 dumplings arrives connected together at the bottom by a thin golden sheet of crispy flour and oil. The waiter sets the plate down and quickly separates the dumplings with a fork. The crispy bottom packed a satisfying crunch while a hint of sweetness in the dough was well-balanced by the minced pork’s savoriness.
The steamed vegetable dumplings (淨素蒸餃, NT$130 per basket of eight) also deserve mention for their tasty filling of vegetable greens and bits of tofu. Some heartier choices for winter include the steamed chicken soup (圓盅燉雞湯, NT$140) and the stewed beef soup (清燉牛肉湯, NT$120), both of which come with a side of noodles for an extra NT$20. Pass on the scallion pancakes (蔥油餅, NT$50), which were too greasy.
Mingyue also runs a more spacious sit-down restaurant around the corner at 40, Ln 171, Tonghua St (通化街171巷40號), with a wider range of options, but its faux trendy decor falls short. The plain-Jane shop on Keelung Road has more character, if you can do without the Shanghai grandeur. Both restaurants are a five-minute walk from Liuzhangli (六張犁) MRT Station. — DAVID CHEN
The year was 1991. A Toyota Land Cruiser set out on a 67km journey up the Junda Forest Road (郡大林道) toward an old loggers’ camp, at which point the hikers inside would get out and begin their ascent of Jade Mountain (玉山). Little did they know, they would be the last group of hikers to ever enjoy this shortcut into the mountains. An approaching typhoon soon wiped out the road behind them, trapping the vehicle on the mountain and forever changing the approach to Jade Mountain. THE CONTEMPORARY ROUTE Nowadays, the approach to Jade Mountain from the north side takes an
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and