Have you ever wanted to watch your food grow as you eat? Glow Angle (光仙子) a small restaurant that recently opened in Dazhi (大直) is an unusual dining option launched by Risecare (昇活網), a company specializing in the manufacture of hydroponic “plant factory” equipment. The company makes this equipment for both commercial and home use, and the restaurant was established a couple of months ago to provide a showcase for the selection of fresh lettuce that can be easily cultivated at home with a minimum of fuss.
The small outlet nestled away in an underground mall on a residential estate in Dazhi is most notable for having a variety of lettuce plants growing in luminous cabinets right there in the restaurant, where they are directly harvested for use. From a perspective of freshness and healthfulness (the controlled environment means that no pesticides need to be used), Glow Angle is pretty exciting. All the dishes on the menu feature lettuce, and can be roughly divided into salads (priced from NT$240 to NT$280), burgers (NT$240 to NT$260), hot pots (NT$380 to NT$480) and pizza (NT$210 to NT$275).
The salad dishes, not surprisingly, provide the best showcase for the freshness of the lettuce, and with choices ranging from crab through beef, and including two vegetarian options (mushroom and fruit), there is a good variety of choices, all providing a satisfying, if light, meal. The pizza and burger options on the other hand, indicated that menu development still has some way to go. The pizza would appall anyone serious about this dish, and the integration of the lettuce, scattered on top, is halfhearted. The lettuce-flavored soft serve ice cream on the other hand (offered as a free accompaniment and not featured on the menu), is sufficiently funky to justify ongoing interest. Boxes of lettuce leaves would seem the best way for the home cook to make use of this excellent produce, but priced at NT$400 for a large container, it is certainly not for the uncommitted. The ambiance provided by the faintly glowing glass cases of lettuce makes dining in an attractive option.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
Glow Angle is located at B1, 575 Mingshui Rd, Taipei City (台北市明水路575號B1), tel (02) 8509-7034. More information about its products can be found at www.risecare.com.
In incidental food and beverage news, Thomas Costenoble, chairman of the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles visited Taiwan earlier this month for the signing ceremony that will see the city of Kaohsiung host what is widely regarded as world’s largest wine and spirits tasting competition. This is the first time that this major event has been held in Asia. The event, which will take place June 6 to 9 next year, will be a boost for new beverage development. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said at the ceremony that the local liquor industry is well placed to make good use of Kaohsiung’s abundant production of lychees, pineapple, honey and other produce in the manufacture of new and exciting drinks.
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
Photo: Ian Bartholomew, Taipei Times
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
Peter Brighton was amazed when he found the giant jackfruit. He had been watching it grow on his farm in far north Queensland, and when it came time to pick it from the tree, it was so heavy it needed two people to do the job. “I was surprised when we cut it off and felt how heavy it was,” he says. “I grabbed it and my wife cut it — couldn’t do it by myself, it took two of us.” Weighing in at 45 kilograms, it is the heaviest jackfruit that Brighton has ever grown on his tropical fruit farm, located