Mama Ho's Shanghainese Restaurant's homely atmosphere and simple decor distinguish it from fancy banquet-style-restaurants. This is in keeping with the food served here, which owner Jessie Lee (
The presentation of the food is simple, giving little indication of the time and effort involved in the preparation. "There is considerable emphasis on preparation in Shanghai cuisine," said Lee, an elegant, motherly figure, who in her traditional Chinese dress, might have just walked off the set of a period drama. This impression is not at all misleading, as Lee worked as an actress in Hong Kong for many years and old black-and-white photos of her silver-screen days adorn the walls.
Brought up in a wealthy family in the Republican era, Lee says she learned to cook as one of the many feminine arts that she was expected to master. Even now she still takes on her share of the kitchen work, but during opening hours, she is on the restaurant's floor seeing to her customers. This personal concern is part of what keeps regular customers coming back. The other thing is the food.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW
Some of the names are familiar. Sweet and sour fish (
Stewed lion's head (
While Lee says most dishes are authentic, she has developed a few variations of her own. The fried stinky tofu with egg (
Lee says that she goes to the market each morning to buy her ingredients, and sees the restaurant simply as an extension of her social life. This probably accounts for the comfortable feel of the place, where good food rather than a chic atmosphere is what really matters.
For many people, Bilingual Nation 2030 begins and ends in the classroom. Since the policy was launched in 2018, the debate has centered on students, teachers and the pressure placed on schools. Yet the policy was never solely about English education. The government’s official plan also calls for bilingualization in Taiwan’s government services, laws and regulations, and living environment. The goal is to make Taiwan more inclusive and accessible to international enterprises and talent and better prepared for global economic and trade conditions. After eight years, that grand vision is due for a pulse check. RULES THAT CAN BE READ For Harper Chen (陳虹宇), an adviser
The breakwater stretches out to sea from the sprawling Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan. Normally, it’s crowded with massive tankers ferrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar to be stored in the bulbous white tanks that dot the shoreline. These are not normal times, though, and not a single shipment from Qatar has docked at the Yongan terminal since early March after the Strait of Hormuz was shuttered. The suspension has provided a realistic preview of a potential Chinese blockade, a move that would throttle an economy anchored by the world’s most advanced and power-hungry semiconductor industry. It is a stark reminder of
The last couple of weeks spectators in Taiwan and abroad have been treated to a remarkable display of infighting in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over the supplementary defense budget. The party has split into two camps, one supporting an NT$800 billion special defense budget and one supporting an NT$380 billion budget with additional funding contingent on receiving letters of acceptance (LOA) from the US. Recent media reports have said that the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is leaning toward the latter position. President William Lai (賴清德) has proposed NT$1.25 trillion for purchases of US arms and for development of domestic weapons
May 11 to May 17 Traversing the southern slopes of the Yushan Range in 1931, Japanese naturalist Tadao Kano knew he was approaching the last swath of Taiwan still beyond colonial control. The “vast, unknown territory,” protected by the “fierce” Bunun headman Dahu Ali, was “filled with an utterly endless jungle that choked the mountains and valleys,” Kano wrote. He noted how the group had “refused to submit to the measures of our authorities and entrenched themselves deep in these mountains … living a free existence spent chasing deer in the morning and seeking serow in the evening,” even describing them as
RSS