Songs of a Vagabond is noteworthy for two reasons, it takes its name from
the literal re-translation of the Chinese title of Herman Hesse's novel
Siddhartha, and it serves an extremely good cheese fondue
(NT$500). The cafe-bar-restaurant opened a little over two weeks ago in a
remote corner of the Shihta neighborhood, a backwater lane called Taishun
St. Location-wise, the unlikely blessing of distance from the fetid,
student-infested night-market of Lungchuan St. will likely save the
establishment from being confused with Shihta's snowballing mass of
look-alike coffee shops and their million sorry variations on the fried
chicken steak with rice. And if anything, Songs of a Vagabond should be
happy for the distinction it rightly deserves.
Much of the shop's character comes from the proprietress, Bibi Deng
(鄧韻倫), whose circle of friends meaningfully overlaps with that of the
nearby rock pub, Underworld. Not that there's going to be any competition
between them or anything. Underworld is a dank, subterranean rock den, and
Songs is an airy, colorfully lit and arts-and-crafts styled cafe. In the
end, it's more like an expansion of the scene than a division within it.
Songs also provides a few things Underworld does not, like good food. The
menu, which is limited but satisfying, was designed by a Swiss cook, which
accounts for the Taipei oddity of well-prepared dishes using European
cheese, including the aforementioned fondue (there's also a chocolate fondue
for NT$450) and pasta with blue cheese sauce (NT$150) On the drinks side,
imported beers and cocktails go for NT$150, and a cup of American coffee
runs NT$100, including refills.
Songs of a Vagabond is located at 46-4 Taishun St. (泰順街46之4號), phone:
(02) 2362-7458. Open 4pm to 2am (later on weekends). Closed Mondays.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Mirror mirror on the wall, what’s the fairest Disney live-action remake of them all? Wait, mirror. Hold on a second. Maybe choosing from the likes of Alice in Wonderland (2010), Mulan (2020) and The Lion King (2019) isn’t such a good idea. Mirror, on second thought, what’s on Netflix? Even the most devoted fans would have to acknowledge that these have not been the most illustrious illustrations of Disney magic. At their best (Pete’s Dragon? Cinderella?) they breathe life into old classics that could use a little updating. At their worst, well, blue Will Smith. Given the rapacious rate of remakes in modern
RSS