Anho Rd may be one of the most up-market areas in Taipei, but that doesn't mean you can never get your money's worth there. If you are not into pompous facades and faux grandeur, Ching Xiang is a nice place to have good Hakka and Sichuanese cuisine. The frequent flow of Japanese tourists staying in neighboring Far Eastern Plaza Hotel testifies to Ching Xiang's attraction, which comes from genuinely good food instead of expensive decor.
Chef Wu has run the restaurant for three years, before which he worked as either a cook or restaurant manager for more than 30 years. At Ching Xiang, he wears both hats. In times of recession, Wu said, this is a way to survive without resorting to using substandard ingredients at the expense of the quality of the food.
Despite the restaurant's no-frills interior, there's one thing really spectacular to it -- the menu. There's a category for virtually everything -- from cold plates, tofu and tapanyaki to hotpot. The "egg" section alone lists nine dishes, which is "just part of what we make. If there's any other kind of egg dish you can think of, just tell us. The menu's flexible," said Wu.
PHOTO: DAVID VAN DER VEEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Although the restaurant specializes in Hakka and Sichuanese cuisine with Hakka stir-fry its most popular item, Wu, a Hakka trained in Sichuanese cuisine, doesn't mind blending the two styles or adding a Taiwanese flavor, "as long as it tastes good," he said.
Hakka-style sauteed fish (NT$380) is both tasty and nicely presented. The fish is sauteed with herbs and chili peppers, which take the excess grease from the fish, creating a light yet delightfully spicy taste. Good timing while cooking gives the fish a crispy gold crust that combines nicely with the herbs on top.
Pork ribs with spring onion (NT$350) also wins a prize for presentation with the generous portion of pork surrounded by a ring of crispy green vegetables. The lean part of the pork has a tender texture while the fat is so smooth it is far from repelling. It's a great find for meat-eaters.
For desserts, Ching Xiang recommends fried yam (NT$150), a good complement to the dishes. Purported to relieve the effects of diabetes, anemia and hypertension, yam's popularity has surged in Taiwan in recent years. The purple rolls are fried until they are crispy on the outside while the filling remains soft and sticky. Sweet but not cloying, it's a choice dessert for health-conscious diners.
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
The corruption cases surrounding former Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) head Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) are just one item in the endless cycle of noise and fuss obscuring Taiwan’s deep and urgent structural and social problems. Even the case itself, as James Baron observed in an excellent piece at the Diplomat last week, is only one manifestation of the greater problem of deep-rooted corruption in land development. Last week the government announced a program to permit 25,000 foreign university students, primarily from the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, to work in Taiwan after graduation for 2-4 years. That number is a
This year’s Michelin Gourmand Bib sported 16 new entries in the 126-strong Taiwan directory. The fight for the best braised pork rice and the crispiest scallion pancake painstakingly continued, but what stood out in the lineup this year? Pang Taqueria (胖塔可利亞); Taiwan’s first Michelin-recommended Mexican restaurant. Chef Charles Chen (陳治宇) is a self-confessed Americophile, earning his chef whites at a fine-dining Latin-American fusion restaurant. But what makes this Xinyi (信義) spot stand head and shoulders above Taipei’s existing Mexican offerings? The authenticity. The produce. The care. AUTHENTIC EATS In my time on the island, I have caved too many times to
In the aftermath of the 2020 general elections the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was demoralized. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had crushed them in a second landslide in a row, with their presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) winning more votes than any in Taiwan’s history. The KMT did pick up three legislative seats, but the DPP retained an outright majority. To take responsibility for that catastrophic loss, as is customary, party chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) resigned. This would mark the end of an era of how the party operated and the beginning of a new effort at reform, first under
RSS