The closing of Rock Candy six months ago, one of the most popular dance clubs in Taipei, was a loss for many clubbers. For Lin Da-chi (林大琦), its owner, it was the starting point of his new life. Talking about Hei Feng Chai, Lin's new enterprise which opened just two months ago, he was all smiles, happy with the change from running a nightclub to running a barbecue/beer house.
"The environment of a restaurant is simpler. Anyone can have a nice meal and a couple of beers here, whether you're a night-owl or not. It's just more laid-back," Lin said. Having ran other restaurants before, Lin's business savvy was quickly at work when he realized that the stigma attached to nightclubs and the vicious competition among them earlier this year wouldn't make Rock Candy last. "Now I can say that I've ran a nightclub before," Lin said.
When he is not greeting and chatting with customers, many of whom are regular customers, he selects and plays background music. His favorites are energetic Chinese rock bands. That goes well with Hei Feng Chai's surroundings, which are exactly like a scene out of a Chinese martial arts novel. To give the restaurant an anachronistic feel, Lin collected props from movie studios and, at the restaurant's opening, had all the staff dress as ancient Chinese gang members. Customers on wooden stools drink Hei Feng Chai's exclusive liqueur from China from ceramic bowls amid ancient weapons and martial arts illustrations.
PHOTO: DAVID VAN DER VEEN, TAIPEI TIMES
Apart from the Chinese liqueur, its barbecue and beers have already attracted many loyal customers. The joint's easy-going atmosphere also means that it's packed late into the night.
To provide something different from the common Japanese-style barbecue, where customers do the barbecuing and dressing. Hei Feng Chai uses homemade sauce and has barbecue dishes ready to serve.
Beef dishes (NT$150) are popular for the quality meat and the accompanying kimchi. So are lamb chops (NT$150) which are crispy on the edges and tender in the middle. The Hei Feng Chai invention of lai-niao shrimp balls(NT$100) is a tasty and interesting must-try. Many customers' favorite are oysters (NT$60 a piece). With the fragrant house sauce that combines ginger, tomato and various spices, the dish is easily sold out during dinner hours.
These hearty dishes may go well with various Chinese liqueurs (NT$1,000 up) or the most popular Taiwan draft (NT$120). Lin recommends the Japanese imported chilled sake (NT$250), another item you won't find just anywhere.
As we live longer, our risk of cognitive impairment is increasing. How can we delay the onset of symptoms? Do we have to give up every indulgence or can small changes make a difference? We asked neurologists for tips on how to keep our brains healthy for life. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH “All of the sensible things that apply to bodily health apply to brain health,” says Suzanne O’Sullivan, a consultant in neurology at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London, and the author of The Age of Diagnosis. “When you’re 20, you can get away with absolute
When the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese forces 50 years ago this week, it prompted a mass exodus of some 2 million people — hundreds of thousands fleeing perilously on small boats across open water to escape the communist regime. Many ultimately settled in Southern California’s Orange County in an area now known as “Little Saigon,” not far from Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, where the first refugees were airlifted upon reaching the US. The diaspora now also has significant populations in Virginia, Texas and Washington state, as well as in countries including France and Australia.
On April 17, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) launched a bold campaign to revive and revitalize the KMT base by calling for an impromptu rally at the Taipei prosecutor’s offices to protest recent arrests of KMT recall campaigners over allegations of forgery and fraud involving signatures of dead voters. The protest had no time to apply for permits and was illegal, but that played into the sense of opposition grievance at alleged weaponization of the judiciary by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to “annihilate” the opposition parties. Blamed for faltering recall campaigns and faced with a KMT chair
A police station in the historic sailors’ quarter of the Belgian port of Antwerp is surrounded by sex workers’ neon-lit red-light windows. The station in the Villa Tinto complex is a symbol of the push to make sex work safer in Belgium, which boasts some of Europe’s most liberal laws — although there are still widespread abuses and exploitation. Since December, Belgium’s sex workers can access legal protections and labor rights, such as paid leave, like any other profession. They welcome the changes. “I’m not a victim, I chose to work here and I like what I’m doing,” said Kiana, 32, as she
RSS