The term "modern Chinese cuisine" might not mean much to those who haven't sampled the fare at Taipei's People restaurant (人間), but for the thousands who have frequented the dimly lit yet fashionably chic joint, then the term conjures up images of plates of food that boast a fusion of colors and the truly tantalizing taste explosions that accompany the restaurant's fantastic cuisine.
According to People's manager, Daphne Hua (華昌德), the secret of the joint's continued success lays with People's chefs' ability to blend modern ideas with age-old recipes. Open to the adaptation of simple home-style Chinese cooking, the origins of every dish on the menu lay with those that have been knocked out in kitchens across China for generations.
Not that diners would ever guess that the food they are munching on is of the same ilk as that cooked in homes nationwide. The combination of colors ensures that every dish fashioned in the kitchens of the People restaurant appears almost good enough to frame and hang on the wall. And with no MSG or artificial flavorings added to any of the food the taste remains as pure as nature intended.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
Keeping the foodstuffs' original taste certainly doesn't make for blandness, however, as People's combination of ingredients means that even the simplest of dishes is a sheer pleasure. Along with the appearance and taste, a meal at the People's won't break the bank or empty your wallet.
Moderately priced and too numerous to list in full, some of the restaurants' most popular dishes include deep-fried chicken slices with lime sauce (檸檬雞片) (NT$300), stir-fried sirloin slices on a pottery plate (陶盤牛肉) (NT$320), simmered sea-bass belly with soy sauce (燜燒魚肚膛) (NT$360), spicy bean curd in a paper pot (人間豆腐) (NT$250) and the interestingly named Buddha's meal (羅漢齋) (NT$280).
Along with a fine selection of savory dishes, the menu also includes an extensive drink list, with the wide selection of cocktails, liquors, beers, teas, coffees and soft drinks all as moderately priced as the food.
While the menu currently lists upwards of 120 dishes, in one month this is set to be cut back to 80. The reason behind People's decision has nothing to do with the seemingly never-ending economic downturn, however. Restaurant management has instead decided to cut the number of dishes on offer in order that the quality of the most popular cuisine can be refined and, if in deed possible, improved upon.
We lay transfixed under our blankets as the silhouettes of manta rays temporarily eclipsed the moon above us, and flickers of shadow at our feet revealed smaller fish darting in and out of the shelter of the sunken ship. Unwilling to close our eyes against this magnificent spectacle, we continued to watch, oohing and aahing, until the darkness and the exhaustion of the day’s events finally caught up with us and we fell into a deep slumber. Falling asleep under 1.5 million gallons of seawater in relative comfort was undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend, but the rest of the tour
Youngdoung Tenzin is living history of modern Tibet. The Chinese government on Dec. 22 last year sanctioned him along with 19 other Canadians who were associated with the Canada Tibet Committee and the Uighur Rights Advocacy Project. A former political chair of the Canadian Tibetan Association of Ontario and community outreach manager for the Canada Tibet Committee, he is now a lecturer and researcher in Environmental Chemistry at the University of Toronto. “I was born into a nomadic Tibetan family in Tibet,” he says. “I came to India in 1999, when I was 11. I even met [His Holiness] the 14th the Dalai
Following the rollercoaster ride of 2025, next year is already shaping up to be dramatic. The ongoing constitutional crises and the nine-in-one local elections are already dominating the landscape. The constitutional crises are the ones to lose sleep over. Though much business is still being conducted, crucial items such as next year’s budget, civil servant pensions and the proposed eight-year NT$1.25 trillion (approx US$40 billion) special defense budget are still being contested. There are, however, two glimmers of hope. One is that the legally contested move by five of the eight grand justices on the Constitutional Court’s ad hoc move
Stepping off the busy through-road at Yongan Market Station, lights flashing, horns honking, I turn down a small side street and into the warm embrace of my favorite hole-in-the-wall gem, the Hoi An Banh Mi shop (越南會安麵包), red flags and yellow lanterns waving outside. “Little sister, we were wondering where you’ve been, we haven’t seen you in ages!” the owners call out with a smile. It’s been seven days. The restaurant is run by Huang Jin-chuan (黃錦泉), who is married to a local, and her little sister Eva, who helps out on weekends, having also moved to New Taipei
RSS