With Lunar New Year on us again, the loyal horse gives way to the gentle ram. Well, at least at its most simplistic. But all that is really necessary is a quick chat with anyone interested in astrological signs, and the meek sheep gives way to a maze of character types who are supposed to be represented by this animal, which is in itself given to complexity -- after all, the easiest way to start a debate about Lunar New Year trivia is to ask whether it is the year of the goat, sheep or ram (which presumably incorporates ewes, but from a strict perspective of political correctness, must be seen as somewhat suspect).
The Taipei Times, despite the associations of lascivious goatishness -- a word that Hugh Grant did much to reintroduce into usage after his now largely forgotten solicitation of the oral services of Stella "Divine" Brown -- has opted, in the spirit of a robust practicality, to go with the goat.
But for some, any of the above are simply too generic. In this age of giving everything a Taiwan identity, there are those who want to see the 12 Chinese zodiac symbols given an identity more closely associated with this land of ours. At the Web site for the Frontier Foundation, an organization that strongly promotes a new Taiwan identity, a number of the zodiac symbols have been deemed too "Chinese" and have been replaced by animals indigenous to Taiwan. For this year, it should be, if Frontier were to have it their way, the year of the Formosan serow, a hairy sort of antelope that is indigenous to the island and said to be found in the foothills around the Hsuehshan massif. It is unfortunate that few Taiwanese have ever heard of this beast, let alone seen it.
It is also unfortunate that what most people think of when sheep or goat is mentioned is a medicinal hot pot, which coincidentally is particularly appropriate for the current cold weather. We can be assured that what is served up is not Formosan serow. Much of the meat for these dishes is specially bred for the table, either locally or imported from Australia or New Zealand.
Given that the closest that most people are likely to get to this year's zodiac animal is at the dinner table, it might be as well to talk a little about where you can get your teeth into some. While there are hundreds of ram (goat, sheep -- take your pick) hot pot establishments all around the city, Taipei Times has found that Teh-Keh Lamb Hot Pot (
A very different experience of eating goat can be had at the Chang-bai Bistro (
For more variety, there are a number of establishments, specialize in serving lamb in every conceivable manner. One of the best of these is the Yu Yang Restaurant (
Lamb dishes are also the specialty of Sheep Tower (羊摟), which opened last month and which touts its cold collation of heart, tendon, aspic and stomach of the sheep, or for even greater intimacy, there is the sheep kidney and testicle pot. Eating here you really will digest the spirit of the Lunar New Year's zodiac beast (
Of course there is no need to confine oneself to specialist lamb restaurants to get a good feed on this year's animal. It can be found on many other restaurant menus, ranging from a relatively easily available lamb curry -- Kunming Restaurant (崑明園, tel 02-2751-6776) is a Taipei Times favorite -- to various versions of the old staple lamb chop, which in the diverse culinary environment of Taipei, ranges from New Cantonese-style at Little Canton (小廣東餐廳, tel 02-2556-9985) or South American at Salsa (tel 02-2700-3060).
So regardless of whether it is lamb, sheep, ram or ewe, there is plenty of good dining available to get one thinking about the Lunar New Year and what the zodiac animal may or may not represent.
Although many restaurants will not be taking much of a break for the New Year, making a call before going will probably not go amiss.
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