One of the irritations of eating international cuisine in Taipei is that it generally has the same underlying flavor as local foods. The oil used in the preparation of the dish doesn't seem to vary, the ingredients are all local and the cooks, though capable, create a meal that is labeled differently but may as well have come from the same kitchen.
It was therefore something of an "ah-ha experience" when I sampled the nasi goreng at Pondok Mutiara Restaurant. Not unlike Proust and his madeleine, I was transported back in time and a couple of thousand of kilometers away to Indonesia, where I first enjoyed the dish. It had an authentic taste. It may have been just refried rice, onion, garlic, chili and soy sauce, with the addition of shrimp paste, a lightly fried egg, some cucumber slices and prawn crackers on top -- but it didn't taste like Chinese food.
It obviously helps that Diana Lu Chang (張盧鵬英) was originally from Indonesia (albeit 45 years ago) and still has ties with the country. She started her family-run restaurant 27 years ago and it has been at its present address on Fuxing North Road for over 10 years. Chang has become something of a celebrity and is often invited to demonstrate her culinary skills on Formosa TV.
PHOTO: JULES QUARTLY, TAIPEI TIMES
We sampled one of the set meals and added some dishes, which gave us a range of flavors: from the coconut curried chicken; to the Holland spring rolls of chicken, butter and mustard, wrapped in a thin wheat flour pastry; to the uniquely Indonesian shrimp paste-flavored vegetables; and the condensed milk, ice and sweets confection that came at the end. Chang recommended the curry fish heads, for the brave, and rendang sapi, a spicy beef dish in coconut and chili sauce.
We were full but a meal would not be complete, she said, without sampling the homemade thousand-layer cake and some Javanese coffee. She was right. The coffee was strong, dark and full of character. The cake was delicious, light, honeyed and satisfying. We were told that there were, in fact, only 18 layers. Further research found that it is quite an art to contrive a genuine thousand-layer cake (it is made of flour, yeast, sugar, lard and red dates, steamed, rolled and folded) and that it was originally a Chinese recipe. Boxes of the cake are sold on the premises as the "authentic taste of the Dutch royal family."
Some restaurant critics would take issue with the decor. They might say the place had an antiquated feel, that the lighting and general appearance were uncoordinated. Such comments put style before substance and are incidental to the food and the enjoyment of "authentic" cuisine.
Selamat Makan (enjoy your meal).
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
After Jurassic Park premiered in 1993, people began to ask if scientists could really bring long-lost species back from extinction, just like in the hit movie. The idea has triggered “de-extinction” debates in several countries, including Taiwan, where the focus has been on the Formosan clouded leopard (designated after 1917 as Neofelis nebulosa brachyura). National Taiwan Museum’s (NTM) Web site describes the Formosan clouded leopard as “a subspecies endemic to Taiwan…it reaches a body length of 0.6m to 1.2m and tail length of 0.7m to 0.9m and weighs between 15kg and 30kg. It is entirely covered with beautiful cloud-like spots
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
March 23 to March 29 Kao Chang (高長) set strict rules for his descendants: women were to learn music or cooking, and the men medicine or theology. No matter what life path they chose, they were to use their skills in service of the Presbyterian Church and society. As a result, musical ability — particularly in Western instruments — was almost expected among the Kao women, and even those who married into the family often had musical training. Although the men did not typically play instruments, they played a supporting role, helping to organize music programs such as children’s orchestras, writes
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