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).
April 28 to May 4 During the Japanese colonial era, a city’s “first” high school typically served Japanese students, while Taiwanese attended the “second” high school. Only in Taichung was this reversed. That’s because when Taichung First High School opened its doors on May 1, 1915 to serve Taiwanese students who were previously barred from secondary education, it was the only high school in town. Former principal Hideo Azukisawa threatened to quit when the government in 1922 attempted to transfer the “first” designation to a new local high school for Japanese students, leading to this unusual situation. Prior to the Taichung First
The Ministry of Education last month proposed a nationwide ban on mobile devices in schools, aiming to curb concerns over student phone addiction. Under the revised regulation, which will take effect in August, teachers and schools will be required to collect mobile devices — including phones, laptops and wearables devices — for safekeeping during school hours, unless they are being used for educational purposes. For Chang Fong-ching (張鳳琴), the ban will have a positive impact. “It’s a good move,” says the professor in the department of
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
Article 2 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution of the Republic of China (中華民國憲法增修條文) stipulates that upon a vote of no confidence in the premier, the president can dissolve the legislature within 10 days. If the legislature is dissolved, a new legislative election must be held within 60 days, and the legislators’ terms will then be reckoned from that election. Two weeks ago Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) proposed that the legislature hold a vote of no confidence in the premier and dare the president to dissolve the legislature. The legislature is currently controlled
RSS