Hsieh Li-hsiang (
Almost two years in preparation, the restaurant opened for business three weeks ago.
The exterior, an abstract sculpture of two Tao aborigines performing a frenetic hair dance commands attention of all who pass it; this encloses a massive four-story space that can seat up to 850 diners in comfort, along with a huge collection of iron, driftwood and clay sculptures, and a host of rough stone antiques imported from China.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
Hsieh sees herself primarily as an artist, and insists that the chain of restaurants she now runs, extending across the island, is an excuse to showcase her buildings and art. Fortunately, she has been lucky with her chefs, for the food, which is billed as innovative Taiwanese, is of sufficient quality and generously portioned to keep the punters coming back for more.
The banquet menu at NT$800 for 10 courses is an absolute bargain for big eaters. It is the kind of food you might expect to get at a traditional Taiwanese-style street-side banquet, though as everything is served on rustic crockery that has been designed by Hsieh and is made specifically for her restaurants, the effect is rather more sophisticated.
Display and atmosphere are an important part of the dining experience here, and for those looking to get their first taste of Taiwanese cuisine and social mores, Wu Chiao Chuan Ban is an excellent choice. While the quality of the food is not uniform, and some of the innovations may grate on the sensibilities of purists, the restaurant has established a strong reputation with locals through its outlets in southern Taiwan. Some dishes, such as the rice paste served for desert -- a variation on traditional mochi -- are wildly popular.
The food is certainly prepared with an eye for color and design, and the flavors are definitely robust -- very much in keeping with the rough and restless interior design.
In addition to the regular banquet menu (which requires at least four people), there is also a six-course vegetarian banquet, numerous seasonal specialties and a range of individual dishes that are offered for between NT$300 to NT$500, including a drink and desert.
Whatever else it may be, Wu Chiao Chuan Ban is likely to establish itself in Taipei as firmly as it has elsewhere on the island, and add to the variety of the culinary experience of Taipei's diners.
In the March 9 edition of the Taipei Times a piece by Ninon Godefroy ran with the headine “The quiet, gentle rhythm of Taiwan.” It started with the line “Taiwan is a small, humble place. There is no Eiffel Tower, no pyramids — no singular attraction that draws the world’s attention.” I laughed out loud at that. This was out of no disrespect for the author or the piece, which made some interesting analogies and good points about how both Din Tai Fung’s and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) meticulous attention to detail and quality are not quite up to
April 21 to April 27 Hsieh Er’s (謝娥) political fortunes were rising fast after she got out of jail and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in December 1945. Not only did she hold key positions in various committees, she was elected the only woman on the Taipei City Council and headed to Nanjing in 1946 as the sole Taiwanese female representative to the National Constituent Assembly. With the support of first lady Soong May-ling (宋美齡), she started the Taipei Women’s Association and Taiwan Provincial Women’s Association, where she
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) hatched a bold plan to charge forward and seize the initiative when he held a protest in front of the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office. Though risky, because illegal, its success would help tackle at least six problems facing both himself and the KMT. What he did not see coming was Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (將萬安) tripping him up out of the gate. In spite of Chu being the most consequential and successful KMT chairman since the early 2010s — arguably saving the party from financial ruin and restoring its electoral viability —
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,