Staple foods are nourishment to the soul because they provide the kind of sustenance that is at once nostalgic and comforting. When Asians travel to the West they are often confounded by the lack of rice on menus. For Westerners coming to Taiwan, the dearth of potatoes can sometimes cause stress. And though this is a generalization, many will go to great lengths to find staple foods that alleviate the yearning for home. For this reviewer, it is bread. Like any culinary Columbus, I will travel far and wide to discover new places providing breads and desserts.
The recently opened Patisserie Boite de bijou, located in an alley directly behind National Taiwan Normal University (Shida), fills in the map. The brainchild of Lin Shu-chen (林淑真), the small European-style bakery serves up an excellent variety of breads, pastries and desserts. The fact that Lin was an interior designer is apparent in the layout of her store; the service is also excellent, as is the bread coming out of the oven.
Lin uses flour imported from France, and says that special emphasis is put on making the breads totally natural, with no chemical enhancements. From scratch, the process of making the bread takes on average between one to three days, "which enables the ingredients to blend together and the dough to rise naturally," she said.
PHOTO: NOAH BUCHAN, TAIPEI TIMES
And though purchasing high quality breads and desserts means coughing up a little extra dough, the return on the investment is worth it. The foccacia (NT$40), French bread (NT$50), panini with black olives (NT$100) and baguette (NT$100) all provide a perfect accompaniment to any pasta dish while the rye bread with green peppercorns (NT$45) or French bread with cranberries (NT$75) are great foundations for any sandwich.
The variety of pastries and desserts on offer also receives the same care in experimentation that Lin and her team of chefs give to all their creations. Among the most popular are the mousse au chocolate et aux framboise (NT$85), gateau opera (NT$95) and the not too sweet mont blanc (NT$95), a light dessert that mellows out any bitter cup of coffee.
As it is the season to be jolly, Lin and her team of chefs have spent the last few weeks perfecting a Christmas stollen (NT$380) that would keep Santa coming back for more. In addition to the stollen there are also a variety of other cakes and breads perfect for any Christmas party or dinner.
June 23 to June 29 After capturing the walled city of Hsinchu on June 22, 1895, the Japanese hoped to quickly push south and seize control of Taiwan’s entire west coast — but their advance was stalled for more than a month. Not only did local Hakka fighters continue to cause them headaches, resistance forces even attempted to retake the city three times. “We had planned to occupy Anping (Tainan) and Takao (Kaohsiung) as soon as possible, but ever since we took Hsinchu, nearby bandits proclaiming to be ‘righteous people’ (義民) have been destroying train tracks and electrical cables, and gathering in villages
Dr. Y. Tony Yang, Associate Dean of Health Policy and Population Science at George Washington University, argued last week in a piece for the Taipei Times about former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) leading a student delegation to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that, “The real question is not whether Ma’s visit helps or hurts Taiwan — it is why Taiwan lacks a sophisticated, multi-track approach to one of the most complex geopolitical relationships in the world” (“Ma’s Visit, DPP’s Blind Spot,” June 18, page 8). Yang contends that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has a blind spot: “By treating any
Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan, a country wracked by conflict. Last week’s air drop was the latest in a controversial development — private contracting firms led by former US intelligence officers and military veterans delivering aid to some of the world’s deadliest conflict zones, in operations organized with governments that are combatants in the conflicts. The moves are roiling the global aid community, which warns of a more militarized, politicized and profit-seeking trend
This year will go down in the history books. Taiwan faces enormous turmoil and uncertainty in the coming months. Which political parties are in a good position to handle big changes? All of the main parties are beset with challenges. Taking stock, this column examined the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) (“Huang Kuo-chang’s choking the life out of the TPP,” May 28, page 12), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) (“Challenges amid choppy waters for the DPP,” June 14, page 12) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) (“KMT struggles to seize opportunities as ‘interesting times’ loom,” June 20, page 11). Times like these can
RSS