The man at the next table plunks down two BlackBerrys on top of a stack of reports. He has the typical businessperson’s habit of peppering his Mandarin with English words like “finance,” “report” and “amazing de (的) performance.”
At Paul, the newly opened restaurant and bakery at Renai Circle, tuning out of neighboring diners’ conversations is difficult as the lunch and dinner crowds are made up of businesspeople and the dinning setup follows the French cafe tradition of placing tables just centimeters apart.
The French bakery and restaurant opened a few months back to much media fanfare, partially because most of Paul’s recipes use ingredients — no melamine here — sourced from France.
The restaurant has a banquette running along three walls and one six-seat table in the center and is crammed with two-person tables that can be pushed apart or together. The walls are painted a soothing autumnal yellow, and the small antique-style wall lights, Vermeer-like paintings and heavy curtains lend the place a rustic atmosphere. Large wooden beams crisscross the ceiling and complete the country farmhouse feel.
In keeping with the decor, the limited menu of quiches (NT$395), sandwiches (NT$385), salads (NT$385) and crepes (NT$385) is country-style cooking inspired by France. A la carte items can be ordered for takeout at the bakery.
While all items on the restaurant’s menu are set meals, which include main course, soup of the day and choice of coffee, tea or soft drink, items from the bakery can be ordered separately for dessert.
I went with the vegetarian quiche.
The mushroom soup arrived steaming hot in a small bowl just moments after it was ordered. The broth was creamy and full-flavored with generous chunks of freshly chopped mushrooms and topped with a thin baguette crouton.
The quiche was served on a large plate accompanied by a fresh garden salad tossed with red wine vinaigrette and thickly cut slices of baked tomato and zucchini. Swathed in olive oil and sprinkled with herbs, this accompaniment contrasted nicely with the heaviness of the quiche.
The quiche, held together with a rich and flaky pastry crust, which crumbled into pieces under a little pressure from my fork while the body still managed to retain its shape — a sign that Paul takes its pastry seriously — contained chunks of eggplant, zucchini and tomato. Hints of pesto and Parmesan added a complexity to the vegetables.
The portions at Paul tend toward the large and I didn’t have enough room to sample the wide array of pastries and desserts from the bakery next door. That will have to wait for another visit, which will likely be in the near future.— NOAH BUCHAN
For many people, Bilingual Nation 2030 begins and ends in the classroom. Since the policy was launched in 2018, the debate has centered on students, teachers and the pressure placed on schools. Yet the policy was never solely about English education. The government’s official plan also calls for bilingualization in Taiwan’s government services, laws and regulations, and living environment. The goal is to make Taiwan more inclusive and accessible to international enterprises and talent and better prepared for global economic and trade conditions. After eight years, that grand vision is due for a pulse check. RULES THAT CAN BE READ For Harper Chen (陳虹宇), an adviser
Traditionally, indigenous people in Taiwan’s mountains practice swidden cultivation, or “slash and burn” agriculture, a practice common in human history. According to a 2016 research article in the International Journal of Environmental Sustainability, among the Atayal people, this began with a search for suitable forested slopeland. The trees are burnt for fertilizer and the land cleared of stones. The stones and wood are then piled up to make fences, while both dead and standing trees are retained on the plot. The fences are used to grow climbing crops like squash and beans. The plot itself supports farming for three years.
The breakwater stretches out to sea from the sprawling Kaohsiung port in southern Taiwan. Normally, it’s crowded with massive tankers ferrying liquefied natural gas from Qatar to be stored in the bulbous white tanks that dot the shoreline. These are not normal times, though, and not a single shipment from Qatar has docked at the Yongan terminal since early March after the Strait of Hormuz was shuttered. The suspension has provided a realistic preview of a potential Chinese blockade, a move that would throttle an economy anchored by the world’s most advanced and power-hungry semiconductor industry. It is a stark reminder of
May 4 to May 10 It was once said that if you hadn’t performed at the Sapphire Grand Cabaret (藍寶石大歌廳), you couldn’t truly be considered a star. Taking the stage at the legendary Kaohsiung club was more than just a concert. Performers were expected to entertain in every sense, wearing outlandish or revealing costumes and staying quick on their feet as sharp-tongued, over-the-top hosts asked questions and delivered jokes that would be seen as vulgar, even offensive, by today’s standards. Opening in May 1967 during a period of strict political and social control, Sapphire offered a rare outlet for audiences in
RSS