Very Thai’s (非常泰) three locations (in Sogo Tianmu, Xinyi District’s NEO19 and on Fuxing North Road (復興北路)) are sleek almost to the point of sterile. With a predominantly black and luminous green color scheme, the walls are pasted over with pages taken from Pop and other arty fashion magazines, while the wait staff is bedecked in sharp black suits and crisp shirts.
Despite the restaurant’s painfully hip interior, its menu features excellent Thai classics. Spicy dishes are sweat-inducingly piquant, curries are creamy and rich, fish is tender, and meats are juicy. Very Thai also distinguishes itself with a drinks menu offering 30 beers imported from 12 countries, including Belgium, Denmark, Switzerland, Australia, the US and, of course, Thailand.
The restaurant’s appetizer menu features the basic fried golden shrimp cakes (NT$250), pork or chicken satay (NT$220) and fried egg rolls (NT$160). I opted for the Very Thai Combo (NT$380), with fried shrimp cakes, egg rolls and chicken wrapped in orchid leaf. The latter is available as a stand-alone dish for NT$280 and was wonderful. The meat was succulent and glazed in a savory-sweet sauce. The other two items, however, were lackluster. The shrimp cakes had very little flavor, even after being dipped in the accompanying sweet-and-sour sauce. The egg rolls were slightly spicy, but also forgettable.
My main course, the grilled boneless short ribs with Thai dip (NT$320), made up for the appetizer plate. Each slice of beef, served simply with a spicy dipping sauce, was cooked to flavorsome, melt-in-your-mouth perfection.
On a separate visit, my companion and I ordered a Jim Thompson shrimp salad (NT$300), Thai-style raw shrimp (NT$300), green curry chicken in coconut sauce (NT$280) and steamed sea bass in lemon sauce (NT$480).
The Jim Thompson salad (named after the American founder of the Thai Silk Company) was the blandest dish. Sliced cherry tomatoes, diced cucumber and steamed prawns were tossed and marinated in a tart dressing that lacked aroma. But the Thai-style raw shrimp certainly atoned for the salad. Each shellfish was butterflied, with a heap of minced garlic, chili peppers and various spices scooped on top. The garnish left us sweating even having scraped half of it off.
The sea bass’ light yet zippy lemon sauce provided a welcome contrast
to the fish. Fortunately, the coconut milk in our mellow, creamy green
curry, filled with sauteed chicken
strips and plenty of Thai basil, soothed our tongues.
Very Thai’s signature dessert is its homemade ice cream (NT$120). The large coconut flavored scoop we ordered (mango and durian are also available) was well complemented with slices of fruit hidden inside. The “ruby fruit” (small balls of plump and firm pomegranate-flavored jelly) in coconut milk with crushed ice (NT$90) was
also excellent. I had Very Thai’s
signature mojito (NT$170) with my meal, but I should have saved the
very sweet (and only slightly citrusy)
cocktail for dessert.
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
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 —
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
RSS