The Shida area offers hamburger lovers plenty of options, with everything from higher-end authentic American-style restaurants to mom-and-pop joints that have added burgers to their menus. Enjoy Kitchen, which opened two years ago in an alley close to Taipower Building MRT Station (台電大樓捷運站) Exit 4, positions itself somewhere in the middle, with a frugally decorated but clean interior and economical prices. The restaurant bills itself as halal (food permissible according to Islamic law), so there is no bacon or alcohol on the menu.
Enjoy’s roster of 24 burgers, which come as a set meal (subtract NT$90 for a la carte), is immediately attractive to a protein lover, and the NT$50-off lunch special on weekdays makes it doubly so.
The usual burger concoctions share space with some themed according to countries, such as the Myanmar burger (NT$250) and the India burger (NT$230). Many of these, however, are just regular burgers with the addition of some item common to that country — papaya in the Thai burger (NT$230), for example, or ginger and dried bonito (skipjack tuna) in the Japanese burger (NT$230).
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
For the brave (or foolhardy), there is the stinky tofu burger (NT$250), which my server said was a patty infused with bits of stinky tofu, and the banana burger (NT$230). Not feeling particularly courageous, I ordered the onion ring burger (NT$230), which came with wedge fries (onion rings, salad or corn chips are also available) and bottomless cola.
For a place that deems itself an expert on burgers, Enjoy served up a little disappointment. The veggies were fresh and plentiful, the patty was toothsome and grilled to my specifications, and the use of an English muffin rather than the usual bun was an interesting spin on an American standard, but the processed cheese wasn’t melted and the two smallish onion rings tasted like they came from a package. I suspect much of the cook’s energy went into preparing the wedge fries, which were lightly seasoned, crispy, and served in a generous portion.
Enjoy also has a selection of salads, of which the spicy green papaya (NT$140) is notable for its citrusy flavor and hot finish. I also tried the “cream dumplings” (NT$120), eight deep-fried pastry wrap morsels containing cream cheese, imitation crab, milk, green onion and honey. Though the crab is fake (which is not specified on the menu), the creamy and textured filling was a pleasure.
Photo: Noah Buchan, Taipei Times
Enjoy Kitchen’s relatively cheap prices and wide selection of burgers make it an attractive place to visit. Those hankering for a more authentic American burger, however, are better off heading to one of the many other burger joints in the area.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had
RSS