For those who enjoy celebrity restaurants like Jay Chou’s (周杰倫) fantastical Deja Vu, Chang Hui-mei’s (A-mei, 張惠妹) place may look a bit plain.
At the A8 Cafe & Gallery, the menu is rustic, with much of it hailing from her hometown Puyuma village of Tamalakaw in Taitung County.
Stylistically, the restaurant is a hipster’s dream. An eclectic design ethos expressed in black iron, exposed cement, red brick and solid wood create a chic vibe. Usually, a restaurant where great care is taken over style can appear neurotically absorbed in its own trendiness. But with A8, high-end elements are balanced by little knickknacks and vintage furniture, which are said to come from the owner’s personal collection. The skull rings on the table and the wall painting of horse anatomy may not be to everyone’s taste, but the space is welcoming, as if it belongs to a really cool person who invited you in to relax, have a good time with friends or be restfully alone.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
Children will definitely adore the menu’s golden fried dumplings (黃金煎餃, NT$200 for 10 and NT$250 for 15), which have a sweet corn and pork stuffing and are sprinkled with cheddar cheese and served on a crispy sheet made with more cheese. A local spin on French fries, the fried taro (炸芋條, NT$100) has an al-dente texture and uses the root vegetable grown in the Puyuma diva’s hometown.
The cafe offers a selection of pasta dishes, but the A8 spaghetti with garlic and chili (A8雀兒蒜味辣椒義大利麵, NT$250) my dining companions and I ordered last month was rather generic.
On the other hand, we loved our rainbow mix veggies (彩虹蔬菜, NT$250), which is a bowl of red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini and king oyster mushrooms brought to life by excitingly tangy mustard seeds.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
My favorite part of the menu, however, was the home-style Tamalakaw dishes. Light-flavored and cooked with simple ingredients, the Puyuma loofah noodle soup (普悠瑪瓜瓜麵, NT$200) immediately brings a soothing sensation not unlike the warm, nourishing food your mother made for you when you were sick and needed to be pampered as a child.
The wait staff, many of whom hail from the Puyuma tribe, seem amicable and at ease and help to create a homey feel to the dining establishment. Below the restaurant, an art gallery holds exhibitions from time to time. Currently on display are oil paintings created by artists with disabilities
A8 also boasts a popular selection of desserts, including red-wine rose ice cream (紅酒玫瑰冰淇淋, NT$180) and waffles with apple, orange or mulberry jelly (A8自製果醬鬆餅, NT$220) that’s made in-house.
Photo: Ho Yi, Taipei Times
There are few choices of beer (NT$180 and NT$200) from the Netherlands and Germany, as well as a small collection of cocktails (NT$200 and NT$250) and wine (NT$1,250 and NT$1,500 per bottle, NT$250 and NT$280 per glass). A8’s signature drink is coffee made from beans grown and harvested in Tamalakaw. Its name, Haliwanes (哈莉瓦嫩思, NT$220), means rainbow in the Puyuma language.
Cheng Ching-hsiang (鄭青祥) turned a small triangle of concrete jammed between two old shops into a cool little bar called 9dimension. In front of the shop, a steampunk-like structure was welded by himself to serve as a booth where he prepares cocktails. “Yancheng used to be just old people,” he says, “but now young people are coming and creating the New Yancheng.” Around the corner, Yu Hsiu-jao (饒毓琇), opened Tiny Cafe. True to its name, it is the size of a cupboard and serves cold-brewed coffee. “Small shops are so special and have personality,” she says, “people come to Yancheng to find such treasures.” She
Late last month Philippines Foreign Affairs Secretary Theresa Lazaro told the Philippine Senate that the nation has sufficient funds to evacuate the nearly 170,000 Filipino residents in Taiwan, 84 percent of whom are migrant workers, in the event of war. Agencies have been exploring evacuation scenarios since early this year, she said. She also observed that since the Philippines has only limited ships, the government is consulting security agencies for alternatives. Filipinos are a distant third in overall migrant worker population. Indonesia has over 248,000 workers, followed by roughly 240,000 Vietnamese. It should be noted that there are another 170,000
Hannah Liao (廖宸萱) recalls the harassment she experienced on dating apps, an experience that left her frightened and disgusted. “I’ve tried some voice-based dating apps,” the 30-year-old says. “Right away, some guys would say things like, ‘Wanna talk dirty?’ or ‘Wanna suck my d**k?’” she says. Liao’s story is not unique. Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show a more than 50 percent rise in sexual assault cases related to online encounters over the past five years. In 2023 alone, women comprised 7,698 of the 9,413 reported victims. Faced with a dating landscape that can feel more predatory than promising, many in
“This is one of those rare bits of TikTok fitness advice with a lot of truth behind it,” says Bethan Crouse, performance nutritionist at Loughborough University. “Sometimes it’s taken a bit too literally, though! You see people chugging protein drinks as they’re scanning out of their gym.” Crouse recommends the athletes she works with consume 20-30g of protein within 30-60 minutes of finishing a resistance training session. “The act of exercising our muscles increases the breakdown of muscle proteins,” she says. “In order to restore, or hopefully improve them — and get gains such as increased muscle mass or strength —
RSS