Located at Taipower Building MRT Station Exit 5 (台電大樓捷運站5號出口), Heiankyo Japanese Tea House (平安京茶事) is the latest dessert spot in town to specialize in traditional Japanese sweets and foamy matcha, the powdered green tea used in Japanese traditional tea ceremony. Everything from the noren curtain at the entrance to the minimalist rock garden reminds one of Kyoto, where matcha culture was said to have originated.
The tranquility of the impressive wooden interior contrasts with the busy street outside. Customers, mostly middle-aged women, graciously spooned matcha ice cream from bamboo containers (NT$300), seemingly enjoying each mouthful in silent pleasure.
Flipping through the picture menu, I ordered the chiginoshiro set (NT$350). The set is a delightful concoction of textures: the melt-in-your-mouth creaminess of matcha ice cream in harmony with in-season strawberry, chewy Japanese dumplings (團子) and chunky red bean paste. A pot of freshly brewed classic sencha (煎茶) or genmaicha (玄米茶) — green tea with toasted brown rice — comes served with this order. Unlike matcha, which is in powder form, sencha is made by adding boiled water onto unshaded green tea leaves. Sencha is bitter but goes extremely well with cold sweets like matcha ice cream (NT$120 per scoop) and parfait (NT$300).
Photo: Nancy Liu
My friend from Tokyo, usually not a big fan of frozen desserts, had aoarashi (NT$350), a serving of matcha jelly with red bean paste and dumplings. Though he found it similar to those served in Japan, I thought that the paste lacked sophistication and the jelly could have been firmer.
The matcha tea with mochi (NT$250) is an ideal set menu for those curious to see an abbreviated form of the tea ceremony. Staff at a preparation counter carefully whisk hot water and matcha powder together with bamboo and then serve.
On a second visit a few days later, I indulged in roll cakes (NT$150 per slice). The genmai flavored roll cake was irresistibly pleasant in presentation and taste. The cake was moist and compact, the fresh cream filling extremely rich. I had to refill my pot of gyokuro tea (NT$ 250), a higher grade of green tea also known as “jade dew,” several times to clean the palate. One slice is probably enough for two light eaters.
Photo: Nancy Liu
I strongly recommend Heiankyo Japanese Tea House to those with an interest in that country’s tea culture. The tea and desserts are of excellent quality, and there are many green tea options to choose from, including matcha milk (NT$ 150), matcha au lait (NT$200) and matcha latte (NT$200).
Photo: Nancy Liu
Photo: Nancy Liu
Photo: Nancy Liu
Photo: Nancy Liu
Photo: Nancy Liu
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
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