Japan’s Wagokoro Tonkatsu Anzu Ginza, formerly known as Wagokoro Tonkatsu Anzu (“Ginza” was added after it partnered with Taiwan’s La Kaffa International Co [六角國際事業]), has earned a justified reputation for its tonkatsu, or deep-fried pork chops.
My friend and I visited the Zhongxiao branch (忠孝店), located inside the Bistro 98 building and a three-minute walk from the Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Station (忠孝復興站), for dinner on a weekday a few weeks ago. We were promptly seated at a window table with views of the area’s bustling streets, which served as a nice contrast to the interior’s soft lighting and relaxing atmosphere.
The majority of the items on Anzu Ginza’s menu are set dishes that come with regular or purple rice, pickled vegetables, shredded lettuce and cabbage with purple perilla or pomelo sauce and miso soup. There are nine takeout options (NT$200 to NT$270) as well as pork and shrimp sandwiches (NT$130 each).
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times
We began with the six-egg Japanese egg roll (古早味玉子燒, NT$120). It was infused with light hints of soy sauce and was a nice balance between sweet and savory. This was followed up by the fried chicken pieces (炸雞塊, NT$100 for 6), slightly crispy on the outside and moist and juicy inside.
According to Anzu Ginza’s branch manager Irene Chiu (邱文萱), the restaurant’s cutlets are aged for seven days, nicely tenderizing them and giving them an intense flavor. The toro loin (TORO里肌肉套餐, NT$450/NT$370) is the restaurant’s signature dish. Though the Japanese word “toro” means fish belly, it is here synonymous with high quality. The large piece of breaded pork loin — which weighs 250g and is 3cm thick — is deep-fried until golden and crispy. As it contains more marbling than the other cuts on the menu, it’s juicier and more flavorsome. This is a must try for all pork chop-maniacs.
The pork loin pot (里肌豬排鍋膳套餐, NT$330/NT$250) is the restaurant’s most popular dish. Unlike conventional tonkatsu, this deep-fried pork loin arrives in a large pot and is topped with stir-fried onion slices and a simmered egg partially soaked in a broth. This creates a harmonious combination of flavors and textures between the bottom part of the pork loin, which is infused with the soup, and the top, which remains slightly crisp.
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times
If you are not a fan of deep-fried foods, the pan-fried pork loin with shredded ginger (生薑燒厚切里肌豬排, NT$350/NT$270) is a good option. The thickly-sliced meat is pan-fried and then stewed in a ginger and garlic sauce until the sauce is completely reduced. Its flavor remains robust, while being significantly less greasy than its deep-fried counterparts.
Other popular dishes include the Anzu special (杏子招牌特餐, NT$330/NT$250), including pork cutlets and shrimp, vegetable roll and steamed egg, and the grass shrimp and pork fillet (草蝦腰內豬排套餐, NT$350/NT$270).
Anzu Ginza has a minimum charge of NT$80 for all guests above 6 years old, and reservations are available at some branches. But the 90-minute time limit may be too short. Overall, Anzu Ginza is a satisfying dining experience, and its authentic Japanese cutlets are irresistible.
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times
Photo: Eddy Chang, Taipei Times
What was the population of Taiwan when the first Negritos arrived? In 500BC? The 1st century? The 18th? These questions are important, because they can contextualize the number of babies born last month, 6,523, to all the people on Taiwan, indigenous and colonial alike. That figure represents a year on year drop of 3,884 babies, prefiguring total births under 90,000 for the year. It also represents the 26th straight month of deaths exceeding births. Why isn’t this a bigger crisis? Because we don’t experience it. Instead, what we experience is a growing and more diverse population. POPULATION What is Taiwan’s actual population?
After Jurassic Park premiered in 1993, people began to ask if scientists could really bring long-lost species back from extinction, just like in the hit movie. The idea has triggered “de-extinction” debates in several countries, including Taiwan, where the focus has been on the Formosan clouded leopard (designated after 1917 as Neofelis nebulosa brachyura). National Taiwan Museum’s (NTM) Web site describes the Formosan clouded leopard as “a subspecies endemic to Taiwan…it reaches a body length of 0.6m to 1.2m and tail length of 0.7m to 0.9m and weighs between 15kg and 30kg. It is entirely covered with beautiful cloud-like spots
For the past five years, Sammy Jou (周祥敏) has climbed Kinmen’s highest peak, Taiwu Mountain (太武山) at 6am before heading to work. In the winter, it’s dark when he sets out but even at this hour, other climbers are already coming down the mountain. All of this is a big change from Jou’s childhood during the Martial Law period, when the military requisitioned the mountain for strategic purposes and most of it was off-limits. Back then, only two mountain trails were open, and they were open only during special occasions, such as for prayers to one’s ancestors during Lunar New Year.
A key feature of Taiwan’s environmental impact assessments (EIA) is that they seldom stop projects, especially once the project has passed its second stage EIA review (the original Suhua Highway proposal, killed after passing the second stage review, seems to be the lone exception). Mingjian Township (名間鄉) in Nantou County has been the site of rising public anger over the proposed construction of a waste incinerator in an important agricultural area. The township is a key producer of tea (over 40 percent of the island’s production), ginger and turmeric. The incinerator project is currently in its second stage EIA. The incinerator
RSS