In March, Taipei's two German restaurants called Schwarzwald -- one on Wenzhou Street, one on Yongkang Street -- parted ways and the Yongkang branch changed its name to Oma Ursel Cafe Restaurant and moved to Fuxing N Road, but retained its manager Chiu Dai-yu (邱岱玉) and the cooking staff, who have made it one of the few authentic German eateries in town over the past four years. The new name is a tribute to Chiu's German mother-in-law, whom she credits for teaching her everything she knows about German cuisine -- -- and one look at the menu will show that she's learned a huge amount.
Oma Ursel's tries to incorporate three elements of German food into its menu: home-style cooking of the kind taught by the restaurant's namesake, regional specialties and new flavors that have been incorporated into the national palette during recent decades. The result is a selection of dishes that is representative of current German cuisine without limiting itself to cliched Teutonic specialties.
Recently, Chiu has been enthusiastically promoting the restaurant's five choices of sausage, all of which are made on the premises. Less ambitious diners can choose two from among the bratwurst, cheese wurst, spicy wurst, white wurst and gyro wurst, or the brave can attempt all five. The stand-outs are the bratwurst and spicy wurst, while the gyro wurst in tatziki sauce is well worth a try to sample one of the flavors that Chiu said has become integral to German cuisine since the arrival of immigrants from Greece and Turkey.
PHOTO: MAX WOODWORTH, TAIPEI TIMES
Along with the sausages, diners eager for authentic fare should try the Wiener schnitzel, baked trout, or the chicken cordon bleu. This last dish is an absolute highlight, with plentiful cheese melted in the middle of the breaded, wrapped and fried chicken filet and pork. The cooks have deftly avoided over-breading to allow the flavors of the meat and cheese to come through while adding a pleasant crisp texture.
In the blazing summer months, when sausages and meats may be less appealing to some diners, the lighter fare on offer includes meal-size salads and a long list of vegetarian dishes, including the house's own vegetarian meatloaf, as well as light and low-priced lunch specials like spaetzle (fried homemade egg noodles) and seafood spaghetti. These go down especially well with a glass of Alsterwasser -- a half-and-half mix of beer and Sprite named for the lake in the center of Hamburg.
All of the restaurant's main dishes are served as set menus with decent portions of side orders that include sauerkraut, spaetzle, potato noodles or speck (braised potatoes, onions and bacon), salad, tomato and bacon soup, a slice of cake and coffee or tea. It's important to save space for the restaurant's homemade cakes, as no German meal would be complete without a slice, but you'll need the coffee (steer clear of the milk teas) or the remainder of your wheat beer to get down the apple tart, as it's quite dry.
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
Despite the intense sunshine, we were hardly breaking a sweat as we cruised along the flat, dedicated bike lane, well protected from the heat by a canopy of trees. The electric assist on the bikes likely made a difference, too. Far removed from the bustle and noise of the Taichung traffic, we admired the serene rural scenery, making our way over rivers, alongside rice paddies and through pear orchards. Our route for the day covered two bike paths that connect in Fengyuan District (豐原) and are best done together. The Hou-Feng Bike Path (后豐鐵馬道) runs southward from Houli District (后里) while the
President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 national security speech marked a turning point. He signaled that the government was finally getting serious about a whole-of-society approach to defending the nation. The presidential office summarized his speech succinctly: “President Lai introduced 17 major strategies to respond to five major national security and united front threats Taiwan now faces: China’s threat to national sovereignty, its threats from infiltration and espionage activities targeting Taiwan’s military, its threats aimed at obscuring the national identity of the people of Taiwan, its threats from united front infiltration into Taiwanese society through cross-strait exchanges, and its threats from
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
RSS