If it's any testament to how well Isabelle Wen's fashionable new eatery above Renai Road is doing since its opening a few months ago, there wasn't a seat available at 8pm on Monday. Taipei's own design diva seems to have had no problem making the leap from haute couture to haute cuisine.
But haute cuisine doesn't exactly describe what comes from the kitchen into the chic dining room at Fifi. It's Shanghai and Szechuan cuisine, to be sure, but not like what you've come to expect at similar restaurants around the capital city.
You'll notice the difference from the appetizer page of the menu (NT$180 to NT$280), where stuffed green peppers, green beans with mustard, and bean curd stripped salad vie for your attention, on to Fifi's choices of "vegetables and eggs" (NT$220 to NT$280), as the menu lists them: Hunan double-cooked eggs, "mapao dofu" and other very interesting-sounding items.
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES
I chose the pumpkin with salty egg, having decided the "hairy gourd with silver fish" sounded too much like a still life painting. And I was glad that I did; the spice from the pumpkin and saltiness of the egg were nicely equalized by the dofu that found its way into each bite. I'd also ordered the stuffed green pepper, having heard from a source that it was one of the two best appetizers on the menu -- the other being the bean curd stripped salad with garlic, peanut sesame oil, cilantro and white-leaf lettuce. Alas, the stuffed peppers were sold out for the night and the bean curd salad was far more than a single person could put away.
Fifi's, it must be said, is best enjoyed with friends or family. Like so many other local restaurants, portions laid on the table are meant to be divvied up between eight to 10 people, making the ordering of as many items sumptuous but not sinful.
Not sinful until the meat comes to the table, at least. The source who told me about the bean curd salad also turned me onto Fifi's "don po pork" -- the one pictured above -- easily one of the better pork dishes I've had in a city stuffed with delicious pork dishes.
Finally, one of the better reasons to check out Fifi is the third-floor lounge that goes late on weeknights and even later on the weekends. DJ Edmund has just been confirmed as DJ for Wednesday nights.
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
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
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
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