This traditional southern Chinese courtyard-style house tucked away in the foothills of Tatun Mountain (大屯山) is worth visiting for many reasons. Operating under a name loosely translated as Inside the Old Wall, the property has been handed down through the Lee (李) family over three generations and serves as an example of how a heritage site can be revitalized with a little love and imagination. Originally built as a family home in 1871, the structure was extensively renovated in 2002, transformed into its current combination of social history museum, restaurant and scenic cafe.
The museum component of Inside the Old Wall is understated, and diners can experience the nostalgia of the restaurant’s setting simply by lounging in the courtyard and watching children play hop-scotch and other simple games on roughly drawn squares. There are plenty of shaded outdoor seats and visitors are protected from the sun not only by large parasols, but also by the big old trees that play as significant a role in shaping Inside the Old Wall’s ambiance as the bricks and mortar.
In the summer months, the heat can make dining outdoors quite an ordeal. Sweltering patrons have the option of eating in the attractive two-story wooden structure behind the main house, as the building contains both an air-conditioned dining area and an upstairs cafe lounge.
The food is best described as home-cooked Taiwanese cuisine — the dishes are tasty enough, if not exactly calculated to wow diners. Inside the Old Wall offers a wide range of stir-fried wild vegetables (NT$100 and up) not readily available at city restaurants. Dishes such as deep fried eel (香酥鰻魚, NT$220), spicy eggplant (魚香茄子, NT$200) and pumpkin with salted duck egg (鹹蛋南瓜, NT$200) are the restaurant’s specialties and are suitable for tables of four and up. While the fare is certainly not fancy, Inside the Old Wall handles salt and oil with an appropriate degree of restraint, which allows the freshness of the ingredients to speak for itself. Service is casual but extremely efficient.
Though the cooking is significantly above par for restaurants found at scenic spots, it is not the cuisine, but Inside the Old Wall’s cafe that is attention grabbing. The cafe area is not air-conditioned and instead relies on its large windows to allow a breeze to waft in. The owners, who also operate a boutique cafe in Jingmei (景美區), Taipei City, take their drinks seriously, roasting their own coffee beans in small batches and providing visitors with a diverse spectrum of interesting teas.
Inside the Old Wall’s thorough approach to beverages is a rarity. The staff takes its time preparing and serving beverages, leaving patrons at their leisure to enjoy the beautiful mountain scenery. Overlooking the magnificent cherry orchards of Tianyuan Temple (天元宮), the view from the restaurant is particularly spectacular during the cherry blossom season in February and March. Bookings are recommended.
May 18 to May 24 Pastor Yang Hsu’s (楊煦) congregation was shocked upon seeing the land he chose to build his orphanage. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and the only way to access it was to cross a river by foot. The soil was poor due to runoff, and large rocks strewn across the plot prevented much from growing. In addition, there was no running water or electricity. But it was all Yang could afford. He and his Indigenous Atayal wife Lin Feng-ying (林鳳英) had already been caring for 24 orphans in their home, and they were in
On May 2, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), at a meeting in support of Taipei city councilors at party headquarters, compared President William Lai (賴清德) to Hitler. Chu claimed that unlike any other democracy worldwide in history, no other leader was rooting out opposing parties like Lai and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That his statements are wildly inaccurate was not the point. It was a rallying cry, not a history lesson. This was intentional to provoke the international diplomatic community into a response, which was promptly provided. Both the German and Israeli offices issued statements on Facebook
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday delivered an address marking the first anniversary of his presidency. In the speech, Lai affirmed Taiwan’s global role in technology, trade and security. He announced economic and national security initiatives, and emphasized democratic values and cross-party cooperation. The following is the full text of his speech: Yesterday, outside of Beida Elementary School in New Taipei City’s Sanxia District (三峽), there was a major traffic accident that, sadly, claimed several lives and resulted in multiple injuries. The Executive Yuan immediately formed a task force, and last night I personally visited the victims in hospital. Central government agencies and the
Australia’s ABC last week published a piece on the recall campaign. The article emphasized the divisions in Taiwanese society and blamed the recall for worsening them. It quotes a supporter of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) as saying “I’m 43 years old, born and raised here, and I’ve never seen the country this divided in my entire life.” Apparently, as an adult, she slept through the post-election violence in 2000 and 2004 by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the veiled coup threats by the military when Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) became president, the 2006 Red Shirt protests against him ginned up by
RSS