It’s all hip-hop and hot dogs at DJ, a “music and fast food” restaurant in a hipster neighborhood in the East District. A turntable booth stocked with a collection of rap and R ’n’ B vinyl takes up a sizable portion of the dining area. The shelves proudly display albums by Eminem, Ying Yang Twins, Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey.
As for America’s favorite snack, DJ offers seven varieties, including the “American-style” hot dog (NT$90), which comes loaded with onions, sauerkraut and pickles, and the chili hot dog (labeled “spicy meat” on the menu, NT$130). For the adventurous, there’s the calamari hot dog (NT$130), recommended by the friendly manager.
Another house recommendation, the cheese hot dog (NT$130), is basically the American-style dog with a combination of processed American cheese and cheddar shreds melted on top. The frankfurter or “German wurst,” tasted much better than the average store-bought sausage. DJ, which seats about 20 people, did this dog right by keeping it simple. Looking appropriately messy and lowbrow, the frankfurter arrived with artificial-looking yellow cheese blistering on top. The side of French fries and soda at an additional NT$70 delivered on “fast food” comfort. The only drawback was the slightly overcooked bun.
Those with American-sized appetites should also order from the deep-fry selection, which includes French fries (NT$100), fried potato wedges or “Golden Fries” (NT$130), onion rings (NT$100), chicken nuggets (NT$120) and cheese sticks (NT$120). Spicy chicken wings are also available for NT$180.
A flat screen TV hanging on the wall played a DVD mix of hip-hop and R ’n’ B. Scarfing down greasy food and watching rap videos almost felt like the equivalent of getting mesmerized by a Bollywood movie at an Indian restaurant. Halfway through the meal, I suddenly realized that I had sat through several clips by rappers Young Buck and Lil’ Wayne, as well as Mary J. Blige’s stylish video for We Ride (I See the Future), in which she cruises Los Angeles and the southern California coast on a chopper motorcycle. Consider getting takeout if such a playlist would detract from your hot dog moment.
According to the manager, DJ has more of a bar vibe in the evenings, when they turn down the lights and have live DJs work the turntables. The drink selection includes Budweiser (NT$120) and Smirnoff Ice (NT$120), while teetotalers can have canned sodas or tea for NT$70, and Mango or Cranberry juice for NT$90.
Though it doesn’t quite match the selection or the quality at Gusto Street Hot Dogs (located on Ruian Street (瑞安街) and open only on weekends), DJ makes for an acceptable quick fix if you are in the neighborhood and in a hip-hop mood.
The arrival of a Typhoon Gaemi last week coincided with the publication of a piece at Yale Climate Connection on the upcoming bill for coastal defenses in the US: US$400 billion by 2040. Last week’s column noted how Taiwan is desperately short of construction workers. I doubt “sea wall and dike construction workers” are on the radar of most readers, but they should be. Indeed, the extensive overbuilding of residential housing has crowded out construction workers needed elsewhere, one of the many ways the housing bubble is eating Taiwan. FLOODING For example, a September 2022 piece in Frontiers in Environmental Science, a
Allegations of corruption against three heavyweight politicians from the three major parties are big in the news now. On Wednesday, prosecutors indicted Hsinchu County Commissioner Yang Wen-ke (楊文科) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), a judgment is expected this week in the case involving Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and former deputy premier and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is being held incommunicado in prison. Unlike the other two cases, Cheng’s case has generated considerable speculation, rumors, suspicions and conspiracy theories from both the pan-blue and pan-green camps.
Last Sunday’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) national congress was the most anticipated in years, and produced some drama and surprises. As expected, party chair President William Lai (賴清德), his New Tide (新潮流系統, usually abbreviated to 新系) faction and his allied “trust in Lai” (信賴) coalition of factions won majorities and control of the party, but New Tide did not do as well as expected due to an unexpected defection (two previous columns — “The powerful political force that vanished from the English press,” April 23, 2024 and “Introducing the powerful DPP factions,” April 27, 2024 — provide indepth introductions
Stepping inside Waley Art (水谷藝術) in Taipei’s historic Wanhua District (萬華區) one leaves the motorcycle growl and air-conditioner purr of the street and enters a very different sonic realm. Speakers hiss, machines whir and objects chime from all five floors of the shophouse-turned- contemporary art gallery (including the basement). “It’s a bit of a metaphor, the stacking of gallery floors is like the layering of sounds,” observes Australian conceptual artist Samuel Beilby, whose audio installation HZ & Machinic Paragenesis occupies the ground floor of the gallery space. He’s not wrong. Put ‘em in a Box (我們把它都裝在一個盒子裡), which runs until Aug. 18, invites