Fans of xiaolongbao (小籠包), or soup dumplings, should add Heshanzhi (何善之) to their list of places to try. The restaurant opened in March on Da-an Road (大安路) and is an offshoot of the hot-pot chain of the same name owned by actor-turned-restaurateur Shao Hsin (邵昕).
He appears to be aiming for diners who want a cheaper alternative to Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐), particularly Japanese tourists who might not want to stand in line at Yongkang Street (永康街). The shop’s name is also displayed in Japanese phonetic characters. Heshanzhi’s exterior catches the eye with a welcoming set of huge intricately carved wooden doors that slide open automatically, and a large window looking into a steamy kitchen where passersby can glimpse the chefs at work.
The menu offers a few twists to the standard Shanghai-style fare. Well worth a try is Heshanzhi’s house specialty, soup dumplings with Penghu sponge gourd and shrimp (澎湖絲瓜蝦仁湯包, NT$200). The dumplings contain slightly less broth than the normal xiaolongbao, but are melt-in-the-mouth delicious nonetheless.
The filling, made of chopped sponge gourd, a green vegetable similar in consistency to a cucumber, has a subtle sweet flavor that complements the minced shrimp. Rounding off this morsel is a skin thin and delicate enough to satisfy the most discerning dumpling connoisseurs.
Some of the fancier selections include soup dumplings with Hokkaido minced crab filling (北海道蟹粉小包, NT$250) and sanxian steamed dumplings (三鮮蒸餃, NT$200). These items make the xiaolongbao with chicken broth (雞汁小籠包, NT$130) seem all the more humble.
The interior is a mix of modern chic and traditional Chinese decor, with gallery lighting, mirrored walls, dark lacquer wood tables and ornate wood carvings. But this refined, upscale atmosphere is cheapened in few corners, which have large photos of menu items plastered over them as wallpaper.
That said, diners are getting decent Shanghai cuisine at decent prices. A range of cold appetizers, including excellent string beans and a garlic stir-fry, is offered at NT$60 per dish. Other classic items on the menu include chicken noodle soup (原盅雞湯麵, NT$150) and fried tofu and rice noodle soup (油豆腐細粉, NT$120), as well as a few crowd-pleasing northern Chinese dishes like fried scallion roll with beef (牛肉捲餅, NT$120).
Heshanzhi serves a wide selection of sweets, including freshly made mochi (手工麻糬, NT$90). The grilled flatbread filled with sweet red bean paste (豆沙鍋餅, NT$120) is a tasty and filling dessert, with a nutty flavor courtesy of a generous sesame seed coating.
Jacques Poissant’s suffering stopped the day he asked his daughter if it would be “cowardly to ask to be helped to die.” The retired Canadian insurance adviser was 93, and “was wasting away” after a long battle with prostate cancer. “He no longer had any zest for life,” Josee Poissant said. Last year her mother made the same choice at 96 when she realized she would not be getting out of hospital. She died surrounded by her children and their partners listening to the music she loved. “She was at peace. She sang until she went to sleep.” Josee Poissant remembers it as a beautiful
For many centuries from the medieval to the early modern era, the island port of Hirado on the northwestern tip of Kyushu in Japan was the epicenter of piracy in East Asia. From bases in Hirado the notorious wokou (倭寇) terrorized Korea and China. They raided coastal towns, carrying off people into slavery and looting everything from grain to porcelain to bells in Buddhist temples. Kyushu itself operated a thriving trade with China in sulfur, a necessary ingredient of the gunpowder that powered militaries from Europe to Japan. Over time Hirado developed into a full service stop for pirates. Booty could
Politically charged thriller One Battle After Another won six prizes, including best picture, at the British Academy Film Awards on Sunday, building momentum ahead of Hollywood’s Academy Awards next month. Blues-steeped vampire epic Sinners and gothic horror story Frankenstein won three awards each, while Shakespearean family tragedy Hamnet won two including best British film. One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson’s explosive film about a group of revolutionaries in chaotic conflict with the state, won awards for directing, adapted screenplay, cinematography and editing, as well as for Sean Penn’s supporting performance as an obsessed military officer. “This is very overwhelming and wonderful,” Anderson
Another moment of the US making permanent concessions for transient gains, which appears to be longstanding US policy with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), occurred last week when President Donald Trump announced that weapons sales to Taiwan would be delayed in order to arrange a meeting with the PRC dictator Xi Jinping (習近平). There were “concerns among some in the Trump administration that greenlighting the weapons deal would derail Trump’s coming visit to Beijing, according to US officials,” the Wall Street Journal reported. It attributed the suspension of the weapons sale to pressure from Xi. While some might shrug
RSS