Asian Pop Star Haircuts for Men.
That's all.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Let's Talk About Abortion in Taiwan
I intended to include this in a longer post about National Health Insurance, but that was far too big a topic to bite off in one post and I'll instead cover it in several, with a focus on women's health, but discussing the system as a whole (summary: it's a great system, certainly better than the "system" - heh - in the USA, but still needs some work and has flaws that ought to be addressed. That said, it's one of the best in the world).
I'm covering abortion first because I have more concrete information - I'm still looking into other aspects of women's health including contraception, health treatments and preventative medicine.
Sadly, that is not true. I've never been so shocked by public misconception of abortion in Taiwan since I started asking people about it.
Taiwanese society has changed a lot since the law was enacted in 1985. There is still a lot of sexism and there are still patriarchal attitudes in the culture, but things have evened out considerably, to the point where I'd say that Taiwan is the most female and feminism friendly country in Asia. It's the most egalitarian regarding gender issues and is ages ahead of Korea, Japan, China or really any other country in Asia. A lot of the attitudes about husbands making decisions that impact their wives in such a cutting manner have been eradicated, and women are generally accorded respect, rights and a general assumption that they can make their own decisions and run a household as well as a man (at least in urban areas - the countryside is surely different). This is a generalization, of course, and there are certainly still lawmakers and citizens of urban Taiwan who still cling to outdated beliefs about a woman's place, but I'm conjuring the generalization because it is generally true.
And yet, problems continue - as late as 2006, lawmakers wanted to add waiting periods and mandatory counseling to the abortion law for any woman seeking an abortion (I found a lot of news regarding the proposal and none regarding whether or not it was passed - if someone has info on that please let me know but I can hopefully assume that the proposal did not pass).
Give women in Taiwan true freedom of choice - allow them to seek an abortion without having to put up a weak claim to a medical reason, and clarify, publicly, whether married women require spousal consent. If they do, change the law - give them the ability to choose for themselves.
I do realize that abortion is not the hot topic of debate in Taiwan that it is in the USA. The deep conservative/liberal divide we have back home doesn't exist as such here. That said, it surprises me, as well, that more women's groups haven't been taking up this issue - the public misconceptions, the lack of accurate information and the ridiculous strictness of the law are all begging to be fought tooth-and-nail by feminists and women's rights advocates in this country.
Anyway, abortion in Taiwan. No, not for me! I'm writing about this because it's a women's issue in Taiwan and it deserves some more recent coverage - most of the discussions and articles I found on the issue were severely dated and, honestly, didn't delve into the topic in nearly enough depth - the exception being a paper I found by David Sho-Chao Hung - a law student who may well have graduated by now - that discusses abortion law in Taiwan compared to the USA. The paper is not dated, however. Only Hung's paper discusses the moral, cultural and feminist issues surrounding the abortion issue, as well.
It is amazing how much misinformation there is among the general public in Taiwan. As I've mentioned before, my work brings me into the offices of many pharmaceutical companies, some government offices and other people whose positions could lend a general assumption that they are familiar with how abortion law works in Taiwan.
Sadly, that is not true. I've never been so shocked by public misconception of abortion in Taiwan since I started asking people about it.
The general idea seems to be that in Taiwan, abortion is "illegal", except in cases of medical danger to the mother or the child, but that it is quite common for women with healthy pregnancies to get abortions at "illegal" clinics or through legal clinics willing to engage in ethically gray practices - or through pills purchased illegally at dispensaries. One person I know described it as an "abortion wave" at the end of every summer, where young women go to clinics for abortions despite them being technically "illegal" (as I'll show later, they're not actually "illegal", just very highly regulated with a lot of workaround room, though not nearly enough), to doctors found through a social network or by distraught parents, often paid for by parents who want to make the problem go away.
A problem that could be greatly ameliorated if there was better sex ed in Taiwan in the first place. The solution to the "abortion wave" at the end of every summer is not to make abortions easier to get (even though I do support the freedom of choice) but to educate tweens and teens about safe sexual practices...I'd like to see the abortion rate go down to zero, but not at the expense of women's rights - but I digress.
This shocking misconception can be somewhat explained by different interpretations of the law, although that doesn't entirely excuse it.
The law in Taiwan is, in summary, that abortions are legal for:
1.) medical reasons - danger to the mother or fetus including deformities and defects - this includes psychological trauma to the mother
2.) rape or incest (which must, apparently, be "proven")
3.) "seduction" - meant to cover statutory rape but can technically be used as a reason by a woman of any age
4.) mental/psychological issues of the parent(s) that could be passed on to the child
...but are not a guaranteed right for all women, are not constitutionally protected, and are meant to be performed only in the extreme cases above.
That's where the misinterpretation may come in: women seeking abortions quickly learn that they are available - if you're single, it's fairly easy to claim "seduction" (it was meant to cover statutory rape but there is nothing stopping a grown woman from claiming it) or "psychological stress" due to inability to properly care for or raise the baby, or even claim an onset of depression (which is very morally gray).
It's harder for married women, even though there might be ways to slither around the provision.
I could see how someone who is not seeking an abortion and will never (or may never) seek an abortion (such as a man, or woman beyond childbearing age or a woman who would carry an unexpected pregnancy to term rather than terminate it) might interpret the above is "it's illegal unless it's a medical issue or rape/incest issue" - it wouldn't necessarily occur to them to claim "psychological stress" or "seduction" because they're not in that position, and so their view is more literal. I could see how making such claims could be interpreted as "illegal" under the spirit, though not the letter, of the law (I'd argue that the spirit of the law is sexist and wrong, so it's OK).
I'd go so far as to say that there is nothing wrong with claiming "psychological stress": I do trust that any woman making the drastic decision to have an abortion is a mature person - even if she may have been forced to become mature very quickly - who has agonized and considered every aspect of this decision before making her final choice. Abortion is serious business, and I do believe that any woman considering it knows this. Therefore, if she decides in the end to terminate her pregnancy, then she would know better than anyone that carrying it to term would cause her undue psychological stress.
Single women can get an abortion for any of the above reasons, mentally handicapped women need the consent of a guardian, an underage girl needs the consent of her parents and - most disturbingly - a married woman needs (or needed) the consent of her husband.
I say "needs or needed" because it's unclear: Mr. Hung's paper and other discussions online have mentioned that a married woman needs to obtain her husband's consent, and yet this Taipei Times article from 2006 mentions specifically that a husband's consent is not required (though he must be informed).
And yet in this 2009 article, it states that spousal consent is, in fact, required and that the age after which a young woman doesn't need parental consent is 20 (20!! Really! So we're all adults at 18, except for women, who are still children at 20).
That's almost - but not quite - worse. It's not even clear from a few hours' worth of Internet research whether or not a married woman can seek an abortion independently. How could that NOT be readily available information? What kind of oversight is that?
The information - at least in English - doesn't appear to be available, and yet it is something that every woman in Taiwan has a right to know.
If it is true, then argh. I don't know how it could get more sexist, patriarchal and paternalistic than that. You are free to disagree with me, and I respect that people have different views, but that's my opinion. It's of paramount importance to protect the autonomy and rights of a woman over her own body.
The possibility that - as mentioned in the Forumosa discussion linked above and below - any man could show up and sign a consent paper and nobody will check to see if it's truly the husband/assumed father doesn't really make it better. It does provide married women in abusive marriages with an option. By the way, I count any marriage in which the woman's autonomy is compromised and controlled by a "head of the household" as abusive. That doesn't include women who enter freely and purposely into marriages in which their husband takes charge, because presumably if she had a problem later on and the marriage were healthy, she would still have autonomy to deal with it. That said, the fact that the signature of a man - potentially any random man (I have no idea if the Forumosa discussion is based in truth or not) - is more important than the decision of the pregnant woman is unconscionable. I...I just....I 受不了！NO! NOT OK. How is that NOT sexist?
There are so many reasons for my views on this (I'm tempted to say it's not even my views, it's just true whether you like it or not) which are very well-addressed in Mr. Hung's paper - if I were to elaborate, I'd be basically parroting his excellent reasoning.
If it is not true, then the government has done a shockingly poor job of disseminating valuable information on women's rights. Also NOT ACCEPTABLE.
Don't even get me started on the fact that you have to "prove" rape or incest (pregnancy by anyone with whom marriage would be deemed illegal - which basically means incest) in order to get an abortion on those grounds. How traumatic! How heartless! How completely soulless and sick! Forcing a woman to produce evidence (what evidence, exactly, is what I'd like to know) of such a thing is like taking the trauma sticking in her heart like a poisonous arrow and plunging it deeper. It completely de-humanizes the woman and displays an unacceptable lack of empathy for women in such a situation. It makes my blood boil and my hands shake.
Taiwanese society has changed a lot since the law was enacted in 1985. There is still a lot of sexism and there are still patriarchal attitudes in the culture, but things have evened out considerably, to the point where I'd say that Taiwan is the most female and feminism friendly country in Asia. It's the most egalitarian regarding gender issues and is ages ahead of Korea, Japan, China or really any other country in Asia. A lot of the attitudes about husbands making decisions that impact their wives in such a cutting manner have been eradicated, and women are generally accorded respect, rights and a general assumption that they can make their own decisions and run a household as well as a man (at least in urban areas - the countryside is surely different). This is a generalization, of course, and there are certainly still lawmakers and citizens of urban Taiwan who still cling to outdated beliefs about a woman's place, but I'm conjuring the generalization because it is generally true.
There is, as a result, no reason for this law to continue in the manner in which it has. Attitudes are changing and the societal notions that helped frame the legalization of abortion in 1985 are no longer quite so valid. The law, therefore, needs to change alongside these cultural sea changes.
And yet, problems continue - as late as 2006, lawmakers wanted to add waiting periods and mandatory counseling to the abortion law for any woman seeking an abortion (I found a lot of news regarding the proposal and none regarding whether or not it was passed - if someone has info on that please let me know but I can hopefully assume that the proposal did not pass).
Give women in Taiwan true freedom of choice - allow them to seek an abortion without having to put up a weak claim to a medical reason, and clarify, publicly, whether married women require spousal consent. If they do, change the law - give them the ability to choose for themselves.
I do realize that abortion is not the hot topic of debate in Taiwan that it is in the USA. The deep conservative/liberal divide we have back home doesn't exist as such here. That said, it surprises me, as well, that more women's groups haven't been taking up this issue - the public misconceptions, the lack of accurate information and the ridiculous strictness of the law are all begging to be fought tooth-and-nail by feminists and women's rights advocates in this country.
Oh yes, and abortions are not covered under National Health Insurance, as far as I could find (again, the information is not clear
I want to finish by saying that yes, I am pro-choice, and I have many reasons for that, which I don't feel I need to justify as that's not the point. I do respect that other people have other views and am not trying to force my opinion on them - someone who is pro-life is just as able to fight for his/her beliefs as I am for mine. As someone who believes that there are more gray areas in the moral and ethical realm than black-and-whites (though there are some of those, too), I do realize that my opinion is not the only one. I welcome your comments and civil debate.
Note: More thoughts in the comments section.
Ye Old English Guangdong Drinkware: Made in China edition
I am writing a post now about where to find good sweets in Taipei, but got temporarily distracted by this.
"The Fairytale Romantic Union of All the Centuries"
See? Prince William and his lady bride-to-be. No no no, don't argue with me, that's totally Prince William. Guandong Enterprises even says so on their website.
I borrowed the picture from Regretsy, linked below - that site makes me laugh every day but as a one-time resident of China, it made me especially crack up today.
You can read about it here or visit the company website.
(I urge you to visit both).
I won't tell you whether I bought one or not.
Even if it is a hoax, which it may be, it's a pretty funny one.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Super Healthy Veggie Packed Fried Rice
I made this tasty, vegetable-packed dish today as a different take on the usual greasy, starchy fried rice. It's still got oil (olive) and rice (brown, whole grain) but with this many veggies, healthier fats and grains, flaxseed and optional protein, it's a tasty and colorful alternative to the usual stick-to-your-butt-no-matter-how-often-you-bike options in restaurants in Taipei.
It turned out fantastic - both flavor-wise and appearance-wise, with a lot of colorful veggies including pumpkin, red and yellow bell pepper, carrot and purple and green beetroot leaves. It was like a harvest-time reinterpretation of the fried rice genre!
olive oil - need not be extra virgin or fancy (the flavor of extra virgin would get lost in cooking)
a pat of butter (optional)
1 whole bell pepper (or 1/2 each of two different colors of bell pepper)
2 cups of beetroot leaves (they're the ones in the market that are purple on one side and dark green on the other)
1/2 large carrot
1/2 small pumpkin (the gourd-like ones sold in Taiwanese day markets)
1/2 small sweet onion
To taste (optional): Thai fried shallots, black bean sauce, Lao Gan Ma, huajiao "flower pepper", salt, black pepper, fresh red chilis, sesame oil, soy sauce, paprika, vinegar, lemon juice, de-stemmed chopped cilantro, chopped fresh garlic, pulverized fresh ginger
three tbsp ground flaxseed (optional but really good for you)
a small amount of extra virgin olive oil and sesame oil to taste (optional)
Begin the long process to cook brown rice (it takes quite a while), adding a bit of salt, pepper and paprika to the water. Remember that brown rice requires more water (about 50% more), more heat, more steam and more time than white rice.
Set some water to boil to cook the pumpkin (if you want to be super-cool, cook the pumpkin chunks, including peeled skin, first, take out the skin and throw it away, set the cooked pumpkin aside and use the water to cook the rice to give it more nutrients and more flavor).
Wash and chop the onion and bell pepper, set aside
Wash, de-stem and chop beetroot leaves, set aside
Wash and grate or julienne carrot, including skin, add to beetroot leaves, set aside
Use a peeler to de-skin the small pumpkin, scoop out seeds, cut into chunks and boil until just cooked.
Wipe down a wok with just enough olive oil to comfortably cook, add chopped and powdered spices/salt to taste (no liquids yet, but you can add black bean paste, Lao Gan Ma etc). Cook on low/medium until it smells good. Immediately add bell peppers and onions and stir in thoroughly. Add soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice to taste. Raise to medium heat.
When that is almost but not quite cooked, add beetroot leaves and grated carrot and cook until the leaves go a bit soft (not too soft). Add pumpkin. Mix well on medium (adding a bit of water if it gets a bit dry and threatens to burn).
Add cooked brown rice (ideally you prepared the rice well in advance as brown rice takes forever). Mix well and add flaxseed, stir in.
Add pat of butter and/or any flavoring oils at the end and stir well until it melts evenly into the mix.
The pumpkin should disintegrate somewhat and provide some consistency to the fried rice, but if you like the kind of rice that can be shaped into a dome, mix in one egg and mix well until thoroughly cooked in.
You can also add 1/3 cup cooked yellow lentils and/or walnuts, almonds or cashews if you want some protein (you can also add meat for that matter)!
Note: you can substitute or add vegetables - mushrooms would be great, as would small chunks of cauliflower or sweet potato leaves in lieu of beetroot. You could add tomatoes, bok choi, corn...really whatever you want.
Serve hot.
Already Campaigning
Tsai Ying-wen is already starting her campaign for the 2012 presidency, even though we're still not entirely sure who else is running. This poster appears at the intersection of Nanjing and Dihua Streets in Dadaocheng, which is one of the stronger support bases that the DPP has in Taipei. Around her are several people I've never heard of, one of them appearing on a poster with Chen Chu, and DPP campaigners are already coming through Dihua Street regularly waving banners and making noise - as one does, of course.
I'm amused by the pink lettering, the cute font used on "2012" (looks better than the London Olympics logo anyway) and the self-reference as "Little Ying".
Aww. 好可愛呵!
The Best Coffee in Taipei
Everyone who reads this blog even remotely regularly knows about my semi-fanatical obsession with two foodstuffs: 1.) sea urchins and 2.) coffee. With coffee, I'm sort of like this.
I've written extensively about coffee before, but haven't really come out with a post that clarifies where good coffee - the best coffee - can be found in Taipei. This is that post.
You can get coffee anywhere in Taipei, from 7-11 to one of the myriad Starbucks, Dante Coffees or Ikari chains, as well as in department stores and other smaller chains (such as Artco and Is) and independent operators. It can be as cheap as a 40NT 7-11 latte (which is not your worst choice, I have to say) or as expensive as a 500NT cup of Kopi Luwak or overpriced but still substandard coffee at a lot of chi-chi cafes (Bastille, I'm looking at you).
Unfortunately, most options, as in the USA, are mediocre at best, and Charbucks is Charbucks everywhere, with their over-roasted jet fuel.
The key to a good coffee is a light hand with the roaster (even medium dark roast is fine, but many dark roasts - not all mind you - are just bitter and charred), even grinding and scrupulous preparation, although I'm the first to admit that I use a regular old coffee machine at home. The best coffee comes from a siphon brew, but it is possible to get good espresso and non-siphon coffee.
I'm not interested in listing out the millions of places in Taipei where you can get a brain-smack of caffeine - I'm talking about genuinely good coffee that one can savor, that wafts down the street with its strong scent and turns heads when you carry it away in a to-go cup. Yes, you can find it in Taipei.
Get your cup of awesome beans (the kind that hipsters and yuppies would say have a "great flavor profile") at:
1.) Drop Coffee
Xinsheng S. Road Section 3 Lane 76 #1 (the entrance is on Xinsheng Road, not the lane)
I've praised this place to the moon and back, as you can read in the link above.
2.) The Best Roasted Coffee (TBRC)
Taipei, Shilin District - Jingshan Road #18: near the Wenhua University bus stop heading up Yangmingshan, and not far from the top of Tianmu Old Trail
This place is fantastic - you can buy a pound of coffee for NT500, and their home blend (a medium-to-dark roast) is only NT100 per cup, which is a steal. It's really tasty and goes down smoothly, so you don't need to drink it with milk (which is good, because the owner really will lecture you if you ask for milk or sugar). You can also buy cheesecake, cookies and other light fare here - the cheesecake is tangy and homemade without being too sweet.
Jinhua Street #247 - closest bus stop on a major route is Xinsheng/Jinhua along Da'an Park, also walkable from Yongkang Street
This place offers coffee that packs a flavorful punch - they take it very seriously, allowing you to smell the grounds several times to highlight different smells and potential flavors, and then serve it to you both in a standard coffee cup, which brings out darker, earthier flavors as well as in a small stemmed cordial glass, which brings out more syrupy, flowery liqueur-like flavors in the coffee. Not cheap, but totally worth it.
They also have branches in Taizhong and Tainan.
Guangzhou and Huanhe Rd. intersection near Longshan Temple
Try the "Ma Gao" coffee (馬告) at the booth selling Taiwanese local coffee here for NT90: the cup is small but it packs a strong punch of flavor, and best of all it's grown in Taiwan an (according to the vendor) is grown on aborigine-run farms, so you're doing good for the local economy and you get to try a Taiwanese local product not often found in stores.
#405 Sec. 1 Neihu Road Taipei (02)2799-4966
#123 Songde Road Taipei (02)2726-6085
#336 Jinhu Road Taipei (02) 2634-8803
#7 Lane 243 Jinhua Street Taipei (02) 2322-3830
B1 #14 Nanjing West Road Taipei (02) 2522-1681
This place is my new favorite find that you absolutely have to try. They're your best source of Kopi Luwak, if you've ever wanted to try it, and they'll brew it to perfection for you (I haven't tried it yet, but I will). I had a cup of coffee from Nicaraguan beans (can't remember which type) at their Songde Road location and I was blown away by the depth and spirit of the earthy, slightly smoky, addictive flavor. They siphon brew their good beans (lattes and other coffee types are also available) and there's a large choice of global beans, with a lot coming from Central America.
They also keep Jameson on hand, at least at Songde Road, which means they know how to make good coffee with whiskey.
Call ahead if you want a cup of Kopi Luwak - they'll make sure they have the most, ahem, fragrant beans for you to try.
Seriously - I love my Drop Coffee but this place is really just amazing, too. It's probably going to tie for 1st place in my list of favorite coffee shops, along with Drop.
6.) Black Bean Coffee
Zhongshan Road in Shilin, just south of the Zhongzheng Road intersection past Skylark and some other businesses
This place makes a good brew, if a little on the dark roasted side for my taste. A cup costs an average of NT150 - I strongly recommend the earthy but soft Monsoon Malabar coffee from India. They also sell handmade cookies.
I'm not sure if this place still exists - I haven't been there in years - but will check back soon to see if they're still around.
I'm not sure if this place still exists - I haven't been there in years - but will check back soon to see if they're still around.
7.) Shake House (listed second in the post, after Red House)
Wenzhou Street / Lane 86 corner, across from Bastille, Gongguan
I usually praise this place for its homey, studenty feel and good selection of Belgian beers, but haven't mentioned how good their coffee is. They do not-too-bitter lattes, Americano and espresso, they make ice coffee in batches in a giant machine similar to a siphon, and their specialized beans are packed with flavor (try the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or the Guatemala Huehuetenango). They can alcohol-ify any coffee order (just ask for it on request - I usually get a latte with a shot of alcohol added - I am fine with alcohol added to espresso drinks but would never add it to a good brew of quality medium-roast beans.
You can also buy the amazing Monsoon Malabar coffee here to brew at home.
8.) My Sweetie Pie
#3 Lane 93 Shi-da Road, Taipei
I normally don't go for espresso, opting instead for larger servings of more expensive siphon coffee, but My Sweetie Pie makes a not-too-bitter espresso that I can really get behind. It's still darker and more bitter than I normally prefer, but it cuts through the sweetness of their delicious cakes so well that I can forgive the extra roasting time!
9.) Fong Da
#42 Chengdu Road (near Ximending)
This place is wildly popular with both coffee enthusiasts and people who love old Taipei institutions. They still use vintage equipment and have a 1950s vibe going, and lots of different beans to choose from. I have to say that I find their brews a bit overpowering (not like the deeply but not jarringly flavored siphon brews I normally go for), but hey, that doesn't mean it's not good stuff! The brew at Fong Da acts like jet fuel to the brain and still gets my vote!
10.) Update: Rufous Coffee
Fuxing S. Road Sec 2 #333 / 復興南路2段333號
02-2736-6880
I was tipped off about this place by another expat, and realized it's basically just down the road from where I work. Fuxing S. Road south of Heping and north of Xinhai boasts three coffeeshops and a tea shop. The first is Tiamore, which has good (but not the best) coffee, is a bit down-at-heel and boasts a bevy of semi-friendly cats - or at least they did, it seems the owners don't keep cats there anymore since my last visit. The final one is called Mono, and I haven't actually gotten coffee there yet, but they serve it in glasses, not cups, and there's a shy but sweet cat there. Their mint and pomelo tea is great and they do a good brownie with ice cream.
Update: read below re: Rufous's siphon brews, but really what you want to be getting at this place is an espresso drink. For a very mildly flavored coffee, try the honey and cinnamon latte. For a luxurious experience, try the Irish coffee (with real sweet foamed milk, not whipped cream, to cut the bitterness of the whiskey-flavored coffee below). For a hot or stressful (or hot and stressful) day, get the iced dark chocolate banana latte. Their cold brewed iced coffee is also fabulous.
Only just today I continued on to Rufous at this person's recommendation, and the coffee was pretty excellent (I had a syphon-brewed coffee from Panama). The atmosphere is completely different from Tiamore, where I go for a friendly, very 台neighborhood feel - Rufous is smaller, more upmarket, more expensive. No cats, but the coffee is better. I did find the Panama to be lacking some of the depth of the coffees I've tried at Shake House (see above) and Drop (also above) - especially both shops' Sumatra coffee, and the Kona at Drop, as well as the Nicaraguan coffee at Coffee Family Roaster. The Panama coffee - ordered because I don't see beans from Panama on menus very often - was roasted a bit darker than I like it, as well. However, it was quite good, and I intend to go back and try not only the house blend but also ask them to make me a light roast coffee, and see what they can come up with.
11.) Gold Diamond Coffee (金鑽咖啡)
Zhonghe, Xinbei City, Liansheng Road #41
新北市中和區連勝街41號
About a 15 minute walk from MRT Jing'an (walk up Jinping Road and turn at Liansheng) and near the 262, 275 and various other bus routes, this place is a good bet if you're stuck in the wilds of Zhonghe. A good place to rest after a hike to Yuantong Temple or if you are otherwise in the area.
This tiny coffeeshop nestled among a huge slightly higher end apartment complex (but not inside it) on a quiet side street was a surprise find for me: I happen to know a family who lives in the complex - I play with their kids in English once a week (I'd be hard-pressed to call it a class as it's very non-traditional) and have gotten coffee here. The lattes are strong and flavorful, with lots of bold character, but the thing to get here is light roast drip coffee. I was blown away by what the guy made for me, and they have many choices of bean.
12.) Cafe Booday
Nanjing W. Road Lane 25 #18, 2nd floor above the shop (very close to MRT Zhongshan)
While the food at Booday didn't blow me away - the desserts were good, though - the one cup of Monsoon Malabar I had there was pretty delish. They have a selection of high-end coffees including this favorite of mine for approximately NT140 per cup. On the high end but not impossible, and your best choice among all the cafes in this area for a good cup of something comforting, caffeinated and well-made.
10.) Update: Rufous Coffee
Fuxing S. Road Sec 2 #333 / 復興南路2段333號
02-2736-6880
I was tipped off about this place by another expat, and realized it's basically just down the road from where I work. Fuxing S. Road south of Heping and north of Xinhai boasts three coffeeshops and a tea shop. The first is Tiamore, which has good (but not the best) coffee, is a bit down-at-heel and boasts a bevy of semi-friendly cats - or at least they did, it seems the owners don't keep cats there anymore since my last visit. The final one is called Mono, and I haven't actually gotten coffee there yet, but they serve it in glasses, not cups, and there's a shy but sweet cat there. Their mint and pomelo tea is great and they do a good brownie with ice cream.
Update: read below re: Rufous's siphon brews, but really what you want to be getting at this place is an espresso drink. For a very mildly flavored coffee, try the honey and cinnamon latte. For a luxurious experience, try the Irish coffee (with real sweet foamed milk, not whipped cream, to cut the bitterness of the whiskey-flavored coffee below). For a hot or stressful (or hot and stressful) day, get the iced dark chocolate banana latte. Their cold brewed iced coffee is also fabulous.
Only just today I continued on to Rufous at this person's recommendation, and the coffee was pretty excellent (I had a syphon-brewed coffee from Panama). The atmosphere is completely different from Tiamore, where I go for a friendly, very 台neighborhood feel - Rufous is smaller, more upmarket, more expensive. No cats, but the coffee is better. I did find the Panama to be lacking some of the depth of the coffees I've tried at Shake House (see above) and Drop (also above) - especially both shops' Sumatra coffee, and the Kona at Drop, as well as the Nicaraguan coffee at Coffee Family Roaster. The Panama coffee - ordered because I don't see beans from Panama on menus very often - was roasted a bit darker than I like it, as well. However, it was quite good, and I intend to go back and try not only the house blend but also ask them to make me a light roast coffee, and see what they can come up with.
11.) Gold Diamond Coffee (金鑽咖啡)
Zhonghe, Xinbei City, Liansheng Road #41
新北市中和區連勝街41號
About a 15 minute walk from MRT Jing'an (walk up Jinping Road and turn at Liansheng) and near the 262, 275 and various other bus routes, this place is a good bet if you're stuck in the wilds of Zhonghe. A good place to rest after a hike to Yuantong Temple or if you are otherwise in the area.
This tiny coffeeshop nestled among a huge slightly higher end apartment complex (but not inside it) on a quiet side street was a surprise find for me: I happen to know a family who lives in the complex - I play with their kids in English once a week (I'd be hard-pressed to call it a class as it's very non-traditional) and have gotten coffee here. The lattes are strong and flavorful, with lots of bold character, but the thing to get here is light roast drip coffee. I was blown away by what the guy made for me, and they have many choices of bean.
12.) Cafe Booday
Nanjing W. Road Lane 25 #18, 2nd floor above the shop (very close to MRT Zhongshan)
While the food at Booday didn't blow me away - the desserts were good, though - the one cup of Monsoon Malabar I had there was pretty delish. They have a selection of high-end coffees including this favorite of mine for approximately NT140 per cup. On the high end but not impossible, and your best choice among all the cafes in this area for a good cup of something comforting, caffeinated and well-made.
13.) Other places I haven't tried yet
There are a ton of places I haven't had the good fortune to drink coffee at, but are probably on par with the places listed above. There's an especially large number of cafes in the lanes around Yongkang Street, and some of my favorite places to drink beer also make pretty good coffee (not included here because I wanted to highlight the best of the best, but that doesn't mean they're not also good).
If you have a favorite stop for high-quality coffee - the kind you savor, not gulp - leave it in the comments!
You can also buy great beans to brew your own coffee at home at most of the places above, as well as at:
- 里仁: organic food store in Gongguan (go to Roosevelt Rd. Sec. 3 Lane 283, and it's just down the lane from So Free pizza) - you can buy organic coffee beans from southern Taiwan here - very flavorful!
If you want to brew South Indian or Thai/Vietnamese-style coffee (that is, coffee with chicory, and add condensed milk for Thai or Vietnamese or just tons of sugar and milk to make it Indian) go to Trinity Superstores and pick up a bag of "Bru". It's not "good" coffee in the yuppie sense but it is the real thing.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Bopiliao
Some old advertisements pasted up on one of the walls along Bopiliao
On Saturday, as a side trip to our planned visit to Naruwan Indigenous People's Market (good food and good coffee), we stopped by Bopiliao - a newly restored segment of Qing Dynasty and Japanese era architecture in the historic Wanhua district. Bopiliao is basically a segment of intact Japanese-era shophouses, and behind that an alley of older, one-story late Qing shopfronts which have been turned into an exhibition space with a lot to interest kids (at least, kids who speak Chinese).
To get there, take the MRT to Longshan Temple. You can use any exit, but the easiest way is to head to Guangzhou Street - cross the street to Longshan Temple itself but turn right instead of entering (walking away from Huaxi Street Night Market). Walk past all the shops - this is also a nice area in which to look at cool old buildings - and you'll eventually come to the intersection of Kunming and Guangzhou. You'll notice that around here there are entire sections of shophouses - walk along those until you see an entrance to the inside, which will be directly next to the largest house on the end, which is a children's museum/history learning center.
Alternately you can exit at Longshan Temple's Heping W. Road exit, turn right, pass Sanshui Street and then turn on Guangzhou.
The section of old shophouse facades from Guangzhou Street
This is a lovely, atmospheric place to wander if you're in the neighborhood - perhaps sightseeing at Longshan Temple, but it's too early to head to the night market or dinner (for the record, I recommend the food in the night market along Guangzhou Street but don't bother with the food in the covered market along Huaxi Street unless you are dead set on trying snake - which I have).
The alley behind the shopfronts - main part of Bopiliao
The large building at the end - the only one open to the main street - houses a children's activity area on the first floor - kids can watch cartoons of George Leslie Mackay, James Maxwell and David Landsborough talking about bringing modern medicine to Taiwan. You can also see displays on "your grandfather's Taiwan" and learn about Lu A-Chang, a local doctor who also contributed quite a bit to the development of medicine in Taiwan.
The best exhibit? Clearly the one where you can pick up the receiver of a rotary phone to hear stories about old Taipei - the highlight is watching kids look at the old black phones like they're a relic of deepest, darkest history!
Upstairs there are more exhibits on medicine in Taiwan, mostly in Chinese.
The center is free to enter, but closes at 5pm.
It's a nice place to wander a bit, if only to see the inside of an old brick house, but it would be even better if there was English language signage so that tourists with kids would have it as an educational and kid-friendly choice for their non-Chinese speaking children.
Out back you can also play several easy, old-fashioned children's games, such as old-fashioned pinball:
I am completely in love with the old-skool robots.
...or "fish for the glass bottle" or that stick-and-hoop game:
After that - a pretty quick walkthrough if you don't have kids, don't speak Chinese and aren't fascinated by vintage robots (which I totally am because robots are awesome) - you can head into Bopiliao itself.
The entrance has a plaque in English and Chinese signed by "Dr. Hau Lung-bin". Apparently he really is a doctor (I didn't believe it so I looked it up), despite looking like a Muppet. Oh well, never judge a book by its cover. Apparently he has a PhD in Food Science from UMass-Amherst. Either he got into a PhD program because his father pulled some strings, or he's a genuinely smart guy who would have been a fantastic food scientist - but is just not that good at being a politician (although he keeps winning despite giving off the impression that he's all cotton between the ears). You know how sometimes being in the wrong vocation can make a person seem less motivated or intelligent than they really are? (I would know - I worked in back-office finance and probably seemed to others as about half as quick as I truly am because it was the wrong career for me).
Maybe - just maybe - if he'd stayed a food scientist and his company had hired me as his English trainer, Id've come home after class praising my clever, brilliant, insightful and intelligent student, Dr. Hau.
Or not.
Anyway, just thought I'd share.
Buildings are marked at the front with what they used to house - a tea shop, a barber etc. - and are now exhibition spaces. Most excitingly for foreigners interested in Taiwanese cinema is the room housing sets from the movie "Monga". This is also one of the areas where some of the signage is in English, and if you've seen the movie, you can appreciate it regardless. It is not clear if the scenes were actually shot here or the set was relocated here.
You may remember this set from the film
Nearby is the Daoist shrine where the young brothers prayed, the seating area where the older gangsters would congregate and displays of clothing and weapons from the movie, which I saw without subtitles and could only barely follow.
Not everything was open, but some of the storefronts looked authentically well-restored:
...but others didn't:
I'm glad they saved that Qing Dynasty painting of Astroboy.
...as well as a Taiwanese opera singer, two puppetry masters and a few other people. This was entirely in Chinese so while it was fun to look at, there was nothing to keep us lingering.
The final few shopfronts are exhibits on naming statistics in Taiwan. Did you know that the largest percentage of Taiwanese people are surnamed Chen, with the next highest being Lin?! Wow, that was so totally unexpected! Heh. They also had breakdowns from census data on given names - I found a lot of my friends' names, but neither mine (白蓮) nor Brendan's (百川) were there - probably because nobody actually names their kid White Lotus, and Brendan's name, though much more common, is a bit old and stodgy - it's like the "Harold" of Chinese names.
What was interesting was that throughout each list of Top 50 names, male and female, girls with the most common names were consistently about twice as plentiful as boys. The top name for a girl (淑芬) - Shufen or "refined and pure with a sweet smell" - clocked in at about 33,500 girls in 2010, whereas the top boy's name (志明) - Zhiming or "bright aspiration" only came in at 14,200 or so.
First, I'm not such a fan of the boys getting names reminsicent of willpower, strength, learning and brightness whereas women get a lot of grace, purity, sweetness, quietude, demureness etc., but hey, I guess that's how traditional cultures go. If we ever have a kid (not saying we will!) she's getting a Chinese name that means "Fierce Warrior Dragon Princess Who Kicks Ass" or something!
Second, clearly there is a greater variety of boys' names out there, with a longer statistical tail: either that or twice as many girls were born as boys in 2010 (yeah...no). So we can conclude that families who have sons have about twice the number of common given names to choose from than families who have daughters - of course with the stroke order, elements, fortune teller etc. issues to deal with, nobody really has that much choice if they follow traditional mores.
A cool old advertisement on a wall in Bopiliao - I like the "Scientific Headcooler" ad.
The verdict? Bopiliao is worth a visit if you are in the area, and great if you have kids who can speak Chinese or are interested in 19th and turn-of-the-century architecture.
Otherwise, the tourism department needs to do a few things to generate more interest in the area. My suggestions:
1.) English signage please - it'll get foreigners interested in Taipei history to linger and help us learn more; and
2.) The exhibits are nice, but stick a coffeeshop, teahouse, restaurant, even a few snack or souvenir shops in there so we can linger and enjoy the atmosphere.
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