M Dans puts the pedal to the metal

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2007, Page 14

Velocity is the newest production to come from the three-year-old dance troupe that incorporates the ideas of all its members into everything from themes to sets. PHOTO: COURTESY OF M DANS

Next week M Dans (驫舞劇場), the small and amorphous contemporary dance company headed up by Chen Wu-kang (陳武康), will celebrate the third anniversary of its founding. Given its somewhat unconventional method of operation this is a remarkable achievement, and Velocity (速度), which will premiere this weekend at the National Experimental Theater, shows off the group's efforts to "keep it fresh" and to hold the audiences' attention as the world of contemporary dance spins madly into an unknown future.

The group was formed by a number of young dancers who wanted to do something different, free from the limits of contemporary dance. "We were tired of the stuff we were doing, the work of various 'teachers' ... , there was nothing that made you really want to participate," Chen said.

With Velocity, the group uses this system of loose collaboration to bring in ideas from all its members. The group collectively decided on the new production's theme. "I actually wanted to do something based on mammoths," Chen said, "but was totally overruled. Mammoths are really cool, and big, and extinct ... but anyway, eventually we decided we liked the idea of velocity."

Having settled on a theme, the group began exploring how the frenetic nature of contemporary society pulls people and things apart. There is evolution and there is progress, but there is also loss. Dancers use modified forms of origami to create the objects that progress brings. Walls are placed about the stage to create a space in which the dancers find themselves separated by the speed of their movements. Multimedia is used to represent the modern televisual experience. Elements of experimental theater, drama and mime are also part of the performance. What is conspicuously lacking is a specific cultural identity, and this is quite deliberate.

"The groups that have been successful overseas are mostly selling Chinese culture," Chen said. "They have an 'Oriental' label. They claim to have something exotic and mysterious. People say that dance is a common language, so why can't we put this 'Oriental' stuff aside. ... Of course we are Asian, but there is no need to be constantly making art that refers back to or comments on all this ethnic stuff."

Chen accepts that the "Oriental" stuff can look good, and acknowledges that it sells. But even though taking this line puts M Dans at a disadvantage in the international market, Chen is upbeat. "There's lots of fun to be had without resorting to all that 'Oriental' stuff," he said.

Chen wants to make dance something closely related to his own experience and those of the dancers he works with.

To do this, the troupe must have its own studio, a rare thing for a two-year-old dance company.

Games played a big part in the creation of Velocity, which sees M Dans caught on the speeding train of human history, unable to get off. It is rushing towards an unknown destination, which is just how Chen likes it, for only in this way can he "keep it fresh, and keep it fun."

Despite M Dans' initial success, the group is planning to change its name this year. "M Dans makes us sound like just another dance company," Chen said. "So we have decided to call ourselves Horse." The character for the group's Chinese name is a combination of three ideographs for a horse.

"Horse has so many interesting associations. It is a strong animal, then of course it's also a drug (heroin). There are associations of stud horses, with their virile strength, and also their wildness," Chen said.

What: Velocity by M Dans (Horse)
When: Today and tomorrow at 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm
Where: National Experimental Theater
Tickets: NT$400, available through NTCH ticketing

Restaurants: A Cut Steakhouse

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 23, 2007, Page 15

Top quality food served with the utmost simplicity is A Cut's secret. PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE AMBASSADOR HOTEL

Danny Deng, the culinary maestro behind the Ambassador Hotel's newest endeavor, is aiming for the very top. "We think we have a chance at the title of best steakhouse in Asia," he said of A Cut Steakhouse, which opened two weeks ago in the hotel's basement.

The moment you turn into the stairway leading to A Cut, you leave behind the conventional decor of the hotel lobby and are enveloped by a cigar-bar atmosphere of dark wood, stitched leather, plush carpets and subdued jazz.

For all the money that has clearly gone into creating an ambiance of refined luxury, the real point of A Cut is the meat, and this is something that Deng and his bevy of chefs take seriously. The name of the restaurant refers to a cut of meat that Deng calls the "cap" of the rib eye.

"In a cow weighing 700kg, we can get only about 2kg of this 'cap,'" Deng said. As it is not normally served separately from the rib eye, it has no accepted name, so Deng went ahead and called it the "A Cut," the restaurant's signature dish.

A Cut Steakhouse Address: Ambassador Hotel, B1, 63, Zhongshan N Rd Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市中山北路二段63號B1) Telephone: (02) 2571-0389 Open: Daily, 11:30am to 2pm; 6pm to 10:30pm Average meal: NT$1,500 and up Details: English menu, credit cards accepted

The Chef's "A Cut" Signature House Cut (NT$1,500 for a 10oz steak) is good value, with a succulence that justifies the price tag. The meat is served very simply, seared and presented in a cast-iron dish with a small serving of sauteed mushrooms. A variety of salts are the only garnish. "Very simple, very high quality," Deng said. The usual steakhouse side dishes such as mashed potatoes and vegetables are also available.

Simplicity marks the restaurant's other steak dishes. A 16oz USDA Prime Center Cut Rib Eye (NT$2,400) is intended for two and a 22oz version of the same (NT$3,300) serves three. "We wanted to incorporate the idea of Chinese-style dining," Deng said, "where good things are shared."

Although steak is the centerpiece of A Cut's menu, the menu includes many other meat and seafood options, with main courses starting at around NT$700. The choice of appetizers includes seared foie gras with braised baby abalone and wine poached pear (NT$700). The dessert menu demonstrates the restaurant's overall sophistication: the chocolate souffle with raspberry sorbet (NT$350) is a delight.

A wide range of wines, including a 16 house wines, means that pairing wines and courses can be easily managed even for small tables.

It's a dog's life

More and more Taiwanese people are keeping pets — and taking them on vacation, giving rise to a whole new tourist industry

By Ian Bartholomew
Taipei Times
Wednesday, Nov 28, 2007, Page 13

Tokyo; Canine-friendly services at Japanese airports PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

Danny Tsai (蔡明智), who works in IT and his wife, Rebeca Chuang (莊淑芬), an accountant, love their dogs. They, like many other dog owners in Taiwan, regard their mutts as part of the family and are loath to part with them when they travel overseas. One and a half years ago, they decided to do something about it and established Pet Tour (信華事業). Since then, they have led three tours to different parts of Japan. Pet Tour also handles the shipment of pets to countries around the world. “It started out from a personal need,” Tsai said, “but then it grew from there.”

Moving pets across international borders has long been problematic, primarily due to a lack of uniform international guidelines. Every country has different entry requirements for pets as do international airlines — some enforcing blanket bans on pets, others allowing small animals to accompany their owners in the cabin.

“It is necessary to do a lot of homework before you can even contemplate taking pets overseas,” Tsai said, “and there is little margin for error.” In many cases, if difficulties arise over paperwork when entering a country, the animal may face immediate deportation, extended quarantine or destruction by the authorities, options that would be traumatic for any pet owner on vacation.

Pet check-in at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

In the UK, the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS) was introduced in February 2000 to allow pet dogs, cats and ferrets from certain countries to enter the UK without going through quarantine. It also allows pets to visit EU nations and return to the UK without undergoing quarantine, as long as they meet a list of detailed requirements. The program has been gradually extended and in December 2002 the mainland US and Canada joined. This scheme has helped those animal lovers in the UK who want to take their pets with them on holiday.

Five star dog food PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

getting past the red tape

There is, as yet, no such help for pet owners in Taiwan. Daniel Cheng (鄭烜), a Taiwanese national who took his two long-haired dachshunds with him when relocating to Japan, said the local authorities were generally very helpful, but required owners to coordinate paperwork from numerous agencies in Taiwan and at the destination.

Dogs and their owners arrive at Narita International Airport PHOTO: COURTESY OF PET TOUR

The whole process needs to start long before the scheduled travel dates. In the case of dogs, proof of immunization and a chip that meets the requirements of the destination country are basic requirement.

After this, there follows a lengthy process of health checks, validation of these health checks by the authorities in the destination country and the issuing of an import permit. In the case of visiting Japan, the process for ensuring a smooth journey must begin at least 40 days before departure. “It is definitely not something you can do on the spur of the moment,” Tsai said, adding that Pet Tour trips to Japan close bookings two months before the departure date.

Nevertheless, improved procedures and a growing belief that pets are part of the family have seen a huge increase in the number of animals passing through Taiwan’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (動植物防疫檢疫局), Council of Agriculture (農委會). Dog exports have increased from 1,711 in 2003 to 4,363 last year. Cat exports have increased from 340 to 530 over the same period of time.

“It’s not just the dogs that need to be sorted out,” Tsai said about organizing tours. “Owners also have to be educated. They need to know that traveling with a pet is a very different experience from simply looking after their dog at home. Most people only spend a couple of hours a day together with their pet — they need to go to work and so on. But when traveling together, they are with their pet 24 hours a day for the whole duration of the holiday.” In the case of Pet Tours, these trips are usually about four to five days.

“On the first tour we organized, we had two young women who brought four dachshunds. By the third day they were exhausted and couldn’t go on. ... We now always recommend no more than one pet per person, or even better, one dog between two, so you can share the work of caring for the dog,” Chuang said.

best behavior

It is also important to ensure a reasonably good dynamic between the dogs and to monitor the ability of their owners. “Badly behaved dogs will be refused admission to hotels or play areas,” Cheung said.

“We simply cannot afford to accept any applicant to join the tour,” Tsai said. “If the owner cannot control their dog, we have no choice but to reject them. After all, you only need one dog who cannot be controlled, whether it is biting other dogs or barking uncontrollably, to create difficulties for everyone,” he added.

Pet Tour is the only tourism outfit in Taiwan offering foreign travel for owners and their pets, mostly dogs. Some travel agents do offer domestic travel to destinations such as Hualien or Kenting, were pets can take advantage of big open spaces or experience the delights of the ocean. An increasing number of Taiwanese guesthouses accept pets, or provide some basic services, but Tsai emphasized that these services are usually incidental to their services for humans. “In Japan, hotels which accept dogs are meticulously planned to cater to canine comfort and owner convenience.”

International airlines present a confusing array of regulations governing when and how animals can be transported. “The treatment and attitude toward carrying dogs also varies considerably from carrier to carrier,” Tsai said. Most domestic transport carriers are inclined to treat dogs as cargo, with little regard for the comfort and well-being of a much-pampered companion.

Tsai, who has led group tours of around 10 dogs and their owners to Tokyo, Okinawa and Osaka, said that Japan is considerably more advanced than Taiwan in their handling and treatment of pets. This is part of the reason he decided to establish Pet Tour. “It is not mainly about the tours, which are relatively expensive and for which the market remains small,” he said. “It is a chance to show people how other countries treat their pets, and in the long-term, perhaps raise the level for Taiwan’s treatment of dogs.”

For additional information

Pet Tours:

www.pettour.com.tw

Taiwan’s quarantine regulations (English and Chinese):

www.baphiq.gov.tw/welcome/welcome.htm

PETS:

www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/quarantine/pets/procedures/vets_proc.htm

The proof of the pudding ...

Taiwanese writer Egoyan Zheng wants the world to see that Taiwan has some top-class literary talent and is a match for its giant neighbor in terms of quality

By Ian Bartholomew
STAFF REPORTER, Taipei Times
Sunday, Nov 04, 2007, Page 18

Egoyan Zheng is on a mission to put Taiwan on the literary map. PHOTO: Courtesy of Egoyan/Hu En-hui

On Nov. 10, the winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize, a new component of the prestigious Man Booker International Prize (won this year by Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe), will be announced. The category for Asian authors includes works originally written in English, as well as translations. With the announcement of the shortlist on Oct. 25, Taiwan's Egoyan Zheng (伊格言) was knocked out of contention, but given the insignificant presence of Taiwanese literature internationally, he is amazed he got that far.

The longlist for the award included such heavy-hitters as Chinese authors Mo Yan (莫言) and Jiang Rong (姜戎), the latter's Wolf Totem (狼圖騰) making it through to the shortlist.

Egoyan Zheng is the pen name of Zheng Qian-ci (鄭千慈), a former medical student who has turned his back on medicine to explore the souls of men, rather than just their bodies. In entering the competition he was acutely aware that he was handicapped in terms of international recognition, not just by his age - he is just 30 - or the fact that Fleeting Light (流光) is his first novel, but also because of where he comes from.

"Most Westerners, if they want to read (East) Asian literature, will think of China or Japan; they don't know that Taiwan has works of equal caliber," he said, in an interview with Taipei Times. Zheng is convinced that in terms of quality, the new generation of writers is a match for all contenders in the arena of pure literature.

To make his point, he took the unusual step of personally seeking a translator for his work and paying her out of his own pocket, rather than hoping that one day a local publisher would come along with an offer to pay for translation, publication and international marketing.

"The publishing industry (for literature) in Taiwan is too small; it cannot afford to bear the costs of translation. So how do you make your work known abroad? One way or another, you have to get it translated. The publishers won't do it, so the only thing to do is pay for it myself. ... And obviously, I am also confident about the quality of my work."

This confidence led him to abandon his medical studies at the National Taiwan University in his fourth year and transfer to graduate studies at the graduate school of Chinese at Tamkang University. In doing this, he also cast aside a family tradition of medical practice.

"I knew I could write well," he said, "and becoming a doctor is basically about nothing more than looking after ourselves economically - its a secure job. As a medical student, I had no great ambition - that's all I wanted to achieve. As a writer, I believe I have talent."

Zheng maintains an interest in science, especially its philosophical implications, and has plans to write science fiction at some point, but the mentality that pushes him toward literature is the desire to explore the irrational in humans. This is behind the choice of his pen name, taken from the Canadian director Atom Egoyan, whose films Zheng admires. Talking about Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter (1997), Zheng said: "A part of the story is telling you that the irrational part of a person can often be much stronger than the rational. ... Simplifying, I can say that after watching that film, I had an appreciation of the dark power of the irrational. It left a deep impression on me. I later realized that this was a response to a good piece of art."

So putting his medical studies behind him, he dedicated himself to creating experimental, enigmatic and richly ambiguous texts of high literary modernism. Conveying the multiple levels and philosophical contradictions of mundane life is an important part of what Zheng tries to do in Fleeting Light, and he believes that his achievements, and those of his contemporaries, have already taken Taiwanese literature to a new level.

Speaking about writer Luo Yi-chun (駱以軍), who wrote the preface for Man in a Jar (甕中人), the book of short stories on which Fleeting Light is based, Zheng said: "I believe that Luo is a world-class author. It is just unfortunate that he was born in Taiwan. Because of this, he has not had the opportunity (of writers from other nations). ... There simply isn't the environment. He can't get the recognition that he deserves, and I think it's time to do something about this situation. That's why I decided to translate my work."

The belief that until a work of art is recognized internationally, it won't be recognized in Taiwan has been justified time and time again.

"The fact that we have to rely on translation is unavoidable. I have heard older writers say that because the flavor of the text is lost in translation, they won't have their work translated. I don't agree with this ... . Taiwanese prefer to read imported books because they think they are better, but for myself, I can now at least show that I'm good enough to make the Booker (Man Asian Literary Prize) longlist. Readers don't always see the quality of a work, so we (writers) must prove it to them, and show them that local writers are just as good as foreign authors. If we don't get our works translated, we will never be able to do this."

The Man Asian Literary Prize could have been created to fit Zheng's purpose, though the prize itself, worth US$10,000, is overshadowed by the vastly more prestigious international award, worth US$120,000. The prize was instituted partially to feed a growing market for books by Asian authors, who are increasingly making an impact on the international literary scene, a fact supported by the release of imprints such as Penguin India and Picador Asia. Nevertheless, translation remains an issue, not simply from the standpoint of cost, but also from that of quality. In this area, Zheng, who has few illusions about his English-language skills, admits that in finding a translator, he didn't have many options.

"I went online," he said nonchalantly. "I found Laura Jane Wey (魏正儀). She was just one year older than me, and also Taiwanese. She was at Harvard studying comparative literature. ... She'd won some Council for Cultural Affairs translation awards. The process was rather casual. I had her translate some stuff for review, but my English isn't really good enough to judge her translation. I just had to go on instinct. ... Well, it got me onto the (Man Asian) longlist."

Writers from China have made more of an impact on the international market, though the situation favors only a small number of well-known names. Although last year Penguin agreed to spend a record US$100,000 for the English-language rights to Jiang's Wolf Totem, a combination of autobiography, legend and ethnological observations of the Mongolian people, such attention is still rare. The publisher procured the services of Howard Goldblatt, easily the most highly regarded translator currently working from Chinese, and who has an established reputation for handling complex texts. The book is scheduled for release in March 2008. Goldblatt has translated works by Taiwanese authors, most notably Chu Tien-wen's (朱天文) mind-numbingly dense Notes of a Desperate Man (荒人手記) published by Columbia University Press, which despite positive critical reception, failed to generate a popular buzz.

In relation to its giant neighbor, Zheng believes Taiwan has the edge in terms of quality. "To say that China has produced outstanding modern literature is to state the obvious. ... But I believe that on average, they are not as accomplished Modernists (as many Taiwanese writers). They may be very skilled, the stories may be very good, but they lack depth. I am not saying that to tell a story simply from beginning to end is a bad thing, but for me, it's a question of depth. To tell a good story is fine, but in terms of Modernism, can you convey an understanding of a deeply complex dilemma? We (Taiwan's best authors) try to achieve a level of philosophical complexity, and this is something in which they lag behind … ."

"And if you ask me which is more important, a good story or philosophical depth, I will unhesitatingly plum for the latter," Zheng added.

Having failed to gain the Man shortlist, Zheng said he was not especially disappointed. "At least I have a translated text which I can now present to publishers," he said.

A man for all seasons

Jos van Kan:

A man for all seasons

Taipei Times: What is your background in theater?

Jos van Kan: When I was 16 I knew I wanted to do something in theater. I discovered that being a director was the best place for me - not on the stage but in the rehearsal studio. I studied to be a director of drama, and I began to introduce songs, because I like singing and music, and it slowly developed that I became a director of opera. I am very interested in crossovers, so sometimes I do a Baroque opera by (Henry) Purcell, and sometimes I do very modern operas for small audiences. ... When I did a play of Brokeback Mountain, from the novel of Annie Proulx, I took the text of the novel and asked the composer to write songs, so the cowboys were singing songs in the show.

TT: Why were you interested in studying Asian theater?

JVK: For me, you cannot go further from home (Holland) than Asia. There is no culture that is stranger to me than Asia, and that has appeal to me. As to the theater, I have a great love of stylization on stage and the Asian performing arts are highly skilled in using stylization.

TT: What did you get out of studying gezai opera in Ilan?

Being lonely around many people. Getting to know a culture that is very social, based on doing things in groups. ... Also to accept that there are things you cannot understand. Everybody should have this experience in their life. In the rehearsal studio there are many things that I don't understand, but still I go strong and I rehearse. I also try to accept the things I don't understand, that maybe I can go around them and get what I want in other ways; or don't get what I want, and get something else that also has its beauty. This is even more important as an experience than to see how fabulous people can fight on stage.

TT: What was working with a Taiwanese performance group like?

JVK: It can be a very positive feeling when you don't get what you want. You think we should go left, ... but you end up going right, and you find there are beautiful possibilities when you go right. It opens up the piece of art. I often say that I know how a show should "smell," from the very first rehearsal, even if you don't know what it will look like at the end. But here, sometimes even the smell changes, and in very surprising ways; to be open to that makes it interesting.

TT: Is the fusion of East and West just a dramatic gimmick?

JVK: I have forced myself to pick the disciplines only to serve the intent of the story in its best way. As long as this is done, I have no objection to this hip idea of fusion (of East and West), that we should shop (around) and mix and combine everything. I like The Second Goodbye because it is not a showy show, although we use many elements. I want to entertain, of course, because people go to the theater to be entertained, but besides this entertainment we should also talk about important things - communicate with an audience about things that touch our heart and brains. … You don't want to be superficial, but you don't want to bore the audience.- Ian Bartholomew

Puppets with no strings attached

BY Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Friday, Nov 02, 2007, Page 13

Puppeteer Ulrike Quade manipulates the main puppet character. Photos: courtesy of Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company

With The Second Goodbye (重別), which opened at the National Experimental Theater last night, the Taiyuan Puppet Theater Company (台原偶戲團) takes another step in its journey toward making puppet theater an established part of Taiwan's contemporary art scene. Taiyuan, with its many original shows that combine Western opera, Italian marionettes, various regional Chinese opera styles, and contemporary experimental theater, pushes the boundaries in fascinating ways, and has done more than any other group to open up puppetry and take it outside the framework of folk performance. The company explores puppetry as a medium for serious expression in contemporary theater.

The Second Goodbye, a puppet play based on a combination of the Buddhist fable Mulien Saves his Mother (目蓮救母) and the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, explores how people respond to the loss of someone who is believed to be irreplaceable.

"We started with the idea of losing someone you love. We tried to get that feeling of loss, of being left behind, and wanting to get this love back ... ." Taiyuan's artistic director Robin Ruizendaal said. "The concept is a voyage through hell, which, also in this play, translates as an internal journey through your own internal hell. It all happens in the mind of the main character."

The play is the product of a discussion between Ruizendaal and Dutch theater director Jos van Kan, who two years ago spent six weeks in Ilan studying Taiwanese opera. "We met, we talked about things we were interested in ... . Love and death, they are never far away, the two main constants of life, and there we were," Ruizendaal said of the show's conception.

Further discussions brought in German performance artist and puppeteer Ulrike Quade and contemporary Dutch composer Marlijin Helder, who contributed their own unique elements. Helder created a score based on recordings of Chinese music and readings of the libretto, which is sung by a narrator who sometimes sits with the ensemble and sometimes on stage, and by Chiu Chiu-hui (邱秋惠), a gezai opera (歌仔戲) singer and former member of Taiwan's U-Theatre (優劇場).

Quade's body puppet - she wears the bottom-half of the puppet, and remains completely visible in her manipulation of the puppet's upper body - is not only fascinating to watch in terms of pure performance, but the "double vision" of the main character also plays off against ideas of the link between the spiritual and physical, of exploration and discovery of the self, and of the relationship between performer and the performance.

As with most experimental productions, the doubling up of roles among some of the cast is a matter of necessity, but The Second Goodbye manages to make a virtue of such logistical constraints, allowing this multitasking to generate ideas, both intended and unintended, that further enrich the work.

In many ways, The Second Goodbye makes an interesting counterpoint to The Firmiana Rain (梧桐雨), which also opened last night, just across the way so to speak, in the National Theater. Despite the significant difference in scale - Rain uses a full symphony orchestra, whereas The Second Goodbye has three musicians who also double as cast and crew - both shows are about seeing what can be produced by a cross-fertilization between vastly different performance traditions.

Performance notes What: The Second Goodbye When: Today, tomorrow and Sunday 7:30pm; tomorrow and Sunday at 2:30pm Where: National Experimental Theater, Taipei Tickets: NT$450, available through NTCH ticketing Details: There are no subtitles either in English or Chinese, but a brief introduction to the story is given in the program

The Second Goodbye is part of a series of works brought together by the National Theater Concert Hall (NTCH) for its New Idea Theater Festival: Love Is ... (新點子劇展:愛情說) series of shows at the experimental theater. Following The Second Goodbye is Next Hour (雙姝怨) by the Mr Wing Theater Company (人力飛行劇團), which will complete the series. After finishing its run in Taipei, The Second Goodbye has been booked to perform at the Beijing International Contemporary Theater Festival (北京國際當代戲劇演出季, Nov. 7 to Nov. 10) and the Contemporary Theater Festival in Shanghai (亞洲當代戲劇季, Nov. 13 to Nov. 14).

Detailed information about the show and the performers can be found on the Taiyuan Web site at blog.roodo.com/taiyuanenglish.

Here's the beef ... noodles

By Ian Bartholomew
Staff Reporter, Taipei Times
Thursday, Nov 01, 2007, Page 13

You only need to be in Taiwan a couple of days to know that beef noodles is the dish most widely regarded as the nation's signature culinary achievement. There are beef noodle stores everywhere you look, and the dish takes many different forms. More often than not, it is a thoroughly unremarkable concoction of limp noodles, salty soup and tough beef that has been marinated in soy sauce to within an inch of its life. But when made well, it can also be the ultimate comfort food, but seeking out the beef noodle shops of distinction is no easy matter.
This of course is what the 2007 Taipei International Newrow Mian Festival (2007臺北國際牛肉麵節) is all about. The qualifying round last Sunday has reduced the field to five contenders each in the traditional dark broth, light broth and creative categories, with finals scheduled for this coming Sunday to find the best of the best in the field of beef noodles. For the participants concerned, victory in this competition is no small matter, for the shops that gain recognition from the panel of judges can count on packing their restaurant for the next year and beyond as people line up to taste the best beef noodles in town.
To put the "international" into the event, there will be an "International Teamwork Intercourse Competition" -- the title given on the event's Web site shows off the Taipei City Government's unique flair with the English language -- will bring in six teams of international chefs who will put their own spin on Taiwan's beef noodles on Saturday. This event, and the local competition finals on Sunday, will be held at the Xinyi International Club (信義公民會館). Over the two days, there will also be a variety of performances and an estimated 20 stalls selling beef noodles, so the public to get a taste of the huge variety of dishes that are encompassed under the label of "beef noodles" -- or "newrow mian" if you subscribe to the Taipei City Government's interesting take on romanization.
In announcing the finalists last Sunday, Cheng Yan-chi (鄭衍基), chief judge of the panel who presided over 45 bowls of beef noodles under consideration, pointed out that a primary consideration in assessing a bowl of beef noodles was balance between the broth, the noodles and the meat. Cheng, a former chef to ex-presidents Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) and Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), praised the high level achieved by the competitors, and underlined the complexity of achieving that elusive balance, even in a competition were all commercial considerations were removed. "A bowl of noodles that cost NT$800 to make will obviously taste different from one that sells for NT$80 in the shop," he said. An event like this can do no more that point customers in the right direction, and for this coming weekend, it will provide an opportunity for the public to try many different preparations at a single venue.

What: Taipei International Newrow Mian Festival
When: Saturday from 3pm to 6pm; Sunday from 9am to 2pm
Where: Xinyi International Club, 50 Songqin Rd, Taipei (台北市松勤街50號)
On the net: http://www.new-rowmian.com.tw/en/index.html (English)