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S T R E E T S O F C H A R A C T E R
Yong Kang Street is
bustling at night
ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT
,
shops or
restaurants on Yong Kang Street
may turn into unlikely stages for an
impromptu performance, be it a harvest
song on an ancient Chinese instrument
or a tango tune on a violin.
My visit began on the quieter end
of this popular street, located in the
Daan District of Taipei, just a block
from the beautiful National Theatre, at
HJS’ Fresh Grill. The owner, TC Wang,
opened this eatery after running out of
places to eat lamb in the city. Patrons
similar to TC frequent this Central Asian-
inspired eatery: local gourmands
craving for something particular. And
they come for the food as much as
for the mystery of encountering their
fellow diners, for you never know
whom you might be sitting next to.
I chose one of the five lantern-
shaped bar stools downstairs covered
by red film, each with a light inside
casting a warm red hue creating a
coziness we all appreciated in the
heavy downpour.
Bar seats here are snatched up
quickly as they face the open kitchen
and offer a chance to chat with the
friendly TC, his strong protruding brow
bone and dark skin help him stand
out in a crowd. On my first night, I sat
next to Gary Wu, 57, a renowned local
record producer. Further down the row
was a construction project manager,
the vice president of a top insurance
company and Taiwanese-Australian
Mike Palmer, a tango violinist. Before
the night ended, Mike treated us to
a stanza of “Butterfly Lovers”, his
ruthless finger-twisting piece lured
customers down from upstairs.
