11/16/2012

Renovations on The Hammer

I'll put up a couple from shots from my wife's iPhone covering renovations at the The Hammer: No. 14 - Lane 9, Wanhua Road, Younghe, New Taipei City / 新台北市 永和區文化路  9巷 14號. 

We're still missing a lot of stuff, but have decided to open on Saturday, November 17 nonetheless. The slowness of the process is driving me crazy; for example, we haven't been able to find certain ingredients even though we know they are out there in Taiwan. We don't have a sign either. Our bar stools make people look like midgets (need some new ones, I suppose) and our Blue Jay pictures have yet to arrive. Still, I am happy with the overall progress; some of it has gone really well. 

The bar.

Another view of the bar at The Hammer.

11/14/2012

The Hammer


We're probably going to open our new restaurant, The Hammer, this Saturday: No. 14 - Lane 9, Wanhua Road, Yonghe, New Taipei City / 新北市永和區文化路9巷14號. Things have been going a bit slower than expected. Plus we have logistics to work out, for example, what beers to order. Having said that, the beer guy on our case has been good ranging on great. For example, when we expressed interest in ordering San Miguel on tap, he promised us 24 mugs gratis. The food distributors have done a good job as well. They keep giving us stuff, and promise delivery one day after we order, specific to our time. 


I've thrown up a couple of shots on how the renovation has been going. Although slow, we are still pleased with the final result. The Hammer is situated in Yonghe, just over the Hsin Tien (新店) River. It's right next to the Dingxi (頂溪) MRT Station, slightly tucked into a lane. 

11/07/2012

The Pianist


This is one of the most powerful scenes from my favorite movie of the last decade: The Pianist. Directed by Roman Polanski, the film follows a section of the life of Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish piano player persecuted during the Second World War after his country was invaded by Germany. The scene recounts an encounter Szpilman had with a Nazi officer; it seems to have turned out favorably for him. The officer, affected by his inspired playing of Chopin (and other things, I suppose), fed and clothed Szpilman until the end of the war. 

It's going to say something like embedded disabled. Just click through to YouTube.

Tropic of Cancer Taiwan

  The Provincial Highway 9 Ruishui Marker (above) marks the Tropic of Cancer, 23.5 degrees on the northern latitude, in Taiwan. The spot was...