Plainly stated, B1 is a place to go to get drunk and maybe something else if
you're lucky. It deserves this description because of its NT$500
all-you-can-drink cover charge (NT$400 on weekdays) that is its main draw
and encourages whale-like drinking.
It's a genius, if not entirely novel, concept: Charge an acceptable cover
charge and expect that no one drinks more than his or her entry's worth in
alcohol. From the looks of it, though, people are really trying to get their
money's worth.
This is not a bar where one sits with a martini engaged in pleasant
conversation. First of all, the martini, after fighting your way with
sharpened elbows to the bar to order it, will come not in a tall glass but
in a 12-oz plastic cup and it won't have an olive. And who wants to look
self-conscious holding a froofy martini when the overwhelming beverage of
choice at B1 is good ol' Budweiser.
The bar is located in the site of the old Roxy Vibe and is doing a good job
of carrying on the spot's tradition of decadence. There is a medium-sized
dance floor where sweaty bodies move in a synchronized heap to last year's
pop tunes -- think Ricky Martin and Madonna -- and the owners have done the
place up in seductive deep bordello red that actually looks quite classy.
B1 is located at B1, 71 Aikuo E. Rd., Taipei (臺北市愛國東路71號B1).
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The following three paragraphs are just some of what the local Chinese-language press is reporting on breathlessly and following every twist and turn with the eagerness of a soap opera fan. For many English-language readers, it probably comes across as incomprehensibly opaque, so bear with me briefly dear reader: To the surprise of many, former pop singer and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) ex-lawmaker Yu Tien (余天) of the Taiwan Normal Country Promotion Association (TNCPA) at the last minute dropped out of the running for committee chair of the DPP’s New Taipei City chapter, paving the way for DPP legislator Su
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