It is no mean achievement to make a shipping line sexy, but with the Evergreen Laurel Hotel the company intends to appear suave and sophisticated -- even if it can't quite make the third S.
As one of the most expensive boutique hotels currently operating in Taipei, a fact that the hotel makes no effort to conceal, it is no surprise that considerable time and energy have been spent in the wining and dining department. After all, with room rates at NT$30,000 for a family suite, it helps to be on a fairly generous expense account when staying there.
PHOTO: IAN BARTHOLOMEW, TAIPEI TIMES
The Evergarden, which is the hotel's main dining area, provides a solid menu of Cantonese food, which is also squarely aimed at a corporate clientele. Despite its substantial a-la-carte menu, PR manager Maggie Huang (
The lobster set menu is a good indication of Evergarden's style. The NT$2,000 set provides nine courses, so that even though each is small and owes more to artistry than to bulk to fill the plate, you finish up very well fed. "It started out from the idea of lobster done in three different styles," said sous chef Lin Wen-chao (
This style of mini banquet has proved popular with many up-scale restaurants catering to high-end business travelers, as it provides flexibility of selection with the appearance of luxury. The availability of a vegetarian set, which has to pass a taste test from Evergreen CEO Chang Rong-fa (
Evergarden offers plenty of medicinal foods for the overworked business traveler, along with the usual range of Cantonese delicacies such as shark's fin, abalone, and ginseng broths. But its simple fried noodles and soup noodles, price between NT$250 and NT$350 are full of good things, and almost worth the price tag.
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In recent years, Slovakia has been seen as a highly democratic and Western-oriented Central European country. This image was reinforced by the election of the country’s first female president in 2019, efforts to provide extensive assistance to Ukraine and the strengthening of relations with Taiwan, all of which strengthened Slovakia’s position within the European Union. However, the latest developments in the country suggest that the situation is changing rapidly. As such, the presidential elections to be held on March 23 will be an indicator of whether Slovakia remains in the Western sphere of influence or moves eastward, notably towards Russia and