When it opened late last year, Taipei's first Russian theme restaurant caused quite a sensation. Offering diners the chance to wine and dine in a cold room measuring -100C, the restaurant/bakery/ice-cream parlor's initial bout of publicity paid off. Over the past five months it has managed to build up a cult following among diners looking for something different.
The interior design is simple, with, thankfully, no kitsch photos of the Kremlin. The tables are far enough apart to allow for a modicum of privacy, yet close enough so the waitstaff has no excuse for ignoring the wants of a hungry diner.
There is one very important thing to bear in mind before venturing off to Salt & Bread in search of chow from the world's largest country: Those looking for more traditional fare such as pelmeny or vareniky will be disappointed. The menu is more representative of Stalinist expansionism than Romanov realities. Many of the dishes originate well west of the Caucasus, with German sausages, Austrian pork cutlets and Italian pastas just a few of the non-Russian dishes on offer.
PHOTO: GAVIN PHIPPS, TAIPEI TIMES
Not that this really matters, as the menu is solid and has enough vestiges of European flavors to satisfy most diners. Along with the handful of genuine Russian dishes like beef stroganoff (NT$520) and chicken Kiev (NT$460) the joint serves up plenty of its own creations. Patty "St Petersburg" (NT$420), red wine ox tongue (NT$800), braised T-bone (NT$620) and beef goulash (NT$460) are some of the most popular.
Those looking for a pleasant lunch that doesn't break the bank should find Salt & Breads' NT$480 lunch specials quite agreeable. Diners get to choose from four soups and half a dozen main courses. Tea or coffee and ice cream come with all combinations.
While the eatery's savory selections are passable and fairly satisfying, the joint's ice cream creations are something to behold. Costing from NT$260 to NT$600, the chilled delights can be eaten alone but because of there sheer size are best shared. Boasting equally kitschy Russian theme names like Catherine's Great Crown, Cruising Along the Yenisei, Catherine's Great Secret Garden, Lazurite in Baikal Lake and Feast of Russia will gratify those with a sweet tooth.
Along with the edibles Salt & Bread also stocks several types of vodka as well as several varieties of Russia's other most popular liquid export, Baltika beer.
The bottom line is that while the quality of both the food and the service are a cut above those all too often endured at many locally run western-style eateries, to have the chutzpah to call Salt & Bread a "Russian" restaurant is a wee bit rich!
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. Researchers said on Wednesday the bone, called a surangular, was from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur. Based on its dimensions compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the Triassic Period creature, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, was between 22-26 meters long. That would make it perhaps the largest-known marine reptile and would