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Restaurant: Front Page Bar 長虹酒吧
Address: Imperial Hotel, 600 Linsheng N Rd, Taipei (台北華國大飯店, 台北市林森北路600 號1樓)
Telephone: (02) 2259-65111, X2416
Open: 11:30pm to 12:30 am; open later for major sports events
Average meal: NT$450
Details: cards accepted; Chinese and English menus; reservations recommended but not required
By Ginger Yang
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Jun 30, 2006, Page 15
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Soccer and grub for foodies.
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRONT PAGE BAR
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Many bars around town, and especially those in five star hotels, have set up screens for the World Cup. The Front Page Bar at the Imperial Hotel (華國大飯店) has the advantage of being specifically set up as a sports bar, offering a 150-inch pull-down big screen and six smaller screens located around the room.
Front Page's international style is that of an up-market British pub, and offers an elegant, cheerful and pleasant environment in which to sit and relax with friends or have a drink at the bar. The low ceiling gives it an intimate feel, and the selection of flags around the room hints at the inter-national crowd that passes through.
Although the Imperial Hotel has been around for the last 30 years, Front Page has been open for just two years.
The hotel's proximity to Taipei's Zhongshan Soccer Stadium makes it a favorite with visiting athletes, including local sports icon, Wang Chien-ming (王建民), who plays for the New York Yankees. The bar displays a baseball shirt with his autograph, among much other sporting paraphernalia.
Bar manager Liao Yu-hwei (廖裕輝), has done his bit for national sports; he was formerly on Taiwan's soft tennis team.
Head chef of the Front Page Bar Tony Chen (陳進男) said that a variety of international dishes are offered to appeal to guests from many different countries. Dutch deep-fried beef meatballs with tomato sauce (NT$480) is recommended, and was selected to represent the hotel at the Taipei International Food Show last week.
For avid sports fans who don't want to take their eyes off the television, Brazilian grilled beef skewers (NT$480) are popular as they are easy to handle. The French grilled ham and cheese sandwich (NT$360), provides a big meal, even if it tastes a bit ordinary for the price.
Other dishes include German pig knuckle (NT$480), Italian carbonara (NT$380), Mexican beef fried rice with hot chili (NT$360) and English deep-fried fish burger (NT$380).
Cocktails cost around NT$270 and the bar stocks a wide range of beers and spirits, starting at NT$220 per glass.
The bar has a private suite for three to eight people. There is no minimum charge for this, although a reservation is necessary. Internet access is a cinch with WiFi access.
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