A large aquarium, replete with reef fish and live coral, establishes the seaside theme at Ocean Blue, a new restaurant-cum-lounge bar on the fringe of the trendy Dinghao (頂好) district.
The sand-colored wallpaper and the fluid lines of the ceiling are unobtrusive, and the slightly secluded dinning area has a pleasant intimacy. Downstairs, deep sofas and areas separated by bead curtains lend the place a cozy feel, which is contrasted by a huge tank of blacktip reef sharks that adds an edgy touch. Feeding the sharks is part of the late night entertainment.
The food at Ocean Blue is an unusual fusion of Thai and Italian cuisines designed by head chef Gilbert Chua (蔡文要).
PHOTO: COURTESY OF OCEAN BLUE
With dishes such as Thai beef capaccio (NT$320) and mango pumpkin soup (NT$200), the menu is intended to surprise. The soup, which uses mango juice instead of the usual cream as its base, is light and tangy. Chua is also adept at more conventional Thai dishes such as green curry chicken (NT$380). The curry itself is mild, but flavorful. The restaurant stocks a wide selection of New World wines that compliment the innovative fare. Set menus are paired with selected wines. Live lobster, giant prawns and Pacific oysters are other options, all made with a Thai twist.
With an emphasis on well-made drinks, rather than gimmickry, the bar is a welcome addition to Taipei's nightlife scene. It's no surprise that there are plenty of tropical-themed cocktails (the mango martini is definitely worth trying, even for those not partial to fruit cocktails), but it's the range of single malt whiskeys served with a single giant ice cube that is the clincher. With its view of Da-an Road, the bar at Ocean Blue also makes a pleasant change from the usual dark rathskeller spaces favored by interior designers of night spots.
As an elegant place for a business lunch, a cool quiet hide-away during the afternoon, a chic restaurant to take a date or a place to chill out with friends in the early hours, Ocean Blue, with wireless Internet access, DJ booth, shark tank and solid selection of food and wines, combines youth and sophistication - no mean feat.
Last week Joseph Nye, the well-known China scholar, wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s website about how war over Taiwan might be averted. He noted that years ago he was on a team that met with then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), “whose previous ‘unofficial’ visit to the US had caused a crisis in which China fired missiles into the sea and the US deployed carriers off the coast of Taiwan.” Yes, that’s right, mighty Chen caused that crisis all by himself. Neither the US nor the People’s Republic of China (PRC) exercised any agency. Nye then nostalgically invoked the comical specter
Relations between Taiwan and the Czech Republic have flourished in recent years. However, not everyone is pleased about the growing friendship between the two countries. Last month, an incident involving a Chinese diplomat tailing the car of vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) in Prague, drew public attention to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) operations to undermine Taiwan overseas. The trip was not Hsiao’s first visit to the Central European country. It was meant to be low-key, a chance to meet with local academics and politicians, until her police escort noticed a car was tailing her through the Czech capital. The
April 15 to April 21 Yang Kui (楊逵) was horrified as he drove past trucks, oxcarts and trolleys loaded with coffins on his way to Tuntzechiao (屯子腳), which he heard had been completely destroyed. The friend he came to check on was safe, but most residents were suffering in the town hit the hardest by the 7.1-magnitude Hsinchu-Taichung Earthquake on April 21, 1935. It remains the deadliest in Taiwan’s recorded history, claiming around 3,300 lives and injuring nearly 12,000. The disaster completely flattened roughly 18,000 houses and damaged countless more. The social activist and
Over the course of former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 11-day trip to China that included a meeting with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Xi Jinping (習近平) a surprising number of people commented that the former president was now “irrelevant.” Upon reflection, it became apparent that these comments were coming from pro-Taiwan, pan-green supporters and they were expressing what they hoped was the case, rather than the reality. Ma’s ideology is so pro-China (read: deep blue) and controversial that many in his own Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) hope he retires quickly, or at least refrains from speaking on some subjects. Regardless