Over the past couples of years, corporate coffee chain stores have slowly but surely monopolized the nation's need for a caffeine fix. Sadly, many of the once numerous mom-and-pop coffee houses have been forced out of business by the their behemoth multinational rivals.
Opened in 1999, at the height of the local coffee wars, the Queen's Chin Coffee Shop (女王的下巴) has successfully weathered the coffee hurricane that swept the nation.
Tired of the pressure and long hours he spent eking out a living in the textiles business, proprietor Tony (張兆東) opened the shop two years ago for very simple reasons. "I was tired of the rat race and wanted a job that was relaxing, and one which enable me to be meet and chat with different people." In between chatting with the mixed bag of folks who pop into the Chin, Cheng has found enough time to master the art of brewing a wicked cappuccino. Which is one of the reasons so many customers keep returning to his coffee shop.
The joint could pass as a European-style village cafe rather than inner-city coffee bar. The seating is very comfortable and the tables a reasonable distance apart so as to allow patrons a modicum of privacy from curious ears.
The menu is simple but solid, with coffee and teas ranging in price from NT$100 to NT$120 and snacks and small set lunches costing no more than NT$190.
As for the recent opening of a branch of a well-known coffee chain within shouting distance of the Chin, Chang brushed it off with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not worried about losing customers," says the ever-smiling Chang. "I'm positive I won't."
The Queen's Chin is open Monday through Friday from 11am to 9:30pm and is located at 14-1, Alley 6, Lane 553, Chunghsiao East Road, Sec. 4 (台北市忠孝東路四段553巷6弄14-1號).
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had