The new bar on Anho Rd with the mysteriously dark facade and dimly lit
sign "Champagne" written above is not another high-brow,
secret-code-required watering hole, but a relaxing hangout for urban
women.
Well before midnight, the place is already filled with tastefully
dressed young women, cigar-smoking executives still dressed for work,
and the occasional celebrity lured by the sleek interior, comfy sofas
and music as soothing as the champagnes.
Focusing not just on the quality of the environment, but his customers
as well, co-owner Jackie Lee (李繼強) started Champagne as a young woman's alternative to the often dingy Taipei pub and club scene associated
with gangsters and dirty old men.
"Champagne is a very feminine drink. So the place is safe and pleasant,
catering to women's needs," he said.
Having opened Taiwan's only champagne bar just last month, Lee intends
to promote the drink among Taiwanese, with his collection of 67 kinds.
The bar staff is quick to introduce customers to different champagnes to
help them order the right one.
For champagne beginners, Lee recommends Veuve Cliquot "Demi-Sec" N.V
(NT$2,700), which has a slightly sweet, peach-and-apple flavor. The
heavier Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose Brut (NT$3,300) is the favorite among
foreign patrons.
For champagne connoisseurs, Lee recommends the Billecar-Salmon series
(NT$3,000 to NT$3,800) which gets high ratings from international wine
magazines and is very rare in Taiwan. The house treasure is the vintage
Salon LeMesnil 1985 (NT$7,800). Its smoked honey and chocolate-toast
flavor satisfies the most finicky palettes.
Apart from champagne, red and white wine, liquors, beers and the bar's
exclusive champagne cocktails are also served at decent prices.
Champagne is located at 75 Anho Rd. Sec. 1, Taipei (台北市安和路1段75號)
and is open from 7:30pm to 2:30am.
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