BLACKBOOK SMART GUIDE At
BLACKBOOK SMART GUIDE At André Chiang‘s RAW, the sparse decor complements the name leaving it up to the chefs to choose the preparation, and trust is amply rewarded with dishes that emphasise the flavours of the perhaps surprisingly excellent local produce. For a crash course in traditional fine-dining Taiwanese-style pull up a seat at Grand Hyatt’s newly refurbished Yun Jin ( taipei. grand.hyatt.com). Order a variety of small dishes to share, and don't skip the intimidating but delicious speciality selections such as spicy pork ear, pork knuckle terrine and marinated pork intestine. TAIPEI AS TOMORROWLAND Once a rather staid manufacturing centre, the Taiwanese capital is emerging from its cocoon bursting with colourful new ideas that are transforming the city. MARK EVELEIGH reports on the latest inspired venues where you can sleep, shop, snack or sip, from a hotel where you design your own room to cocktail bars hidden behind secret doors WHERE TO EAT Since the doors swung open on Meat Feast ( $ +886 227 065 085) in August, Taipei’s carnivores have been fighting tooth-and-claw for a table at the hotpot restaurant where succulent meats are served in two sizes – L and XXL. At RAW (raw.com.tw), it’s the reputation of chefowner André Chiang that’s outsized – described by Time magazine as creator of “the greatest food in the Indian Ocean region” – and his new Taiwanese “bistronomy“ venue lives up to the billing. The menu lists only ingredients, WHERE TO DRINK The picturesquely faded old cinema at 60 Hankou Street is not what it seems: hit a hidden button on the facade and the wall slides open to reveal Taipei’s newest speakeasy cocktail bar, Hanko 60 ( $ +886 223 810 808), which crafts some of the city's best cocktails. There’s no secrecy at all about Omni (omni-taipei.com). In fact, since it reopened recently, this completely redesigned nightclub has been the talk of the town and has a great scene deep into the night. Keeping with the city’s experimental design image, R&D Cocktail Lab ( $ r-d. tw) believes in customising your own signature drink, but on-menu selections like mezcal negroni and oolong-tini are already all-time in-house favourites. VVG (standing for Very Very Good) already boasts several Taipei properties – including what has been called one of the world’s most beautiful bookstores – but many say that its new Japanese-style cafe VVG Chapter (vvgchapter. com.tw) has raised the bar. No clues this time but behind a café somewhere in Da’an PHOTO © RAW 50 CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM CONTACT CENTURION SERVICE FOR BOOKINGS
Clockwise from top left: bags and accessories from Hsu & Daughter; RAW‘s chef Alain Huang; a room at Play Design Hotel; cocktails at the Ounce bar PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: © HSU & DAUGHTER, © RAW, HEY!CHEESE, SEAN MARC LEE quarter there is a fake wall that leads to what might be the coolest little nocturnal haven in the city. Ounce ( $ ouncetaipei.com) doesn’t bother with anything as passé as a menu, and drinks are concocted by talented mixologists according to the customers’ whims. Americanborn owner Yee Soong also recently opened a dive-bar speakeasy called Bittersweet in another secret venue. WHERE TO STAY Ambience Hotel (ambiencehotel.com.tw) has long been one of Taipei’s most stylish, but in its newly renovated and fully refurbished form it is positively sparkling with decor from a group of autistic artists whose colourful designs decorate walls and fabrics and are even emblazoned across floor-to-ceiling windows. A central tenet at Play Design Hotel (playdesignhotel.com) is the fact that “anyone can be a designer”. The unusual concept is that you book a room that is furnished with nothing but a bed and fit it out yourself from the hotel’s catalogue of attractive, innovative or downright bizarre locally designed accessories. (Toy guns are no longer cool … unless they’re used to turn lamps on and off.) The boutique hotel plans to extend the self-design option to most of its rooms in the next year, but if you prefer to book off-the-peg, go for the MIT (Made-in- Taiwan) room, featuring some of the quirkiest design innovations. The MIT tag is also one that Eslite Hotel (eslitehotel.com) is proud of. Pick a south-facing room to enjoy cityscape views towards towering Taipei 101. The interior landscape in the Eslite suites is similarly iconic, however, with such contrasting touches as traditional decoration and red brick used to symbolise the country’s more recent industrial heritage. WHERE TO SHOP Get crafty at Hsu & Daughter (hsundaughter.com) where, rather than simply buying a new leather bag, you can learn to cut and stitch it for yourself under the guidance of expert artisans. The owners make no bones about the fact that once you complete your first leatherwork masterpiece you’ll have a cutting-edge skill you can take with you to make whatever you want. Subversive and refreshingly controversial, ACID Lab ( $ +886 222 342 968) is where designers and artists are working hard to shake things up. Standing for “Artists, Creators, Innovators, and Designers”, this is a coworking space where you can shop for clothing, jewellery and bespoke footwear or even join classes to make your own. If caffeine is your drug of choice make a quick espresso stop at the centre’s LSD2 café. If design is all about pushing the boundaries, then at Treasure Hill Artists Village ( $ artistvillage.org) they are being shoved right off the hill. Once an illegal slum neighbourhood for retired soldiers, this is now a mixed hamlet of local homes and international artists. You can shop here for home-crafted embroidery, handmade paper, silver jewellery, or a unique souvenir from what is called the More Than Useful Detective Lab – a creation that few would have foreseen for Taipei even a few years ago and that now typifies the city's vibrant new energy. CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 51
