Sightings: Milk Tea and Latte at the SpaceTime Cafe

Tags

cafe dogs, golden retriever, shiba inu mixes, taipei, taipei cafes, vintage furniture

Down by the Breeze Center, I was passing the time before a movie at the Space Time Cafe. It felt a bit like walking into an American vintage and resale shop… with cafe dogs!

Milk Tea 奶茶 is the Golden Retriever. (Incidentally, this is the texture when a Goldie grows back their coat after a summer shave.)

Latte is the Shiba (perhaps mix). They’re both a little older, with mellow temperaments and white faces.

I got a cursory sniff out of Latte, but mostly she didn’t pay me any mind. Typical.

The dessert and drink I ordered were, unfortunately, on the weak side. Also had some of the most perfunctory latte “art” I’d seen yet. I’d rather have had a stronger drink than this mysterious Rorschach test in milk, because I kept nodding off even while I was sipping my mug!

I don’t think coffee-making is their main business priority. They seemed very interested in renting out the space itself for photo shoots, films, and other commercial ventures. Dogs may or may not be included as part of the rental fee.

Well, it’s an interesting business premise and use of space anyway. As long as the pups get to hang with their people all day and are kept in kibble (or whatever their diet of choice), I approve.

Space Time Cafe
Fuxing South Road Section 1 Ln. 107 Alley 5 No. 8 復興南路一段107巷5弄8號 [map]
Daan District, Taipei City 台北市大安區
Nearest MRT: Zhongxiao Fuxing 忠孝復興, Exit 4
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Yes
Atmosphere: A mishmash of vintage furniture, retro clutter, natural and other lighting. Chill and not particularly busy on the day I went. I didn’t like the large, flat-screen TV at the front of the store, but luckily they didn’t keep it on the whole time.

Sighting: Another Corgi at Pillow Cafe

Tags

cafe dogs, corgis, taipei, taipei cafes

I promise this is not turning into a Corgi blog. These are just very popular dogs in Taiwan. And yes, I’m still in Taiwan.

Anyway, here’s a quick hit-and-run update to sing the praises of Pillow Cafe, currently one of my top five favorite Taipei cafes (a list which gets rearranged every week, it seems). They are named thus for the super cozy cushioned seats and back pillows comfortably spread about the cafe (very conducive to glueing your ass in one place for hours on end and getting stuff done)…

… and, perhaps, also for the beautiful, thick pillow of foam atop their lattes.

I find the coffee tastes above average, and it is reasonably priced (for Taipei) at 130NT. I got mine with an extra shot for 150NT (about $5USD). They also have a range of teas, light sandwich sets, freshly made desserts, waffles and some other sweets.

But the sweetest thing, of course, is their CAFE CORGI.

Siapa 夏啪 is this lowrider’s name. I don’t know if Siapa is male or female. That’s the problem with these furry unseen undercarriages. And ungendered spoken languages.

S/he is prone to allergies and muzzle-scratching sometimes, so on goes the cone…

When the cone is not being worn, it’s used to accentuate the furnishings.

Pillow Cafe is conveniently nestled in an area of good eats, so if quick-heat snacks are not your thing, you can time your meals for before or after your stay. Mostly, though, I think you’ll want to stay, because this place is lovely.

Pillow Cafe
Rui’an St. No. 133 瑞安街133號 [map]
Daan District, Taipei City 台北市大安區
Nearest MRT: Technology Building Station 科技大樓
Nearest bus stop: National Taipei University of Education Experimental Elementary School 國北教大實小
Hours: 12pm ~ 10pm, closed on Tuesdays
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Many, including bar seats and against the wall
Atmosphere: Comfortable seating, warm lighting, mostly inoffensive blend of 80s and 90s pop with the occasional intrusion of a radio hit that surprisingly still grates on your nerves nearly 20 years later…

Sighting: Cafe Corgi at Atlantis Coffee

Tags

cafe dogs, corgis, taipei, taipei cafes

Tucked away in a quiet alley behind the Brother Hotel 兄弟飯店, off Nanjing East Road 南京東路, you’ll find this hideaway coffeeshop:

The two head silhouettes on their sign are somewhat mysterious. It’s actually the cafe proprietress and her dog, Jeeter 基特 the Corgi.

Jeeter is very welcoming and happy to greet visitors. She’s friendly, but also just fine staying out of your way — after you acknowledge her presence upon entrance!

Traffic here is relatively slow, based on what I saw on a weeknight. Still, as a small capacity cafe, all the tables were occupied, so I got a tall bar seat at the outwards-facing window. Not a bad option for people-watching.

My caramel latte with an extra shot was 130NT (a bit over $4), which I’m now learning is on the lower end of the price scale as far as Taipei lattes go. It was pretty average in taste. The complimentary cookie was a nice gesture.

At the tall bar seat, I didn’t get to interact with the lowrider Corgi very much, but I was there to get some work done, anyway. It was just the right, mellow setting for the tasks I had at hand.

Atlantis Coffee 亞特蘭堤斯咖啡館
Qingcheng Road Lane 16 No. 16 台北市慶城街16巷16號 [map]
Songshan District, Taipei City 松山區台北市
Nearest MRT: Nanjing East Road 南京東路
Nearest bus stop: Nanjing-Fuxing Intersection 南京復興路口
Hours: ? ~ 10PM on weekdays, ? ~ 8PM on Sunday
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Some, against the wall
Atmosphere: Quiet, friendly, music a rotation of muzakky light jazz and then later, twee female vocals

Sighting: Oreo and Miss Lamb, Cafe Border Collies

Tags

border collies, cafe cats, cafe dogs, taipei, taipei cafes

Different health ordinances and cultural standards for public hygiene allow for animals in Taiwanese cafes. I’ve run into enough cafe dogs (and cats!) for a series of Taipei cafe pet sightings. I’ll roll them out as time permits.

Meet the two cafe dogs at 4 a.m. Cafe. Oreo is black and white.

And Yang Meimei 羊妹妹, or Miss Lamb, is the one with ticking.

Their black heads don’t make them very easy to photograph, especially at night, which is when they usually seem to make the rounds (or maybe that’s just me).

They’re especially responsive to the rustle of food wrappers.

4 a.m. Cafe is named such because of its unusual hours. It’s open seven days a week from 2 p.m. until… yup. Caffeinated bedtime!

Night owls who can’t drift their way to slumberland on a raft of espresso can partake of tea, or Belgian and local bottled beers instead. They’re not cheap, but it’s not a terrible option when bars are not your scene, everything else is closed, and you want something to ease the thought of going home to an empty apartment.

They also feed and shelter (outside) a very affectionate stray kitty who has been TNR’ed and allowed to linger.

I only wish the dogs were more affectionate or as curious about me as I am about them. Maybe that’s just because I haven’t ordered any food yet. House-made raw chocolate, cookies, pretzels, nuts, and simple dishes like pizza, lasagna, and sausages are on the menu. They don’t seem uptight about people bringing in outside snacks, but it’d be cool to order from them. They work long hours, after all. Might as well make it worth their while.

4 a.m. Cafe
Guangfu South Road Lane 308 No. 38 光復南路308巷38號 [map]
Daan District, Taipei City 大安區，台北市

Nearest MRT: Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall Station 國父記念館
Nearest Bus Stop: Ren’ai Yanji Street Intersection 仁愛延吉街口

Hours: Open seven days a week, 2 p.m. ~ 4 a.m.
Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Plenty, with extension cords
Smoking area: Outside
Atmosphere: Good music, laid-back atmosphere, hard plastic seats and somewhat dingy surfaces, sort of like a college cafeteria instead of home, but friendly enough

Sighting: Pidan 皮蛋, the Cafe Dog at No. 14 Coffee Shop

Tags

boston terrier, cafe dogs, store dogs, taipei, taipei cafes

This urban environment and doglessness is forcing my body into new routines. I can deal with the physical reality of being away from the pets, but my caffeine addiction is a hard habit to shake.

Luckily, Taipei is now dotted with more specialty coffeeshops than I’ve ever imagined. Unfortunately, they are not cheap. You pay for atmosphere and comfort, not just what’s in the mug.

For me, I’ll willingly fork over $4 for a drink if I get to spend it in the company of a personable store dog. After not having gotten to pet an animal in over two whole weeks, I was eager to make friends with even this brachycephalic, bug-eyed, pink-skinned Boston Terrier at No. 14 Cafe.

I’d say he’s qualified to be called an urban “working” dog — his role is to greet, inspect, and welcome all incoming guests. He excels at his job.

Placards at every table address the commonly asked questions:

inside diners, please order at the bar
minimum purchase 100NT per person
service with a smile? nope, and nope.
water for tea, help yourself — wifi password 66666 — thanks
dog’s called Pidan — 4 years old

Pidan means leather/preserved/century/thousand-year-old egg. One of these things:

As weirded out as I am by pets named after food items, this is a very fitting (and cute) name for a Boston Terrier. Lots of things about him are rather egg-shaped.

A caramel cappuccino is usually priced at 140NT 100NT (the current exchange rate is about 30NT = USD$1). I almost scored an “imperfect latte art” discount. Guy takes his craft very seriously, as he’s the one that pointed out the misshapen splotch.

Mr. barista-owner takes responsibility for everything, including selecting and roasting the beans to taste, and of course the overall design of the shop. What results is a strong, tasty brew offered in a homey, unique setting.

It’s a small-capacity cafe, accommodating about 14~18 seated indoor customers at any given time, and about three people outdoors. Given the limited seating, I wasn’t sure if it was the type of place where one could just set up shop and do their own thing. However, since the owner himself maintains a hands-off, laid-back attitude, I’d say you’re free to occupy your space however you’d like. While you’re hatching your next business venture, doodling in your travel journal, slogging through a stack of photocopies to read, or drafting your next blog entry, the owner’s off in his own world — training his dog, and occasionally recording videos of himself playing his acoustic guitar (Pidan oversees the production of all videos).

Nevertheless, good cafe etiquette always applies. As long as you meet the minimum charge, and there are spaces available, you’re welcome to linger. Should it get busy, be respectful of the need for table turnover, and pack up within a reasonable amount of time. I came in on a weekday towards the late afternoon and stayed a couple hours until dinnertime, and it was never at more than half capacity during my entire stay.

If the place is usually so chill, I expect to become a regular over the next few months.

No. 14 Coffee Shop 14號咖啡館 location details
No. 14, Alley 4, Lane 345, Section 4, Rén’ài Rd 仁愛路四段345巷4弄14號 [map]
Daan District 大安區 Taipei City 106 台北市106
Taiwan

Closest MRT stop: Zhongxiao Dunhua 捷運忠孝敦化
Nearest bus stop: Cathay Hospital (Ren’ai) 國泰醫院（仁愛路）
In the vicinity of: Eslite Dunhua 誠品敦化店, between Anhe Rd. 安和路 and Yanji St. 延吉街, closer to Ren’ai

Wireless: Yes, free
Electrical outlets: Not really; hidden at about 2 seats
Smoking area: Outside
Atmosphere: Small capacity and hushed, slightly uncomfortable cushioned and bench seating, nice lighting, bad music

Two store mascots: Ah Mao Risotto, Ximending – Taipei

Tags

Ah Mao Risotto, border collies, 阿毛, 西門町, golden retriever, shaved dogs, store dogs, taipei, ximending

Ah Mao Risotto restaurant (阿毛石鍋燉飯) in the Ximending (西門町) area of Taipei has made its dog-friendliness into a rather successful gimmick.

Apparently they serve Italian style rice in a Korean stone bowl, with the bottom crisped bibimbap style. Sounds yummy, but I’ve never tried their menu, despite being tempted many a time by the presence of the Golden Retriever perpetually parked by the door.

Air conditioning or water? Such a tough choice…

Since I was last in Taiwan, they’ve expanded to at least one additional store in the area. The second shop featured a different mascot — a rather plump, shaved Border Collie.

I suspect the store mascots are being fed a high carb diet of leftovers from the kitchen…

FILM: Rainy Dog (Gokudô kuroshakai)

Tags

dog movies, japanese film, taipei, taiwan dogs, takashi miike

Film: Rainy Dog [Gokudô kuroshakai]
Director: MIIKE Takashi
Performers: AIKAWA Shô, CHEN Xianmei, GAO Mingjun, HE Jianxian, TAGUCHI Tomorowo
Production Information: Daiei, 1997 (Japan)
Breed featured: Taiwan mutt

Director Takashi Miike isn’t exactly known for his subtlety. His work often rubs me the wrong way, and there was a period of several years where I flat-out refused to watch his films. I’ve only been persuaded to give him a chance when there’s been the promise of something different, such as the anthropological exotica of The Bird People of China or the delirious musical revelry that was The Happiness of the Katakuris.

While Rainy Dog, the second in a disjointed trilogy narrating the violence and vagaries of yakuza life, is more in line with the “typical” Miike fare that I tend to snub, I had to see it for two simple reasons: 1) it was filmed on location in Taipei, and it’s always a thrill to see how foreign directors depict that city which I love so dearly, and 2) the English title contains the word “dog,” hinting at something that would be of thematic significance.

When one watches a lot of films, one is allowed to have arbitrary criteria when deciding what to bump up in the queue.

The story is simple enough. An exiled yakuza in Taiwan, Yuji, has a child dropped off at his apartment one day by a woman who claims that he’s the father. Not exactly pleased with this new responsibility, Yuji proceeds to tromp around Taipei on various assassination jobs oblivious to the kid shadowing him and witnessing each bloody hit. It’s not exactly Léon or Kikujiro, because the boy is unable to talk and his gangster father barely acknowledges his existence. There’s no emotional buildup or blossoming relationship because they just don’t interact. This wall of silence persists throughout the movie, as well as the torrential downpours that render the entire visual palette into shades of a depressing, industrial steel gray and blue.

In the eponymous scene, Miike almost achieves the trifecta of pitifulness: child, puppy… but not female. That’s okay; he still manages to milk every pathetic minute through stark montage. The child and puppy are abandoned outside in the rain, while his father is shacked up with a Taiwanese prostitute in a shabby but dry room. Between rounds, they replenish themselves with lip-smacking dishes, while the kid tears through garbage bags for a few greasy smears of leftover rice.

You’d think, in this rather heavy-handed sequence, the director could have spared us at least one gratuitous close-up of the puppy’s snorfling face. But alas, these low-quality screenshots were the best I could do.

At least Miike didn’t turn this tender moment around and strangle the puppy as he’s been known to do in other titles. The man’s not so nice to animals or hookers or, really, most living beings in his films. So maybe some dogs are better left out in the rain…

Light years ago… Lantern Festival images from the Year of the Dog (2006)

Tags

lantern festival, taipei, taiwan, taiwan dogs, year of the dog

I was organizing my digital photo albums, and came across some of the photos I took during the 2006 Lantern Festival in Taipei. That was the Year of the Dog, so many of the displays tried to incorporate that into their themes. However, I remember being disappointed; the truly artistic lantern constructions (and there were plenty!) had little to do with dogs at all.

So again, the paucity of canine representation in Chinese art…

Rather than wait another 12 year cycle (or rather, seven years until 2018, the next Year of the Dog), I thought I would present some old shots for nostalgia’s sake.

Photos taken 14 February 2006

A Taiwanese aboriginal figure with what I think is supposed to be a Formosan Mountain dog — except this one is shaped more like a Lab than the most “classic” Formosans with pricked ears and a sickle tail that arches over the back.

This thing was HUGE, towering over all at the entrance to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, where the Lantern Festival was set up that year.

A scene out of the Jungle Book — Akela the wolf encounters Mowgli.

Some of the best lanterns featured more traditional and folkloric Chinese images; the dogs featured in such scenes seemed purely incidental. The creature above was probably supposed to be a Pekingese or some other lapdog of the court, like these musicians.

Not sure I understand the appeal of puppies dangling dangerously off of bare bottoms… but apparently this image is in global circulation as part of some standard iconography of “cute.”

Would you trust this cop with the REALLY DILATED PUPILS… with this dog? I think it’s supposed to be a Doberman, but again, I’m not sure.

One of the better creations where the representation was actually somewhat true to form. Apparently I only liked the Basset Hound, because I don’t have pictures of the other breeds featured in this display, though I remember there were several. But maybe, aside from this specific display, none of the others were aiming for “purebred” representations anyway.

And finally, one mystery dog with pricked ears holding a string of gold ingots. He was part of this rather garish scene…

… where the dancing lion centerpiece was apparently the most compelling element, since I didn’t bother to document the rest. Alas!

The Taiwan Lantern Festival has now migrated to cities further south on the island, and I haven’t seen it for years. But apparently it’s just about to happen for 2011. Wish I could be there, bombastic music and crazy light shows and all!