Taipei restaurants renovate to stand out in competitive food scene

Taipei restaurants renovate to stand out in competitive food scene

2024-07-26

In today’s competitive dining market, some restaurants are turning to renovations to stand out. One Taipei outlet spent NT$20 million on decor that transports diners to Venice. Another restaurant in Taipei spent tens of millions to turn an old house into a modern European eatery. Let’s go for a visit.

Wood grain tiles, a marble table, and a comfortable sofa imported from the U.K. Inspired by British interior design, this Taipei restaurant emphasizes contrasts and furniture pieces made of dark woods. The owner spent NT$13 million on renovations.

Patron
Decor is very important to dining. Many places serve the same kind of food. It’s all about atmosphere.

Patron
If the restaurant’s decor is more beautiful or higher quality, then the food prices will be higher.

Pork chops are fried in the pan, before being popped in the oven. Then potatoes are added, along with a touch of slightly sour mango salsa. This store spent NT$20 million to renovate a 15-year-old store. The restaurant floor was paved with imported Italian tiles. The dining tables and chairs in the restaurant were imported, so that customers feel as if they were transported to Europe.

Patron
I like it. It’s very similar to a restaurant we went to in France last year.

Patron
I have been here before, and I wanted to seize the opportunity to try it again. Then I discovered the amazing renovation.

Tsai Ming-ta
Restaurant marketing department
Just before our peak season began, we decided to undergo a renovation. According to our internal evaluation, the number of visitors should increase by at least 30%.

Taipei’s food scene is crowded and competitive. Over the past five years, there’s been a rise in restaurants that not only serve up food, but also eye-catching decor that’s worth sharing on social media.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Sun to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

網美打卡另類行銷餐廳斥資近2千萬變身「威尼斯風」

2024-07-26

競爭激烈的餐飲市場中，一些餐廳透過裝修來脫穎而出。一家連鎖餐飲集團，砸下2000萬現金、大改造，要讓客人一秒就到水都威尼斯。另外也有台北餐廳斥資千萬，打造英式奢華風，一起來看看!

木紋磁磚，大理石紋桌，舒適沙發，營造出英式奢華風，業者斥資1300萬，把近百坪老宅翻修。

[[民眾]]
"裝潢會滿重要的，因為用餐，因為其實餐點，很多地方用起來是差不多的，就是一個氣氛"

[[民眾]]
"裝潢比較漂亮，或比較有質感的，那相對餐點（價格），一定會比較高一點。"

把帶骨豬排放在鍋中，煎的吱吱作響，接著把它送進烤箱。出爐後，擺上馬鈴薯，一抹微酸芒果莎莎醬. 餐飲業者斥資2000萬，把15年老店大改造。餐廳地板進口義大利瓷磚鋪設而成，再由歐洲各地進口店內餐桌椅，讓顧客有種穿越到歐洲的感覺。

[[顧客]]
"我喜歡，很像我們去年去法國，的一個餐廳"

[[顧客]]
"我之前有來過，我想說那趁這個時間，就是再來吃一次，然後發現它裝潢變得很厲害。"

[[餐飲集團行銷部協理蔡明達]]
"就是我們的旺季來臨前，再做一次全新的翻新，我們內部自己評估，（來客量）至少應該會提升三成以上。"

台北的美食界擁擠且競爭激烈。國內近五年來，越來越多的"吃"裝潢的網美餐廳開，不僅提供美食，而且擁有引人注目的裝飾，打卡行銷術，成為餐飲業吸客的秘訣之一。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週日至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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Hsinchu City Mayor Ann Kao has been suspended as mayor, after the Taipei District Court sentenced her to seven years and four months in prison for corruption on Friday. Taking her place as acting mayor will be Deputy Mayor Andy Chiu. The 40-year-old Kao has been involved in a host of controversies for more than two years, one of which is fraudulent use of public funds. Kao says she will submit an appeal.

Huang Ping-chin
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According to the panel’s review, the judges have determined that at the time of the misconduct Ann Kao was serving in the important capacity of a Legislative Yuan member, which is a position that requires honesty and law-abiding behavior. Despite this, in order to increase her discretionary funds, Kao fraudulently collected public funds from the Legislative Yuan to compensate contracted assistants. Through this illegal abuse of power, Kao embezzled overtime pay of assistants. That is the situation at hand.

The Taipei District court handed down a prison sentence of seven years and four months to Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao, who will also be barred from serving public office for four years.

Ann Kao
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Concerning the first trial’s ruling, I absolutely will submit an appeal. I will now take the opportunity to officially announce that I will leave the Taiwan People’s Party immediately.

After the first trial’s ruling was announced, the Ministry of the Interior suspended Kao from office in accordance with related legal provisions. Deputy Mayor Andy Chiu will take over as acting mayor. Kao will be able to receive half her salary until a higher court pronounces a final verdict.

Lin Yen-fu
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We’re glad to see her resign on her own accord in order to fully concentrate on the legal issues she’s facing. She’ll no longer waste public funds. She’ll be making a lot of trips to the court, so allowing her to continue to serve as mayor would only impede the city government’s ability to govern.

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During her time as mayor, Ann Kao’s falsified documents have caused constant controversy. I call on the prosecutors to examine all the evidence available to see if there are any other circumstances that will come to light.

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She left the Taiwan People’s Party. I think that she’s doing this for the benefit of the TPP. I feel really bad for her, because she actually has worked very hard during her time as mayor.

Opposition councilors have called on Kao to immediately resign as mayor, yet those close to Kao have expressed they don’t want to see her go. When these incidences happened, Kao wasn’t even 40 yet and yet she’d already become a powerful figure in the TPP. When she won the Hsinchu City mayoral election, she became the youngest city mayor or county commissioner in Taiwanese history.

Ann Kao
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Using political malice as a means to attack a person working for the city government, I won’t let you all get away with this.

With a court case in front of her and a looming recall campaign, it looks like the whirlwind around Kao only seems to be getting more intense.

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It’s been a very hot summer, and while that’s bad news for some species, certain flowers soak up the hot weather. In Changhua, private gardens are blooming in profusion. Special heat-loving species like the Queen’s crape myrtle and the Siam tulip are having a great year. They’re already attracting lots of tourists, but some gardens won’t be at their best until mid-August. So there’s still time to head down to the gardens of Changhua this summer.

Here in Tianwei, a field of luscious crape myrtles flowers. They’re in full bloom. Lots of tourists come here to admire this “Queen’s crape myrtle” species imported from the U.S. by a botanist and then transplanted onto another species. The “Queen” is free to admire, but only by prior booking.

Tourist
Wow! It smells wonderful. So beautiful! I’ve seen white ones but never ones as brightly colored as this.

The crape myrtles bloom in great profusion over more than four months, the branches laden with buds. The owner of the garden says that the double-petal Queen’s crape myrtles have larger flowers. His biggest fear is that the plum rains will hit the blooms.

Li Chen-fu
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If they hit the plum rains, their branches are quite fragile and will break. They retain too much water, so the whole thing just snaps. So it’s perfect this year, because there’s been no rain so the flowers are just growing bigger and bigger.

Meanwhile, at this Siam tulip field in Beidou, gardeners have planted Siam tulips of seven different colors. They’re still in bloom right now, and also attract lots of pilgrims.

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The Siam tulip loves hot weather and is blooming vigorously in these scorching temperatures. It’s expected to reach its peak blooming period in August.

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Lai visits disaster-stricken communities in Southern Taiwan

Countless photos and videos have shown flooded homes and streets in Southern Taiwan. And with the typhoon moving on, President Lai Ching-te and Premier Cho Jung-tai headed south on Thursday to visit disaster-stricken areas. There they informed locals about the subsidies and tax breaks the government would be providing to help households and businesses recover.

President Lai Ching-te and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai braved the rain in order to see for themselves just how bad the damage was at this Kaohsiung banana orchard.

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In every part of Taiwan, not just Kaoshiung, any household that experienced flood levels that reached 50 centimeters or higher will receive NT$20,000. As for low or lower-middle income households that encountered flood levels that were under 50 centimeters, in the past the Ministry of Economic Affairs allocated NT$5,000 to these families, but this time we’ll increase that figure to NT$10,000.

In addition to flood-related subsidies from the MOEA, the Ministry of Finance has also put forward 9 tax breaks that households can utilize to help lighten their post-disaster burdens.

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Individual income tax and business income tax are two of the taxes included in the nine categories of tax breaks. I will urge the Ministry of Finance as well as National Taxation Bureaus around Taiwan to be proactive about helping disaster-stricken individuals by reducing the amount they pay in taxes.

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While President Lai was in Kaohsiung, Premier Cho Jung-tai made stops in Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan, which was his first stop. Cho’s visits allowed him to hear the needs of disaster-affected individuals.

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I wasn’t able to be here in these places that suffered severe damage when disaster struck. Not being able to stand with the city mayors, county commissioners, and my fellow compatriots at that moment is something that truly troubles me even now.

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There’s probably about 1,100 hectares growing sorghum, and about 60% to 70% of it has been harvested. This typhoon’s rain caused there to be standing water and some sorghum crops were blown over by the wind. So, we’re taking the opportunity while the premier is here to help farmers receive subsidies to cover sorghum production costs as well as shipping subsidies.

The central and local governments are giving their all to help disaster-stricken residents, farmers, and fishers overcome all the damage caused by Typhoon Gaemi.

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Car caught in a flood? Expert offers advice on what to do to prevent damage

With the flooding, Typhoon Gaemi left many damaged vehicles in its wake. So what should you do if your car is affected by a flood? Experts say that once the car is submerged, it’s best not to start the engine, and simply get the car towed to a mechanic for an inspection. If you are already driving and the water doesn’t reach one-third up the tires, it’s OK to keep driving slowly. But if the water level is any higher, turn off the engine to avoid damaging it.

The car sinks deeper and deeper, and catches a palm frond on its hood. Pray as the driver may, the engine ends up shutting down and water pours inside the car. What now?

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"From what I’ve heard or based on the experiences of my friends who have served in the military, I don’t have much confidence in the Taiwanese military’s combat capabilities."

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"The only way to prevent war is to be prepared for war. We can’t keep pretending that everything is peaceful."

Huang says in light of the growing threats from China, Taiwan should make future military exercises even closer to real combat.

William Yang, VOA News, Taipei, Taiwan.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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