Coffee Crush Taipei! Simple Kaffa Cake & Chuan Coffee Pudding

February 5-12 2025

Taipei Taiwan

SIMPLE KAFFA 

No. 27, Sec. 2, Zhongxiao East. Rd., 

Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei 

SIMPLA KAFFA was founded by Wu Zelin, graduated from the Institute of Electronics at National Taiwan University. By supporting a mate in Copenhagen, Wu determined his passion toward coffee and participated as a newbie at the WBC World Coffee Competition in 2009. After various home experiences, Wu won the Taiwan Coffee Masters Championship in 2013, and stood atop the WBC World Coffee Championship for Taiwan in 2016.

 

Introduced by my friends encountering at Venice Film Festival in September 2023, we have our table at SIMPLE KAFFA Huashan Flagship, and I love how Earl Grey tea infused with hot latte lingering the refreshed sense on my taste buds. The homemade sponge cake delivers both airy and soft texture, the vanilla, lemon and egg mixed perfectly in between with lean milk, the top crust is covered with the organic honey thin layer, more of a Taiwanese version of Nagasaki cake.

CHUAN COFFEE 

Lane 236, Zhongzheng Road, 

Shilin District, Taipei 

Discovered on the local map, CHUAN COFFEE becomes we college mates’ new favourite chit chat spot near the Shin-Lin Metro Station. Operated by only two staff at the moment, Chuan Coffee provides less indoor 20 seats, while offers the most delicious seasonal pudding and hand-brewed coffee in the neighbourhood. 

Based on full milk, cream cooked with egg yolk, the Chuan Coffee pudding presents a rather rich crème anglaise to fill éclairs, pouring the Canadian syrup and complete with a cute cherry on top, it tastes a bit like a lightly sweetened crème brûlée without the crunchy top while at the same time delivers a similar comforting feel to warm milk with a touch of sugar and vanilla, and a slight wobble that adds to the enjoyable mouthfeel, definitely the best to accompany with a full cup of red hot Oolong latte. 

Special Thanks: Tsung, Yihan, Jill & Ping

Fashion Fun Taipei! Vivienne Westwood Knitwear, Zara Mom’s Fit Jeans, Celiné Cat Eye Sunglasses & Chloé Calfskin Loafers at Huashan 1914

Chinese New Year 2025 

Huashan 1914 Creative Park

妳好臺北！農曆蛇年假期陽光普照，人來人往，買氣旺盛，朝氣蓬勃。放晴的日子當然不能錯過和相談甚歡的親朋好友們一期一會，吃吃喝喝，大談暢聊。相識於2023年威尼斯影展爾後又於赫爾辛基相見歡，我們一行三人先在忠孝新生站附近的興波咖啡 SIMPLE KAFFA大啖特調與蛋糕，再沿路散步至華山1914文創公園，邊看邊聊，隨手拍照。

Opened in 1914, originally a privately owned winery that produced sake and ginseng wines, alongside bred moth orchids during Japanese Empire Era, HUASHAN 1914 CREATIVE PARK was sold to the government until 1922. After World War II, it was taken over by the Nationalist Government and renamed into Taiwan Provincial Monopoly Bureau Taipei Liquor Factory. Being idle for decades, Huashan 1914 transformed into an individual organization in 1999, now acts an important venue for arts exhibitions and cultural performances in Taipei City.

How to wear casual and cultural outfits to enjoy around the boutiques, café and cinema at creative park? VIVIENNE WESTWOOD V-neck knitwear with 65% cotton and 15% cashmere with embroidery iconic colourful Saturn logo is my newfound casual piece at 40% off from HANSHIN Vivienne Westwood Kaohsiung boutique; together with Chanel SS20 cardigan size L with 54% wool and 46% cotton has been performing my daily favourite since 2022. 

New Year New Outfits conducts our traditional belief of good luck toward the coming year, therefore I only carry a single pair of Calvin Klein Mom’s Fit ribbed jeans and wish to gain a new familiar with dark grey tone, unfortunately I reach no luck at CK outlet, but discover a bargain in layering greyish hue with 98% denim and 2% elastane at ZARA Taipei. 

As for accessories, CELINÉ Cat Eye sandy ivory acetate sunglasses in dark green shade offer category 3 lens filter, which, slightly far from the polarized function still efficiently hold for the city walk. This pair in bridge size 20mm and earpiece length 140mm suits oriental facial features quite perfectly, especially I naturally own rather high cheek bones. Another surprise deal hunt at GLORIA OUTLETS is CHLOÉ embellished black calfskin leather loafers with copper logo atop. Made in Italy, their rather hardcase outer soles enable to walk at slight snowy day and no doubt to mix and match with either with casual jeans or mini skirt. 

CHANEL Pearl Crush WOC is my delicate collection. Made in France, with supple lambskin, 100% fully cotton linen, in size width 12.3, length 19,2 and thickness 3,5cm, this 2022 cruise collection in pastel pink, carrying the exactly same interior design as any Chanel classic WOC; still, the most genius gadget is le même globe-shape padlock, embossed with the logo of La Mansion in brass, from where the strap can be adjustable at any length while simply by pressing the interlocked CC. Therefore, I wrap around the extra length of the chain on my waist as yet alternative leather metallic belt to match Zara Mom’s Fit grey tone. 

CHANEL SS19 pearl earrings with separated CAH & NEL can be worn as mere pearl style or whole set. The tiny yet shining Swarovski crystals array in Chanel interwined CC logo on pearl give out the cute yet prominent craftsmanship of the House of Chanel. 

For photography, Huashan 1914 Creative Park stand various styles of old winery factories to indicate the tradition of Taiwanese architecture, the perfect backdrop to contrast outfits of the day of rather black and grey expressions. 

Let's discover the Creative Park!

TOP TIP 1 Rolled up 2 folds the jeans to expose slight parts of ankles will make the silhouette both chic and slim

TOP TIP 2 Wrap around the extra length of WOC chain not only style up the whole look while a good idea from the possible robbery while travelling abroad 

Special Thanks: Miffy & YiHan

Accessories Accede: What’s in My Eva Air x Salvatore Ferragamo Trolly Sac?

Q & A in HELSINKI & TAIPEI

Tell us about the collaboration between EVA AIR and SALVATORE FERRAGAMO special Travel kit. 

EVA AIR was introducing new SALVATORE FERRAGAMO amenity kits, combining the dark green colours as the representative of the airline, for all Royal Laurel and Premium Laurel Class business passengers in both hard case and soft bag designs in December 2019. I am very luck to receive the hard case set as a precious gift since I am such a big fan of travel size skincare products and  the brilliant marketing ideas. 

 

Tell us about the items in the EVA Air x SALVATORE FERRAGAMO offered inflight amenity kits.

The hard case even mimic in the realistic suitcase with double zippers! A fordable hair comb, a pair of earplug, a patch of eye mask, a tooth brush and a Colgate tooth paste. 

 

EVA AIR is upgrading the amenity kit contents with SALVATORE FERRAGAMO best-selling Bianco Di Carrara fragrance by infusing the exclusive aroma into the body lotion, lip balm and hand cream. Created by well-known perfumer Alexandra Carlin and launched in 2018, the floral woody musk aroma has been conceived for both women and men. Bianco Di Carrara owns top notes calabrian bergamot, white pepper and ambrette musk mallow; with middle notes of violet, iris and heliotrope, completes with base notes of amber, tonka bean and white suede. 

✔CHANEL LES 4 OMBRES TWEED #02 Tweed Pourpre, the 2023AW limited edition, is embossed with a woven fabric design, a bold offering of luminous peachy pink, old rose and iridescent golden mauve, accentuated by an intense plum, which the colour harmony is nestled inside a matching tweed pouch. Every exclusive pouch is unique, expertly crafted by the Maison Lesage embroidery house — one of the CHANEL Métiers d’art. 

 

Tweed Pourpre owns two medium shades, Golden Mauve and Intense Plum, to blend together or apply in contrast, Old Rose as dark shade to intensify, sculpt and add depth, and Peachy Pink the light shade to illuminate and open the eyes.~

 

✔CHANEL LIQUID EYELINER #512 Noir Profond 2,5ml offers sharp applicator to survive at instant remedy. The hyper black of the ink jar indicates the alphabets while the cap delicately carved with Chanel CC logo. 

 

✔CHANEL LE GEL PAILLETÉ owns transparent shimmering gel to apply not only on both cheeks, but on eyelids, bare arms and exposing legs. In order to avoid the mutual pollution between the application and oxidation, the whole set provides a cute mini spoon carved with discreet interwind CC logo. 

 

✔CHANEL HYDRA BEAUTY NOURISHING LIP CARE is perfect for normal to dry lips. Exposing under the comparatively low humidity at long-haul flight, I require hydration protection as an instant moisturizing remedy. 10g is also the good travel companion while having a weekend getaway. 

 

✔CHANEL launces COCO MADEMOISELLE Eau de Parfum Intense in 2018 inspired by Olivier Polge, the unexpected and magical aroma like showering under oriental accords. With top notes beginning with Sicilian orange, Calabrian bergamot and lemon; middle notes are rose and Jasmine; base notes composing of Patchouli, Madagascar vanilla, tonka bean, white musk and Labdanum. Together with CHANEL CHANCE Eau Tendre by Jacques Polge in 2010, with top notes quince and grapefruit; middle notes Hyacinth and Jasmine; base notes musk, Iris, Virginia cedar and Amber, mixing and matching both CoCo Mademoiselle and Chance gives out a unique yet not too sticky scent. 

 

✔CHANEL Swarovski crystals CC logo pearl earrings with CHA & NEL on either ear lobes are the most playful and surprising Christmas gift idea from the AW23 collection. For the long-haul flight I rarely wear huge accessories but for the removable alphabetical pieces, only round-shape pearl studs with shining CC logos are good to go. 

 

✔CHANEL FILIGREE caviar bijoux sac in caviar leather is owning the touch of scratching or abusive resistance. The rigid calfskin and oval shape causes less scratches of surfaces while locating inside of travel tote, and I usually separate each pair of jewelry into separated mini size of plastic zip zap to prevent the items from the metallic conflicts.

 

✔CHAO&EERO bubble RINGS with Japanese fresh water cultivated pearls and 18K solid gold are my all-time favourites since 2013. They are elegant to wear on each finger while also fun to pile 2 or 3 on a row to create a more of luxurious look. 

 

✔Made in Switzerland, in size 3ml Luxe eye cream and 5ml Luxe Cream Sheer, are the Skin Caviar collection from LA PRAIRIE. Combined with Exclusive Cellular Complex, La Prairie’s breakthrough caviar biotechnological science augments natural Caviar Extract with Caviar Mimetics, which offers a phenomenal formula for eye skin lifting and firming. These travel tubes are the complimentary gifts from Liang at Helsinki Duty Free. ~

 

✔MARVIS, 100% Made in Italy, the toothpaste in Classic Strong Mint with 25ml travel size is the perfect travel must-have. Started from 1997, Marvis entered Ludovico Martelli; for the development of aromas, the company cooperates with the Italian fragrance houses, in which manufacture the finest ingredients for the high-quality tastes without preservatives nor vesicant. 

 

✔ I am a long-term fan of KANEBO SUISAI beauty clear powder due to I am in favour of its single use hexagonal design capsule. With cleansing ingredients protein decomposing enzyme and sebum decomposing enzyme, I enjoy a lot the pleasant process of cherry blossom and sweet peach scent turning into fluffy foam to remove pore dirt, blackheads, keratin plugs and old dead skin cells either at daily work or in vacation mood. ~

 

✔SHU UEMURA Black Rice Essence Cleansing Oil brings a new light oil and extremely watery texture, emulsifies and dissolves makeup in seconds, leaving no trace of greasiness on the skin!​ Extracted from rare black rice in rich amino acids and Japanese black carbon, the Essence Cleansing Oil not only removes heavy makeups, but also solves difficult acne and blackheads problems, maintains healthy skin moisture retention. The 20ml travel sizes are perfect to survive during the weekend trips, while for over two-week staycation, 50ml bottle will be sufficient to go. 

 

✔The founder of YOJIYA, Shigeo Kunieda, began travelling national wide, selling stage cosmetics from a large cart. In 1904, a store named Kunieda Shoten was opened in the south of the Sanjo Gokomachi area, manufactured stage rouge and face powder, later it received a large amount of popularity in thriving entertainment culture in Kyoto. In the early Taisho period, oral hygiene began to attract attention, and the first generation of Kunieda Shoten focused on selling toothbrushes —yoji—「楊枝（ようじ）」; therefore, this nickname was used as YOJIYA until the nowadays. 

 

In 1920, YOJIYA began to develop oil-blotting facial paper— aburatorigamiあぶらとり紙。They quickly became a favorite essential among geishas, as well as screen actors, the publics and tourists. Within the powder formula, the facial paper is not only the facial savor, but also the best makeup companion on the road. 

 

✔RYUKAKUSAN Direct Stick size 2x8cm neon pink package, single box of 16 in total, in peach flavour contains Powdered platycodon root ginseng, gambir (84.0mg), senega (4.2mg), glycyrrhiza (102.0mg) and apricot kernel (15.0mg). Class 3 OTC drug, with granulated herbal ingredients act directly on the mucous membrane of the throat to relieve coughs, phlegm, or hoarseness and sore throats caused by inflammation, RYUKAKUSAN can be taken anytime, anywhere without water or causing drowsiness. ~

 

✔ROHTO Lycée eye drops contains Vitamin B12, which helps me to release the itchiness and redness of eyes after the long-haul hours of writing or reading at laptop. The prescribed otolaryngology drops help to release the buzzing moments during the sleeping hours. 

 

✔TAMAGOTCHI (たまごっち, Egg Watch) is a brand of handheld digital pets created in Japan by BANDAI. The name of game is a portmanteau combining the two Japanese words tamago (たまご), which means egg, and uotchi (ウオッチ) watch.

 

Upon activating the game an egg appears on the screen. After setting the clock on the device, the egg will wiggle for several minutes and hatch into a small pet. With 3 buttons that allow the user to feed the snacks or food, to play games to increase its healthy level, clean the living environment and check Tamagotchi’s status, such as age, weight, satiety, and mood. It’s a lovely company to travel during the long-haul flight, spotted by my dude bro at DONDONDONKI Taiwan during my grocery shopping activity. 

 

Special Thanks: Mr. Liang, Cuz Jenny & Captain Kenny

 

Magazine Madness Otona Muse Japan : Rinka x Fujiko January 2025

OTONA MUSE JAPAN January 2025 

私は高校生の頃から梨花さんが大好きでした、これが私が日本語を学ぶ動機の一つです。彼女の自然な美しさと気取らないスタイルは、東洋と西洋の融合の最高の例です。オトナミューズ1月号の付録では、梨花さんと人気コスメブランド Fujiko のスペシャルコラボが実現。

Born in Tokyo as 根中千恵子（ねなか ちえこ）with French ascendence from her grandmother’s family, RINKA was scouted in 表参道 at the age of 18 and a popular cover girl in fashion industry for over 3 decades, is now affiliated with Stardust Promotion as a fashion model and a host, currently residing in Hawaii, USA. 

Since December 2015 OTONA MUSE issue, Rinka has been presenting an exclusive model and collaborating with freebie development for the fashion magazine. The January 2025 of OTONA MUSE features a plump lip gloss designed from RINKA and manufactured by FUJIKO. The matte package in bluish purple on 『RINKA Fujiko collaboration』off-white text, 1,6g in height 68mm and diameter 16mm, which looks stylish when taken out of the make-up pouch. With light and smooth texture to wear, yet delivers the prominent color retention, Rinka expresses her idea of mature crimson tone of the lipstick, which is, originated from the need of daily healthy glow but excessive glittering of our adult skin, and to formulate this travel size lip gloss suitable for any outfits, regardless of the occasion. 

Enjoying every page turn, Rinka adapts this limited edition of exquisite lip gloss at January issue cover story. Under the lens of photographer HIROKO MATSUBARA and the tips of stylist TOMOKO KOJIMA, Rinka displays her cool wearing GUCCI full black knitwear, nails the GUCCI emerald teal cashmere jumpsuit and metal belt in python shape, as well the CHLOÉ black lace overall dress and creamy cashmere gown, perfectly matches with the touch of the focal point of the crimson shine. 

As for photography, to echo the black and white colour hue of the January 2025 cover, CHANEL Longwear Intense Cream Eye liner together with the brush and lip pencil sharpener are placed atop; N°1 DE CHANEL Red Camellia Revitalizing serum in 5 ml, ROUGE COCO BAUME lipstick #920 In Love, ROUGE ALLURE L’EXTRAIT lipstick #854 Rouge Puissant and LE LIFT eye revitalizer 5ml at right; Longwear lip pencil #186 Berry with its cap and horsehair cheek brush at bottom; LES EAUX DE CHANEL Paris-Paris & Paris-Biarritz EDT 1,5ml, Lip Balm & Powder Duo palette #410 Rosso Pompeiano at lefthand side, the CHANEL cosmetics with the tips of the reddish feel hit coherent with the Rinka x Fujiko lip gloss. 

In addition to situate both the skincare and make-ups collection in well-proportioned orders, I focus on the heights and flats of each product to create the more of abstract looks to contrast the square-sprawling magazine, side by side decorate the glimpse of golden tone from CHAO&EERO Bubble Ring Collection. As I always love to complete the magazine photography by placing a minimal branch from the natural inspiration, and with January 2025 issue am pleased with SØSTRENE GRENE sakura set in crimson red. 

Special Thanks: Katie

Cuisine Crush Tartu! French Crêpe and Chicken Salad at Kohvik Crepp

KOHVIK CREPP

Rüütli 16, Tartu 51007 Estonia

As Tartu is home to the most renowned campus of Estonia, University of Tartu, founded in 1632, the energetic and vivid neighbourhood hosting the affordable and delicious cuisine, definitely the destination we have to reach out during the midsummer trip. 

Located in the heart of Old Town in vintage interior design, KOHVIK CREPP is known for French-inspired dishes with cozy atmosphere, extremely popular among the locals, the undergraduates and the researchers. The menu features delicious warm salads, classic crêpes and Breton galettes, and excellent lists in both alcohol and soda drinks. 

Though I am gluten allergy free, still, the savoy galette in batter made from buckwheat flour omitting the sugar is always the best choice. No doubt I am a huge fan of crêpe, while I would like to give les galettes a chance in Tartu.

My brunch order is Le Galette with roasted chicken, fresh tomatoes and blue cheese, garnished a handful amount of raw lettuce salad atop. The Ratatouille galettes take inspiration from the classic French dish, ratatouille, which are thinly sliced and layered over a bed of ricotta or goat cheese, often seasoned with garlic, herbs de Provence and olive oil. The vegetables are arranged in a visually appealing pattern, and the edges of the dough are folded over to create a rustic border. Together with crispy while lukewarm batter, le galette full of rich summer flavour. 

As Tartu is designated as the European Capital of Culture in 2024, therefore, there are quite several restaurants or bars providing the limited drinks to celebrate the vibe of the city. We select from the craft soft drinks, and the waiter introduced the Setomaa rhubarb soda, which is made with Rhubarb, for the drink with pinkish hue. 

Rhubarb is the fleshy, edible stalks petioles of species and hybrids of Rheum in the family Polygonaceae, which is herbaceous perennial that grows from short, thick rhizomes. Rhubarb is a vegetable but is often take the use to the same culinary ingredients as fruits. The leaf stalks can be used raw while they have a crisp texture, are most commonly cooked with sugar and used in pies, crumbles or other desserts. Since Rhubarb delivers a strong, tart taste, which makes our sparkling drinks more of a taste of fresh tonic water in a touch of strawberry odour. 

At the bill check, the receipt written “Enivrez-vous: Greetings from Charles Baudelaire’. Tartu and KOHVIK CREPP display a place where time stands still, offer the chance to savor the moment and create unforgettable memories, just as Baudelaire’s poèmes en prose. 

Special Thanks: Wendy