from russia with love

being a hip, young, trend-setter on the make that i am, it is my pleasure and my prerogative to check out new restaurants/clubs now and again. this past weekend was one of those times. sebastian's birthday was this week and because we are quite busy with work, private students and classes, there was little time to properly have a birthday celebration. rather than opting for the usual night of drunken debauchery at an overpriced club, we decided on dinner @ taipei's only russian restaurant, salt & bread.

boasting an entirely russian menu, decor and an snow bar it seemed like the perfect chance to experience something different. we arrived to find ourselves in excellent, warm surroundings. while waiting for the rest of our dining companions, choose to check out the infamous snow bar, which is basically a glass freezer with an interior temperature @ -20 celsius. this is used to keep the many varieties of vodka they have on hand @ the suggested consumption temperature. pulling on the provided parkas, we entered and at once felt as if transported to a strange and distant land. with over a hundred different vodkas to choose from, we felt like kids in a candy store. we downed two of the different varieties and then feeling a little chilled, went back to our tables. once back in the warmth of the room, the vodka spread throughout the body and we were all feeling fine.

the rest of the party showed up late (50 minutes late to be exact) but thanks to the vodkas and the bottles of porter we had ordered, we weren't too upset. soon, the food arrived and man o man, it was awesome. borscht with oxtail soup, and then chicken kiev with mashed potatoes. the piece de la resistance was the 12-flavoured ice cream with fruit and sauces we ordered as a group desert...incredible! to top off the evening, there was also live entertainment which was a man playing accordian and a ukrainian woman singing russian songs. as per our request, they came and sang happy birthday in 3 languages. we even had an opportunity to get into the act by playing the tambourine and wooden spoons. sweet, dinner and a show. to end off our russian experience, we tried the deadly 80% vodka which all of us found to be the same taste as paint thinner. all in all, i give salt & bread a 5 star rating.

as we closed down the restaurant, we realized that we suddenly had a craving for some KTV. hailing the nearest taxis we set off but lamentably couldn't get into the KTV of our choice, so off to ximen to try our luck there. after the cab ride, moral was low and so were funds so a quick change in plans to see harry potter and the goblet of fire which was....well, kickass. felt a little ill as the vodka and beers wore off, but really couldn't have asked for much more from a movie. by far the best in the series. then, painkillers and bed.

painted the house this weekend as well. really just couldn't bear to look at our instituitional-white walls anymore. chose a rather dark colour that goes by the handle of sumatran spice and it gives the whole room a much warmer feel that actually makes you want to spend time in it. leesh also hung up the christmas decorations so let the merry making begin! still haven't ironed out the details for the holiday feast yet, but patience is a virtue as they say and santa is watching.