Now, I am sure that all you folks have heard 4 non blondes sing about Morphine and Chocolate. If you felt any of the desire, angst, and love expressed in that tune then you are in for a treat. Why is that? Well forget any other post that you may have read about this place, because 3 months ago it was taken over by Barry Smit, world citizien out of Holland, who is rapidly turning the Chocolate & Love Restaurant/Lounge/Bar into a center of all that is artistic, poetic, musical and down right lovely, chocolately, and openly honest.
Is it too simple to say good food? Perhaps, but tastes change only slighlty slower than diets for a New York debutante. And what is good in food today is not necessarily so tomorrow. Here there is some consistency in a chef who loves what he is doing. Go Nathan go. But bangers and mash, get real Nathan. Mothers secret recipe or not, you can make a lot beter than that…now get me some bread to mop this stuff up with.
Is it too bland to say reasonable prices? Perhaps. but fxxx that 180NT Heineken when it can be had at a fair price and chased with a Van Gogh (Absinthe, poured over a sugar cube, burned until carmelized, mixed with the sugar, and then sipped away…morangito for tigerman, stragbasher, fred smith and all you other alkies out there ). Oscar Wilde and Hemingway hated Absinthe and therefore drank it by the gallon.
Is it too distorted to appreciate tight new jazz bands palying thier music your face or when they are gone listening to the music your favorite rock, jazz and blues played in the background.
Am I too effusive about Choclate and Love. Perhaps, but blame it not on the morphine, you non blondes, check it out yourself before you reply to me.
I am also very curious about the absinthe. Is it real absinthe or a pastis, which I have seen passed off as absinthe. Also, I would too like to also know either brand or its country of origin.
It would be nice to be able to go out to drink absinthe instead of only drinking at home.
The Absinthe in Chocolate & Love is Teichenne from Barcelona, Spain.
It is an anisette based Absinthe. Anisette drinks like Pernod, Pastis and Ricard were introduced after Absinthe was banned in the early 1900’s; what they did (ao) is leave the active ingredient ‘wormwood’ out…
Chocolate & Love are the importers of Absinthe and pretty soon it will be widely available… so far it is still a rarity in Taiwan…
… and I can promise you: it works… it’s a wonderful drink…
There will soon be the first Absinthe party and soon there will be the introduction of ‘The Forgotten Roses’ … an art & poetry & music society…
Sandman, I like your knowledge… 10 mg of Thujone is the max allowed in Europe; all I can say is that the Chocolate&Love imported Teichenne Absinthe is not what it may seem… in the good way…
Quote Oscar Wilde: “After the first glass you see things as you wish they were. After the second, you see things as they are not. Finally you see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”
Checked out the www.feeverte.net website. The reviews seemed to match my tastes quite well. I have yet to try the Teichenne, but I have tried many of the other Spanish Absinthes, Mari Mayans, Tunel, Deva, Montana, Serpis, and wouldn’t mind trying some new Spanish Absinthes. (The Czech absinthes have higher thujone levels, but the wormwood can be quite bitter.)
Does anyone know what brand of absinthe Carnegies has?
Wolf, How real do you want it? Go back a good 100 years and get he full Thujone… or take what you can get now; it’s less Thujone for sure (European regulation) but it’s still an amazing drink… eventhough 70 % alcohol you don’t really get drunk of it, it gives you a pleasant buzz and drink enough of it (still in moderation) and see colours get more vivid and outlines get sharper than sharp… after 8 glasses one day, I was walking the Taipei streets like I could handle the whole world…
The ‘Chez lass’ actually has a name: Jana… she’s a sweet girl…
Mesheel , where are you coming from? I know Chcolate&Love as a place where the drinks are purposely very reasonably priced and the alcohol served in the drinks are more than the 1 oz measure… if you are such a notorious drinker that you need even more than that before you are satisfied, it might be time to go for doubles (pay the price)… besides that, speaking your mind directly with the parties involved will surely get better results; I know Barry as a very open minded guy… (oh yeah, I think the alcohol is hidden in labled bottles behind the bar and in the coolers… haha…)
I would respectfully disagree with that. I tried but singualrly failed to not get drunk on it. Admittedly I misread the bottle thinking it was 70cl and 50% abv rather than the other way round. I have since learned to read.
I have to agree with TpeBob on this one. The 70% abv I have get you as drunk as any other drink, I think the point that was you were trying to make, is that with the thujone, the buzz is much faster and quite different than a normal pure-alcohol buzz.
One of the Czech brands I have tried has a supposed 100mg/kg of thujone. The main problem is that it is extremely bitter with that much wormwood in it. Though it was 70%, I never got drunk of it because the buzz was so intense and that one or two small glasseswas more than enough. On the other hand, with the high-proof Spanish Absinthes, they are so sweet, it is very easy to keep drinking them until you are quite drunk.
Orin
P.S. For those of you looking for the higher levels of thujone, there is always Czech brands, or home-steeped style Absinthe (many recipes online). A lot of companies also package all the herbs in tea bags that can be put into your favourite vodka (or Bacardi 151, as some suggest). I myself just bought all the herbs from a Wiccan store in the States and created my own “Czech-style” recipe.
An article from one of my favorite online magazines concerning the effects of Absinthe. Now, the article is specifically speaking of the 100 mg thujone variety of Czech Absinthe, but it is interesting none the less.
[quote=“wolf_reinhold”]Any way you cut it, it is not the real thing.
By the way, any info on the Czech lass working there? [/quote]
Wolf, the absinthe is fine but the Czech girl, Jana, makes me a bit more woozy…what with that seductive smile and easily approachable nature…I told my wife that I now call her Jana because like Echo it has four letters. was Echo’s reply. She still lets me drink the stuff though.
How is it that a foreigner can apparently run the place with a foreigner on staff? Are they both married to Taiwanese? What sort of work permit allows this?
I always thought that opening the Forumosa Pub was not possible for me as I am not married (even to a local). Can I just start a pub and start working there? What does the fine print say?
And yes, I want to try the real thing. “This is similar to beer, but not exactly the same.” No. I want the real deal, if at all possible.
was Echo’s reply. She still lets me drink the stuff though.