Splurge of the Month + Snobbish Restaurant

On the stereo: Flor de Amor album (Omara Portuondo)

----Splurge of the Month----
I was quite the grumpy one all day and almost didn't go to the Omara Portuondo concert, but considering I spent more than USD100 on the ticket, I probably would have been even grumpier if I didn't.

For dinner, I bought a prawn and paprika panini sandwich and a drink and ate it on the steps in front of the concert hall plaza before going in. While enjoying my fashionable fare, I found a very good view and a possible theme for a print.



I think Taipei 101 is much prettier at night. During the day, to me, it looks like a giant stack of Chinese take-out boxes.

Thinking that even if the concert was no good, catching this view was enough to make a good day.

Much to my surprise, Omara Portuondo nearly blew off the roof of Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. This 75 year-old Cuban Bossanova-scented Jazz vocalist is quite something, to say the least. She had us dancing most of the time. Her voice is very powerful, too.

I can imagine my godmother to be like this when she is 75. Then my daughter can say, my grandmother is SOOOOO cool.

The concert hall was nearly packed. The age group of the crowd was between 20 and 60. Absolutely amazing. If you are interested in going, her last show in Taipei is Saturday, 29 October.



Omara Portuodo is supposed to have a world tour next year and I am definitely looking forward to it. Hopefully, though, SYS will improve its sound system by then if she has it there again.

----Snobbish Restaurant----
After the concert, I was feeling pretty good and decided to walk back to the office, where I left my car. It was a 1,5 km walk, through the Zhongxiao E Rd (忠孝東路) shopping district. Why didn't I just take the train from home to the concert hall on my day off? I ended up working, but left early. Workaholism really is a pleasant disease. Your coworkers appreciate it (at least mine do).

During my stroll I felt like, for the first time, going to a nice place to sit down and have a glass of wine. I suppose I am finally growing up. I didn't know of any good places, but I remembered that there's a pretty decent Italian restaurant, Cosi o Cosi, on the way back to the office. I called them up to see if they were still open.

Michella: Hi, when do you close tonight? (it was already 22h00)
Lady at Cosi o Cosi: kitchen closes at 22h30.
M: how long can we stay after that?
CoC: 23h00. Are you coming?
M: yes, do you have dessert wine?
CoC: no
M: do you have wine?
CoC: yes, are you going to dine here?
M: I was hoping to get just some wine and perhaps dessert
CoC: we don't encourage people to come here to just order a beverage or dessert and sit around
M: so I am not welcome to come have wine and dessert?
CoC: well...it's not like that. We encourage people to have a meal here. But you can still come.
M: OK, I'll be there.
CoC: We do have a minimum charge, though. It's TWD450. Are you still coming?
(thinking to myself, how will I manage to have TWD450's worth of dessert by myself, in one hour?)
M: No, thank you. Perhaps another time.

I think in bullet points these days, and this is what appeared on my mental LCD:
- We don't encourage people to just order a beverage and sit around.
- We have a minimum charge of TWD450. Are you still coming?

I stopped by anyway to get a card and ask them if they accept TV interviews. The lady was a snob the size of the moon, but I like the food there. And it turns out that they don't do TV interviews. Oh well. I will still dine there occasionally, but I won't be terribly sad if it disappeared.

Later, I came home and opened a 2003 bottle of Beringer White Zinfandel. Too sweet, but I got my wine.