[Originally published in TaiwanNights.com, Circa 2007]

The V Café is a place where you can go with your date to leisurely sip on delicate fruit smoothies and engage yourself in romantic banter, or hang out with your friends, looking as delicate and elegant as the minimalist Balinese interior, while inconspicuously glancing over shoulders to spot dainty Taiwanese supermodels.

Ever since she was a little girl, Viviane had dreamed of opening her own little coffee shop, and now, after retiring from the modeling industry, she is doing just that.  Clearly the drinks are the main attraction at the café, featuring a wide variety of European iced coffees, chunky whole fruit smoothies and herbal teas priced between NT$100-200.  Being a tea drinker, I was quite impressed by the variety ranging from Blue Mallow to Verbena, along with all other standard teas one would expect to find.

Other than teas, coffees and smoothies, the V café offers contemporary western dishes with an eastern edge, at affordable prices.  Set meals run on average NT$ 200 and come complete with soup, rice, salad and your choice of tea or coffee.  I chose the Islamic Lamb Curry Stew with a pot of chrysanthemum tea.  First to arrive was a hearty tomato based veggie soup.  Next was the lamb, which was cooked just right to a nice chewy consistency.  The curry was fragrant and the chef must have health conscious models in mind as it was quite lacking in salt.  No real problem though as I added some myself and it was just fine. The chrysanthemum tea was clearly of superior stock, holding a subtle flavor with rich smoky undertones.  Other meal options include: Lemongrass Chicken Leg, a Cabbage Roll with Vegetable Cream Sauce, and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

Café V is a nice refreshing escape from the severity of your local Taiwanese eatery. The beautiful minimalist interior, healthy food combined with down tempo chill out music made for a soothing Balinese spa-like experience.  Not at all pretentious like one might expect for a model hang out, and quite reasonably priced.  Highly recommended, it will surely make an impression on your date or friends alike.

Address: No.14-1, alley 6, Lane 553, Sec 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd.
Phone: 02-2749-1939

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