Alleyway Cafés / Latte Art Champion Opens Shop – Hong Kong Boys Love Taiwan

By Lai Yanru

Tired of the hustle and bustle of the main streets? Turn into a simple alleyway instead. There are small bookstores, grocery shops, and delightful cafés and teahouses...Dreamland ProductionsThe idol drama "Big Red Riding Hood and the Little Wolf" produced by Dreamland collaborated with 15 Taipei alleyway shops for the "Big Red Riding Hood Visits the Neighbors" gift event. Each shop has its own unique charm, well worth exploring.


▲ The breadfruit tree at the entrance greets visitors first. (Photo provided by AP Café)

In a quiet alley on Zhongxiao East Road in Taipei City, the ARTISTA PERFETTO (Italian for "Perfect Artist") café, with a tall breadfruit tree in front of its door, catches the eye of passersby. This is a coffee shop opened in Taiwan by six young men from Hong Kong, one of whom is Kim.

Run by six young men, AP Café is like a real-life version of the Korean drama "Coffee Prince." With an average age of just 23 or 24, each of them has unique skills. Lincoln said that all six originally worked in cafés in Hong Kong and loved Taiwan’s laid-back lifestyle and the wonderful feeling of drinking coffee. Without much hesitation, they quickly decided to open a shop in Taiwan.

 
▲ The latte art of the six baristas each has its own charm, making it hard to take a sip. (Photo provided by AP Café)

With a World Latte Art Champion as their calling card, every milk-based drink at AP Café comes with beautiful latte art. Lincoln said shyly but firmly, "Actually, all six of us are very skilled at latte art, but latte art is just the basics. What matters most is the high quality of the coffee." Before opening the shop, they spent over ten hours a day experimenting with coffee to create more complex flavors. "We practiced so much that our hands kept shaking and we even had heart palpitations in the end!"

Opening a shop in a foreign land inevitably comes with cultural differences. Lincoln laughed and said that the original menu was written in Hong Kong-style Chinese—for example, "butter" was written as "butter," and "chicken leg" was called "chicken spleen." Fortunately, the Taiwanese manager asked before printing, "Are we going for a Hong Kong style menu? Taiwanese people might not understand." That’s when they realized the difference in terminology between Taiwan and Hong Kong.


▲ The interior decoration is minimalist and fashion-forward. (Photo provided by AP Café)

【ARTISTA PERFETTO】
Phone: 02-27637002
Address: No. 15, Lane 6, Alley 553, Section 4, Zhongxiao East Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City 110
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