Paying homage to our beloved hometown Taipei and its rich heritage, we come to Dadaocheng, one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city for a time travel. Dadaocheng started to prosper and became the keystone of economic and cultural development since the late 1880s. Between the extravagant Baroque architecture, traditional Hokkien bungalows, and brilliant red-brick western houses, we found a vibrant mix of East and West, tradition, and modernity. Behind the streets and alleys, there is an old mansion awaiting us to discover.
The Di Hua Quando building was abandoned for decades and rediscovered by the current owner of AKA Cafe by accident. The building was the most prominent household and mansion in the neighborhood during its heyday. The authentic structure, original wooden window grills, and Chinese garden and landscape has been frozen in time and preserved. It reminds me of many of the scenes in "In The Mood For Love" by Wong Kar-Wai.
On an extraordinary day (My first birthday back home in a decade), we decided to recreate the scenes connecting the past through presence among this historical space. While the night was still young, me and my besties and Taipei elites dressed up in the traditional cheongsam, paired with gourmet Taiwanese cuisine, modern cocktails and Japanese Sogetsu Ikebana, celebrated the new era of this century-old building, and relived its glam and legacy once again...
走進台北時光長廊，我們來到了大稻埕，台北市最古老且具歷史意義的核心地帶。自1880年代後期以來，大稻埕儼然成為經濟和文化發展的重鎮。在巴洛克式建築，傳統的福建平房和紅磚洋房的點綴間，我們看到了東西方，傳統和現代的融合。而在迪化街旁的小巷弄後頭，有一座獨一無二的古宅院正在等待著我們。
Di Hua Quando 這個空間經歷了許多世代的移轉，曾被荒廢了數十年。在一次因緣際會的巧合下，這棟建築被現在AKA Cafe 的創辦人發掘，決定還原當初的風貌。在鼎盛時期，這棟建築曾是大稻埕內唯一一棟十米寬的宅院，其氣度以及風格無人能比。而建築原始的結構，木製窗花以及傳統中式花園池塘，很慶幸地被完整遺留下來。
當我第一次拜訪這裡，馬上讓我想起了黃家衛電影《花樣年華》中的場景。也因次，我和團隊們決定在我生日的當天，讓大家穿著傳統的旗袍與衣著，搭配獨特的台菜和調酒，以及日式草月流派的花藝，重現這座擁有百年曆史的古宅盛況，讓我們一起重溫大稻埕的最寶貴的傳統以及風采……
Photos by Kairi Wen
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Hi ggreat reading your post