The Welcome to Taipei International Club hosted a Russian Tea Party at the Grand Hall of Palais de Chine Hotel on June 6, 2014, attracting a large number of guests from diplomatic corps and international community.
he Vice-President of the Club Mrs. Bess Shih made welcoming remarks and introduced the keynote speakers – Mrs. Tatiana Redko, the wife of the Head Representative of the Taipei Office for the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation, and Tea maestro Mr. Sergey Khorolskiy.
Mrs. Tatiana Redko gave a vivid presentation about Russia, embracing various aspects of its rich and versatile culture. The largest country in the world, Russia is known for its excellence in literature, music, visual and performing arts. The eye-catching slide show accompanied by interesting and informative commentary provided the audience with the opportunity to admire the scenery and architectural treasures of Moscow, the capital, and St. Petersburg, the second major city of Russia, to feel the magical atmosphere of Russian winter with New Year and Christmas celebrations, to get a glimpse of the authentic Russian national dress, to appreciate the beauty of Russian decorative arts.
The presentation was followed by vigorous Russian dances performed by the folk dance group of the National Chengchi University.
Another highlight of the program was the spectacular siphon tea show by Mr. Sergey Khorolskiy, a connoisseur and great enthusiast of tea. The show was titled “Taiwanese Tea in Moscow” indicating the fusion of two different traditions of tea drinking – the Russian and the Taiwanese ones. The guests could taste different sorts of tea flavored with thyme, lemon zest, mint, and ginger as well as delicious canap?s with dry plums, basil, mint, celery, sweet pepper, tomatoes and mozzarella. Displayed on the demonstration table beside the scene were the traditional samovar, an original porcelain tea set from Russia and a variety of popular tea snacks, such as pryaniki (gingerbread cakes), sushki (dried mini-bagels) and assorted dry fruits.
After the presentation and the tea show the guests enjoyed specialties of the Russian cuisine including borsch soup, golubtsy (cabbage stuffed with meat), pelmeni (meat dumplings) and beef stroganoff (chopped beef with gravy) with baked potatoes, cooked by the chefs of the Palais de Chine Hotel, as well as traditional sweet treats – pastila (airy puffs) and mazurka (fruit and walnut cakes) prepared according to original Russian recipes and shared by Mrs. Karen Lee of the famous confectionary shop.
Mr. Leland Lee, a young but already internationally acclaimed Taiwanese artist, displayed several of his colorful works with images of Russia as he saw it during his trip there four years ago.
The sound of Russian folk songs, gently playing in the background and featuring a prominent singer Lyudmila Zykina, whose 85th anniversary since her birthday is widely celebrated in Russia this June, created a special framework for the party, encouraging informal and friendly conversation.
It is no exaggeration to say that the Russian Tea Party at Palais de Chine proved to be a truly enjoyable and memorable event showcasing the multiple ties between Russia and Taiwan.
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