Speaking of history, be sure to check out the Astoria Bakery and Coffee Shopon Wuchang Street, Section 1, No 7 (Tel: 886 2 2331-7370). The historic coffee shop was once Taipei's premier literary salon and patronized by all manner of foreign and local movie stars, such as Joan Fontaine, politicians and ambassadors. It just reopened on 4th July, and the traditional Russian desserts and the robust Russian coffee is a safe bet. The coffee shop was the former haunt of the late President Chiang Ching-kuo and his Russian wife Faina as well as top literati like Bai Xianyong, Lin Huai-ming, Chen Ying-zheng, Huang Chun-ming, Chen Ruo-xi and Ji Ji.