明星的誕生，五〇年代神秘而輝煌的象徵

一杯飄香世紀的明星咖啡，蘊藏了多少迷人的故事？故事的起點是1917年遠在俄羅斯的十月革命。這年俄共推翻沙皇政府，皇家侍衛隊的一員喬治．艾斯尼南逃哈爾濱，輾轉來到上海，1922年和同鄉布爾林．洛維奇在霞飛路開了明星咖啡館；上海淪陷後，顛沛流離又來到了台灣。

西元1949年，一個十八歲的建中畢業生簡錦錐與喬治．艾斯尼南在內的六位俄羅斯人，在台北武昌街開啟了明星一甲子的璀璨歲月。「明星」取自於「ASTORIA」俄語中「宇宙」之意，代表了星海中最美麗的那顆星。

從百年前的北國來到二十一世紀的南國，明星咖啡館承襲俄國皇室的血統，有1915年的古董食譜為證。而明星獨家的俄羅斯風味套餐、咖啡，與麵包店各式精美的異國西點，更成了當代流金歲月的縮影。每天下午，外國使館達官貴人的黑頭坐車紛紛造訪武昌街，選購如深受蔣方良女士鍾愛，俄國皇室御用的「明星俄羅斯軟糖」、「明星蘭姆核桃糕」，及台灣第一個的巧克力蛋糕，奠定明星在台北人心中，那神秘而輝煌的象徵。

A Star is Born: 1950’s – Byword of Mystery and Splendor

Within each cup of Astoria Coffee lies a fascinating story that begins with the October Revolution in Russia in 1917. That year, as the Russian Communists overthrew the Tsarist government, George Elsner, a member of the Royal Guard, fled to Harbin and then onward to Shanghai. In 1922, he and fellow countryman Burin Petter Noveehor opened Café Astoria on Shanghai’s Avenue Joffre. Shanghai fell to the Chinese Communists and the pair again uprooted and finally made their way to Taiwan.

In 1949, Elsner and six other Russians partnered with Archibald Chien, then an 18 year-old graduate of Jianguo High School, to open Café Astoria on Wuchang Street in Taipei. The name, a reference to the Russian word for “universe,” indicates the brightest star in the sky: a fitting name for a cafe that would go on to shine for a span of more than 70 years.

From its northern roots a century earlier to its southern home in the 21st century, Café Astoria has continued the heritage of its Russian royal family lineage. These early roots can be glimpsed from an in-house Russian recipe book, preserved from 1915. The café also continues to serve its distinctive mix of Russian meals, coffee, and fine, exotic pastries. These dishes hearken back to a golden bygone era when foreign embassy officials frequented the café on Wuchang Street, attracted by Astoria’s Russian soft candy and mazurka cakes, both are Russian royal family treats favored by Taiwan’s First lady Chiang Fang-Liang. Astoria’s chocolate cake, the first in Taiwan, further sealed the café’s place in the hearts of the residents of Taipei and made it a byword for mystery and splendor.