Chiayi - A Lou Shi Turkey Rice (阿樓師火雞肉飯), Wenhua Road Night Market (Again), and River Bird Coffee Roaster (江鳥咖啡- 嘉義吳鳳北路店)

After returning from Alishan we had some snacks at the 7-11. I was quite shocked to see draft beer "pulls" in the store....you can get draft beer at a 7-11!

We returned to the hotel, took a short nap, then headed out for an early dinner. The Missus was really in Her element in Taiwan. She would chat up folks and get recommendations. We were so taken by the Turkey Rice that we wanted to have that again. The young lady at the Tea Shop right at the corner recommended a Turkey Rice shop named "A Lou Shi". She told us it opens at 4pm, so we headed on out and wouldn't you know, we found the place!

And there was quite a line! Since this is Taiwan, the line was a good thing! It moves so quickly.

Check out who was waiting for some Turkey Rice right in front of us!

One quick look at the counter and you knew what they specialized in.

The place was in continuous movement of folks ordering, eating, then vacating.....

We really enjoyed the stir fried veggies in Taiwan, so of course we ordered all of it!

All the greens were prepped the same way, blanched, then sauced, then minced garlic were added.

The ong choi was crunchy, there was a light sauce which heightened the flavor. The garlic added a nice pungency.

The lettuce had what tasted like oyster sauce on it, along with the garlic.

The yam leaves had a texture like spinach, without the "gooeyess", but also had a nice mild sweetness along with the chlorophyllic flavor.

All were quickly blanched so the flavors weren't leached and there was some crispness to things.

And of course, we loved the bamboo shoots.

Crunchy, with a earthy-nuttiness and a hint of sweetness.

This place served Turkey Rice two ways. Sliced and a version more braised.

   The rice was perfect, but the sauce was greasier and milder in poultry flavor than what we'd had earlier and the turkey meat was more chewy/tough as well. 

Overall, we preferred A Hong Shi.

A Lou Shi (阿樓師火雞肉飯)
No. 102 Wufeng North Rd.
East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan

Still, check out the line as we left!

We had to walk thru Wenhua Road Night Market on the way back to the hotel.

And the Missus decided to stop at this charming looking stand for some Douhua - beancurd pudding.

Which She enjoyed.

And of course there was a "show" going on at the Central Plaza that evening as well.......

There's always something happening here I guess!

In an earlier post, I mentioned having problems getting train tickets because of the Qingming Festival (i.e. Tomb Sweeping week). Well, in order to get back to Taipei, I ended up hiring a driver, which in terms of US prices is quite inexpensive. In fact, after doing this car hire, I went ahead and did the same for other "excursions" during our trip. One good thing about having your own driver is that you have greater control of your schedule. So, I timed things so we'd be getting to our hotel in Taipei right at check-in time. This meant that we wouldn't leave Chiayi until after 12.

So, after grabbing a snack at the Hotel, we checked out and stored our bags and decided to take a walk around Chiayi.

There was a kind of rusticness to Chiayi, making it quite different from Taipei and Taichung. Businesses dotted the landscape all along Wenhua and Wufeng Road.

On Wufeng Road we came along this shop and decided to get our caffeine fix.

It turned out to be quite the hipster coffee shop.

The young lady working was so nice and sweet, while also being a bada$$ barista!

She made the Missus's pour over and I got my cold brew.

And she gave us some "treats" to have with our coffee.

River Bird Coffee Roaster (江鳥咖啡- 嘉義吳鳳北路店)
No. 132 Wufeng North Rd.
East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan

After our nice caffeine stop, we decided to stroll on back to the hotel. We stopped to do some shopping (and sampling) along the way.

Right at the center of the city is a fountain that dates back to the Qing Dynasty when Chiayi was the center of the sugar industry. The fountain stands where the city wall stood during the Qing Dyansty. But there's something else that catches your eye.

Yes, it's a baseball player; specifically a pitcher. This is known as the "Kano" statue. The statue is of the late Wu Ming-Chieh, star player of the Kano Baseball Team, the team from Chiayi was chosen to represent "Formosa" in the Japanese High School Baseball Championship in 1931 and against all odds made it to the final, losing in the championship game. Wu Ming-Chieh was the pitcher on that team. It is said that the success of the Kano Team encouraged Taiwanese to play the sport and now baseball is considered to be the national sport of Taiwan. An award winning movie was made about the team in 2014. And this is a wonderful article if you'd like to have more info! Everyone loves an underdog story!

We walked back to the hotel and in a few minutes our driver arrived and we were headed back to Taipei.

Thanks for stopping by!

Comments

[Som Tommy]

Cool city

[kat]

what a great day!

[Sandy]

I would have stopped at that stand to get whatever they were selling because it's so cute. And I spy a California license plate!

[Kirk]

Chiayi was fun ST!

We really enjoyed Chiayi Kat!

Yes, that stand was really neat! And sharp eyes Sandy!

[Junichi]

After reading Sandy's comment I had to circle back and look for the CA license plate!

[Kirk]

Yeah, that was a pretty sharp observation by her Junichi!