mmm-yoso!!!

Witch Creek Winery, Sleeping Tiger Coffees, and Carlsbad (Danish) Bakery (Carlsbad)

We enjoyed strolling back to our hotel after dinner at Jeune et Jolie. We had gotten some coffee at the shop on the corner of Carlsbad Boulevard and Grand Avenue on our last staycation in the area. I had forgotten to take photos during that visit. The coffee stand was actually in Witch Creek Winery. We decided to pop in and take a look. There were folks enjoying themselves, though the place wasn't overly crowded.

The musician was plating Guantanamera which was a favorite of my late mom. We decided to finish off the evening with a nice glass of wine.

We got a glass of the Chardonnay and a glass of the White Blend.

The Missus really enjoyed the White Blend. We finished things off by sharing a glass of the Sparkling Wine, which I enjoyed. Fairly light, fruity, but not overly sweet.

We took the 3 block walk back to the hotel. It was a brisk, but pleasant night. We slept well. The next morning we woke and relaxed a bit. I went to get some coffee provided in the hotel's recreation room and we sat on our porch and enjoyed ourselves.

We then took a nice stroll along the Carlsbad State Beach walkway. 

After our morning walk, we decided to check out. The nice gentleman manning the front desk told us it would perfectly fine to leave our car in the lot until one or so. So we loaded up the car, then headed on out. The Missus wanted to check out some of the shop in the area, most of which didn't open until 10. So we ambled up State Street and then Roosevelt.

I was getting a bit hungry and recalled seeing a fairly popular bakery during our last stay in the area. So we headed on over.

The name of the place is simply Carlsbad Bakery. It used to be named Carlsbad Danish Bakery.

The very nice woman working seemed to have a Danish accent, which made me smile as I hadn't heard that in quite a while. I had thoughts about just getting a croissant, but decided on the Brie-Mushroom-Spinach pastry. The Missus got some flourless chocolate cake that She saved for later and enjoyed.

Pastry in hand we started walking back to the hotel.

As we walked past Witch Creek Winery, we decided to grab some coffee. And headed on in.

We'd been here on our last visit, so we knew what we wanted. The Missus got the Tanzania pour-over and I got a cold brew. We placed our orders and took a stroll around the shop.

The place was empty so it was nice to wander around.

There's quite a bit of "stuffs" for sale in the shop and on the patio. Some of it was quite cute and charming.

Once our coffees were ready we took a seat outside and enjoyed watching the parade of pooches up and down the street. The Missus enjoyed Her pour over and the cold brew was great fuel for the drive ahead.

There's a Starbucks next door which does some major business; but Sleeping Tiger was fairly quiet. I dunno, we much rather support a local business.

I had my pastry, which was much larger than it looked on the counter.

This was not bad; enjoyed the creamy brie which also had some nice earthiness, which the mushrooms further enhanced. The croissant dough was lightly buttery; though it lacked the flakiness that I enjoy; this was not bad. I guess I'll need to try the croissants next time.

You can read about Soo's visit to Carlsbad Bakery here.

I'm guessing we'll be returning to these two stops when visiting Carlsbad.

Carlsbad (Danish) Bakery
2805 Roosevelt St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Tues - Sat  7am - 3pm
Sunday      7am - 1pm
Closed on Monday

Witch Creek Winery
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Sun - Thurs Noon - 7pm
Friday          Noon - 8pm
Saturday     Noon - 9pm

Sleeping Tiger Coffees (In Witch Creek Winery)
2906 Carlsbad Blvd.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Thurs - Mon 7am - 5pm
Tues - Wed   7am - 3pm

We had enjoyed Carlsbad; but now it was time to head on over to our next stop.....

Le Menu du Bar at Jeune et Jolie (Carlsbad)

Like I mentioned in my previous post, the Missus requested a Road Trip to a specific location. This also gave us an opportunity to revisit Jeune et Jolie and spend a night in Carlsbad before heading off. After our last meal at JeJ my friends "B&G" had seen my photos and taken it upon themselves to head on over and have dinner. Though they didn't make reservations. Instead, they dined at the bar, which has its own menu and doesn't take reservations. They had no problem getting seats at the bar arriving right before 5pm on a Friday. The bar menu had several items that looked enticing, so we thought we'd try our luck on a Friday no less!

This time around we stayed at the Tamarack Resort, which we enjoyed. The location was right across from Carlsbad State Beach and had ample underground parking; at least when we arrived.

We checked in and relaxed until it was time to head out to try our luck.

We enjoyed the short stroll over to the restaurant and arrived 5 before 5. There were several parties ahead of us; but most had reservations for dining in. We easily got a place at the bar; which filled up quickly and was totally full in minutes!

Service was friendly and relaxed, yet still quite efficient. The Missus started with a Chardonnay and I had the House Old Fashioned which was no joke!

We placed our orders, we had eaten a fairly big lunch before heading out, so the smaller bites on the menu suited us perfectly. There are offerings of oysters, prawns, a plat du fruits du mer, but we had other things in mind.

"B" had stated that the Croque Monsieur ($44) was his favorite item of his meal, so we started with that. We didn't know what to expect and this is what arrived.

If there was ever a dish to be named "death by truffle" this might be a contender. So the earthy-sweet truffle and brioche really dominated these bites. We really couldn't make out the jamon iberico. Don't get me wrong; you know how much we love truffle, but this was just a bit too sweet and out of balance for me.

Seeing one of my favorites from the tasting menu available, I made sure to order the Veal Tartare ($23).

This was every bit as good as what I'd had before. Tender veal, chopped to my preferred size, nice touch of pungency, the flavor of white soy added a nice savory-saltiness, the crunchy-peppery radish was a nice foil, and the nori powder added another nice layer of flavor.

One item that I really enjoy when in France are Gourgeres, though it's getting a bit more difficult to find light puffs of savory pastry and cheese these days. Even in Paris, where it used to be sold be weight. So, when I saw Gourgere ($16) on the menu I had to get it. Even though it was filled with mornay.

My goodness, we loved these! The crisp and light choux was filled with a savory-pleasantly cheesy Mornay, which even had a nice touch of garlic. That wonderful nutty-earthy-savory-mushroomy flavor of the black truffle came thru clearly as well. We could taste all the components which made this dish delici-yoso! In fact, we had a second order of these!

You know, we enjoy Carlsbad in spite of the lack of Asian food offerings in the area. I hate to think how much damage to my wallet we'd do if we lived in walking distance of Jeune et Jolie!

Jeune Et Jolie - Le Menu du Bar only served at the bar and small "lounge" area. No reservations, first come first served.
2659 State St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Current Hours:
Wed - Sun 5pm - 10pm

After dinner we took a nice stroll.

Where we passed several venues with folks having a great time! 

Very relaxed, laid-back......fun!

On the way back to the hotel, the Missus and I decided to get a glass of wine at a place we'd had coffee at on our previous visit.

Where on the road were we?

Well, in case you didn't notice; things were a bit quiet here over the last couple of days. Cathy has been super busy and as for us; well, we had us a little road trip. Where you might inquire? I'm glad you asked.

We started fairly locally and did almost a repeat staycation from last month.

And enjoyed another meal at what is now a favorite of the Missus.

We enjoy the vibe here.....

Our next stop was for dinner at a new Chinese restaurant that I understand spent 3 million dollars on renovations before recently opening.

Well, to say the decor was impressive is an understatement.

Our next stop was a city in Northern LA County. A charming and friendly city, with a lovely "main street".

The Missus wanted to go hiking in the area to see if the poppies were in bloom. Which was just starting up, so we didn't see much.

Regardless, we really enjoyed the nice 5 1/2 mile hike, which was quite easy. It was so peaceful, we just loved the sounds of the birds chirping and singing.....

The city itself is famous for Aerospace development.

And there's some pretty over-the-top street art as well.

We had two dinners in town.

Perhaps a bit more "fried centric" than we are for these days. But I got to get my fried cheese curd fix in.

Along with some nice brews.

On the return trip we had lunch at an old favorite, which really delivered.

And then dinner at an Omakase only place we'd been wanting to try for a while.

We just returned and am getting things in order.

Thanks for dropping by and my apologies while I try to climb back to reality!

Road Trip - The Winsor Trail and Dinner at The Shed (Santa Fe, NM)

On our one full day in Santa Fe, the Missus wanted to get some hiking in. So we got up early and had breakfast provided by our accommodation, the Inn of the Governors at the attached restaurant El Charro. As before, the breakfast was decent, unlike before the staff was very friendly and accommodating.

And just like we'd done on that previous visit we headed off to do some hiking. This time we did the Winsor Trail to Jawbone Trail which was about 15 minutes out of Santa Fe. 

Not much elevation, but we had to watch for all the mountain bikers who were hauling down the trail on the way back.

Though we caught up with most of them because it seems the river crossings had been washed out, so you had to be a bit creative when crossing the river.

After our hike we headed back to the hotel and relaxed. Our breakfast held us up until dinner. Knowing this would be the case, I had made early reservations. Like dinner the night before our destination was just a short walk away. We headed out a few minutes early so we could wander and window shop along the way.

It's fun to wander about and check out the little shops.

I really wanted to try New Mexican cuisine and had been lobbying the Missus to finally have some. You see, the Missus is not the biggest fan of Tex-Mex and good lord after having so many wonderful meals in Mexico it had become more difficult then ever to convince Her. What I did manage to communicate was that She should perhaps consider New Mexican cuisine to be "regional", where the current cuisine shows influences of the local product and those who lived here.

The Shed had been recommended to me by several people, a couple of which had either lived or have relatives who live in Santa Fe. It had been described as "classic", "quintessential", an "institution" and other adjectives to me. I was told that "yes tourists go here....but so do we when we visit relatives." The place has even garnered a James Beard Foundation Award as "an American Classic of timeless appeal" in 2003. The Shed opened in 1953 and has been going strong ever since.

We arrived right at the opening time at 5pm, there was already a line outside. Luckily we had reservations as the restaurant filled up quickly. We were seated in the patio area.

Where we heard the line that became the "shot across the bow" for our meal. A gentleman, American mind you, looked up from the menu and asked the super patient Server, "ummmm, what's an enchilada?" Whoa..... I really felt for the Servers here, each one seemed to patient, even though the placed was totally packed! Our Server was amazing!

The Missus wanted some Guacamole and Chips to start.

    The guacamole was fine, we prefer our guacamole a bit more coarse, with more heat, and this really in need of salt and more lime. It was almost like this was made in a food processor.

The chips were warm, with a perfect thickness, and crisp.

When the Missus saw Pozole on the menu She had to try it. I was a bit hesitant, because, well, I make pozole from scratch (yes, I know I need to get that post done).

My goodness, this was terrible. The hominy was obviously canned, over cooked and mushy. The menu said that lean pork was used; no kidding! The broth had no taste.....I don't use pig head for my version but do use pig feet...this had no flavor. To us it was pozole in name only.

The Missus got the Tamale appetizer smothered in cheese and green chile.

The Missus didn't care much for this either; saying that the sauce was very bland and the tamale lacked a good corn flavor.

I got the Enchilada Plate, which came with a side of "Pozole", the hominy was again mushy and bland, and beans, which had a decent texture, but lacked flavor as well.

I got this "Christmas style", that is with both red and green chile. The corn tortillas were quite good, nice flavor, the green sauce did seem a bit bland, the red had a mild smokiness and I enjoyed it more. Both sauces weren't spicy at all.

Service was wonderful, but this was not a great introduction to New Mexican cuisine for us. In spite of all the recommendations, based on the location, perhaps this is mainly a tourist restaurant that makes "food not to offend"?

The Shed Restaurant
113 1/2 E Palace Ave.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

Oh well, you can't win 'em all!

We took our usual stroll after dinner. We really enjoy wandering around Santa Fe.

This is a statue of Pedro de Peralta who is credited with formally establishing Santa Fe.

Check out this cool swing.

There's so much public art to see.

We always enjoy Santa Fe!

Thanks for stopping by!

Zion Market Now Moving in 2024?

I was doing some quick shopping at Zion Market....I try to get in and out of the chaotic place as quickly as possible. I took a detour to the restroom and walked thru the food court.

For some reason, I hadn't noticed that Monnani Kkwabaegi had closed!

In fact, three of the seven food court stands are now closed. I wondered if Zion's (supposedly) impending move had something to do with this?

Back in August of 2022 I noticed the Zion Market Coming in 2023 sign on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, which caught me by surprise. Of course, 2023 in now in the books! Last month Eater had an update on Zion's relocation. Which had me wondering how the construction was coming along. I hadn't been east of Mercury Street and Clairemont Mesa in a while, so I took a quick drive after shopping and swung into the parking lot at 8330 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard to take a look.

And check out the construction across the street!

Looking at the construction of Zion Market, it seems that things are moving along.

The Eater post claimed that Zion will relocate and open in the Summer of 2024. Hmm...... Like "FOY" Kenneth said in the comments of my previous post:

"Just take the developer's projected time frame and triple it and that's about when they'll complete the job......"

Lol!

And guess what? The "Coming Soon 2023" sign is still up!

So perhaps it's been decided not to make any more ambitious projections?

8330 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip - Sazon (Santa Fe, NM)

One of the main reasons we headed back to Santa Fe for another road trip was to dine at Sazon. We had really wanted to have dinner at Sazon during our last stay (Sept 2022), but the Chef, Fernando Olea who hails from CDMX had recently won the James Beard Award for Best Chef Southwest and reservations were impossible to come by. So, instead we ended having a nice meal at Geronimo. This time, I managed to get reservations for an early dinner. The restaurant located in one of those classic Santa Fe Adobes one block from our hotel.

The place was already buzzing when we were seated. The dining area is divided in different rooms, each adorned with colorful artwork.

The service was professional, but warm and not stuffy. There is a tasting menu available during two specific seatings, but we just wanted to try items we saw on the regular menu.

The Missus started with some Champagne, I was looking forward to our upcoming (at that time) trip to Tequila in the upcoming month and had a Tres Generaciones Anejo. We were also provided with a Mole sampler, some of which was too sweet for the Missus, so we were glad to have just gone with ordering off the menu. You'll also soon see why.....

As things started with the Tuetano - Bone Marrow. You know how much I like bone marrow, right?

The salsa rojo on the bone marrow had a nice kick and really blended well with the buttery richness of the marrow. It went so well with the maizey tortillas. This was a nice start.

Next up; the Higado de Ganzo - Foie Gras with a raspberry-coconut sauce on crostini.

The sweetness of the sauces and the resiny flavor of the pine nuts overwhelmed the small slices of foie gras in this dish. It was just a bit too much stuff, which made it a "foie faux" to us.

Next up were these.

The Xochimilco - Huitlacoche, with queso fresco was so delici-yoso.

Oh my, the earthy-mushroomy-sweet huitlacoche paired so well with the slightly milky queso fresco, which added a melty-buttery texture. The corn tortillas added heft and the salsa a bit of heat, with a mild sweetness. 

We also enjoyed the Oaxaquenos - Chapulines, which was served over mashed avocado. 

Just by themselves, the light and crunchy grasshoppers had a really nice savory-grassy-mild spice that was so nice. Our Server told us that it had been infused with garlic and olive oil and chili de arbol. The corn tortilla was a perfect match as was the avocado.

There was one last dish I really wanted to try; the Cholula, which is the Chef's take on the Chile en Nogada. this was served in a tower format, rather than the usual stuffed chile poblano.

Well, this had a lot going on; the meat here was a combination of ground lamb, pork, and beef; which was seriously overshadowed by a very tasty, not overly sweet and creamy-rich walnut sauce. The balsamic vinegar sauce added another level of sweet-acidity, with a touch of heat from jalapenos. We'd have enjoyed more of the bitter-sweetness provided by the pomegranate seeds. The poblanos added a nice mild green bell pepper flavor to things. That walnut sauce is what made the dish in our opinion.

Overall, this was a memorable meal, the service was excellent, the dishes interesting with such a range of flavors! I'm glad we were able to finally have dinner here!

Sazón
221 Shelby St.
Santa Fe, NM 87501

After dinner, we took a nice stroll. This is the Bell Tower Bar, where we had drinks earlier in the day.

We passed those places we visited on our last trip here.

The Loretto Chapel.

The San Miguel Chapel.

Santa Fe Plaza.

And all the enjoyable public art.

It made for a very relaxing time!

Thanks for stopping by!

Bann at Gourmet Artisan

Back in January I noted that Bann, located in the HMart Food Court had closed. I used to visit them once in a while when they were located on Miramar Road. Less so when they pulled up roots and moved to H Mart. Still, I was sad to see them close as I had enjoyed their kimchi fried rice.

Well, I'm not quite sure if you know this, but I do have an Instagram Account. I'm not tied to it much as I much prefer long form posts. I usually put up odds and ends, photos after I actually do a post and such. Anyway, I basically set-up my Instagram account so I could keep in touch with folks like Dennis of a Radiused Corner, or "CC". But, once in a while I will learn something from Instagram; not necessarily from a post. For example, I know folks who are great "FOYs" who also do posts on that platform. One of them is Derric, who was nice enough to send me a screen shot of a text he recently got.

Hmmmm, Bann at Gourmet Artisan? A place that I've posted on many times before? Hmmm........

So, this past week, I wanted to see what was up with SuperNatural Sandwiches, I dropped by in January and the place was closed with a sign saying reopening mid-January, but it was already late January and.....well, more on that in a future post.

I decided to go ahead and see what was up with the Gourmet Artisan. Now, GA is one of the few places that I don't mind doing online ordering from since there doesn't seem to be an upcharge for that (so long it's done from the website). So, I went to the web page and then to the "Order Pickup" and quickly noticed this:

So, I scrolled down and found the "Pick-up Meal Deals". You order these ahead for one of the designated pick-up times. Of course, I was disappointed to see that kimchi fried rice wasn't available. But, the Bulgogi Bowl was $9.99! Man, in this day and age, that's a reasonable price. 

I placed my order and just like when ordering a sandwich from GA, was informed when my food was being worked on. I'm close enough to the shop to get there in ten minutes.

And my order was being placed on the counter when I arrived. There were four other takeout orders on the counter as well.

 I guess Bann has some kind of pseudo "ghost kitchen" thing going at GA?

Anyway, I was interested in trying the bulgogi, since Bann always called their version of the dish "marinated beef", not bulgogi. 

Well, the beef looked as I remembered it. Though this "bowl" had much less vegetable filler than what the former version of Bann sold. The veggies are really undercooked. 

The portion size was quite good; the rice moist. But like the "old Bann" the marinade was really weak, you can tell by the color. It was in need of more...of well, everything, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, garlic. On the good side; the beef was much more tender than I recalled. I'd say for $9.99 this might be worth the price.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm glad to have tried this and will keep an eye out to see if anything else, that doesn't have bulgogi (or salmon) in it will be offered. Or heck, I'll get a sandwich from there on my "next round".

The ghost kitchen stuff is getting interesting......

Bann at Gourmet Artisan - Bann items currently only available for online ordering and pick-up
7094 Miramar Rd.
San Diego, CA 92121

Thanks for thinking of us Derric, I really appreciate it!

Xin Chao Eatery

I had been searching for some new pho places relatively close to work. Yes, I wanted to try something new. And Xin Chao appeared, in Del Mar Highlands Center. Hmmm....... So, I headed on over.

A very nice modern space. Part Vietnamese restaurant, part gastropub..... for some reason Shank and Bone came to mind.

And then when I took a look at the menu with regards to pho...well, no tendon, tripe and such. Though "dem bones", or should I say, a bone (Xí Quách Suon Bò) was available as well as an oxtail version. The folks working the front of house were quite mellow and friendly. I placed my order......

I saw chicken wings on the menu....with a fish sauce version. My instincts was to order the salt and pepper version, but I still miss the fish sauce wings from Que Huong, so I ordered that ($13).

  Geez who'd have thought we would see prices at 2 bucks per chicken wings all those year ago! The wings were nicely battered, more crunchy than crisp, the texture was not bad at all. There was a sticky glaze, which was more toward the sweet than savory, though you could make out the fish sauce. The wings were on the larger side and was decently cared for with a minimum of bitter black portions around the bones. This was not bad at all and had me wishing I had ordered the salt and pepper version.

Looking at the menu, it hinted at "pho not to offend" since there were no options for tendon or tripe. Though thinking about the customer base what should I have expected? I ordered the House Special Pho which clocked in at $18. The key item for me was what I call "dem bones" (Xi Quach Suon Bo), though perhaps it should be called "that bone" since only a single rib was in this. I was soon presented with the basil and sprouts and the sriracha and hoisin.

Let me just say that Xin Chao took the "silver medal" with regards to the smallest portion of herbs and sprouts....the second least amount I've experienced next to Mom's Pho and Grill in recent memory.

Well, at least it was more than the 16 bean sprouts I counted there....I think.

My bowl soon arrived, blazing hot.....like so hot I had to wait ten minutes before really tucking in.

I was able to try the rib bone. The meat was on the chewier side but came off the bone nicely and was actually the beefiest cut provided. Because the broth was super hot, the rare steak was over cooked by the time of consumption. The rest of meats were bland and tasteless as well. 

The waiting for the molten broth to cool down pause also meant that the noodles, which were in the typical clump were somewhat overcooked and headed toward mushy.

The broth, while tending toward the overly "sweet" San Diego style was not bad......it was very clear and defatted thus on the thinner side and lacking in richness, but still had a hint of beefy-anise tones to it. 

This was not bad overall, a modern rendition that bordered on "hipster pho and pho not to offend", but was still pretty good. I really liked the folks working here.

So, I returned.

This time to try the Crispy Salt and Pepper wings.

These wings seemed not as crisp as what I'd had before. So, I'm not sure if they bread/batter the wings differently based on flavor. Still, the garlic-salt-pepper flavor came thru nicely, and the fried appendages were quite moist and tender.

This time I ordered the Oxtail Pho ($17), which came with the same shall we say

As for the bowl, my goodness, it was even more scalding hot than the bowl before!

 But at least I didn't have to worry about my rare steak being overcooked. Based on my last visit, I decided to time how long it took before I could safely partake of my pho. Cautiously taking sips things timed out at twelve minutes and seventeen seconds. As you can see; the soup was very clear, though it wasn't as sweet-salty this time around. It did have a nice beefy "nose" with hints of star anise. 

There were three good sized oxtails, plus one "runt" provided. The oxtails were cooked perfectly, easy enough to take off the bone with chopsticks, but not falling to pieces to be lost in the soup. 

I'm thinking the extra time I needed for the soup to cool enough really messed up the noodles as like on my previous visit it was on the mushy side. 

Overall, a decent bowl.

It seems like Xin Chao is trying to ride that line of pleasing non-"pho-natics", those hoping for a more modern rendition of pho, yet trying to keep the spirit of traditionality. The prices are in keeping with the location...that is, on the high side of things. I like the folks working here, they are quite nice. A far cry from "the fastest pho in the west", which the "pho-natic" in me enjoys. Ok, enough pho puns for a while.....

I'll try and revisit in a couple of months if the weather is cool enough and perhaps see how the bone marrow is as well.

Xin Chào Eatery
3545 Del Mar Heights Rd.
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Daily 11am - 9pm

Taiwan - Taroko Gorge Part 2, Buluowan Suspension Bridge, Swallow Grotto, Eternal Spring Shrine, and the TR Bento

After our lunch and briefly walking along the Buluowan Upper Terrace we were guided to the Liwu River. There stood a impressive suspension bridge crossing over the gorge.

This is the Buluowan Suspension Bridge. A suspension bridge was first built on this site in 1914 during the Truku War. This is the fourth iteration of the bridge which was originally named the Shanyue Suspension Bridge and was opened to the public in August of 2020. It had a stunning view of the gorge and river below.

At the end of the bridge is a short trail to a wonderful viewing spot named Brawan Lookout. You really get a wonderful perspective of the bridge from here.

From here we headed back to the Upper Terrace and the car, taking time to stop at the Visitors Center and check out the Atayal Cultural Center displays.

And then we hit the road again, making a couple of stops along the way.

Until we came to a toll booth. Our driver pulled to the side and instructed the Missus to walk the trail overlooking the gorge and he would meet us at the end. This was the Yanzikou Trail overlooking the Swallow Grotto.

We ambled along thru tunnels cut out of rock with a view of the gorge and river below from ledges. We read that this was how the road used to be like for the entire gorge!

There were many places where you could look out over the river and marvel at the geological beauty.

The formations, river, and plant life made for an interesting walk.

And there was indeed some entertaining formations along the way. Can you make this one out?

While actually named the "Elder Stone" (太魯閣族長老石- 長老側臉) - this is what the sign said:

Our driver met us at the end of the short half kilometer trail and then we headed on back. There was one more stop on the way and it might be the most picturesque of them all. Stopping in the parking lot and walking to the lookout point, your eyes are immediately drawn to this.

This is Eternal Spring Shrine (Changchun Shrine).

The shrine was built in 1958 to commemorate those who died during the construction of the Central Cross-Island Highway. The shrine is built above a spring which empties into the Liwu River below.

There's a short trail to the temple which we decided to take.

As you make your way up the stairs you'll encounter a cave with statues of Guanyin, the Goddess of Compassion, Mercy, and Kindness.

It was great to stop here, because boy do we need more compassion, mercy, and kindness these days!

I think the water rushing out from under the shrine really adds photogenic drama to things.

We were then driven back to our hotel. Our driver was outstanding and so very pleasant, something we'd find is the norm in Taiwan.

The Missus made sure to hit up the hotels afternoon snack buffet.

We then took a short nap, before heading downstairs for a nice evening walk.

And then, yep the evening "snack" (aka dinner at the huge buffet).

Before hitting the hay.....

The next morning, our train back to Taipei was scheduled for 1253 and was right on time. We'd had a great time visiting the Taroko Gorge and highly recommend it. 

We were taking the TR Taroko Express back to Taipei. We had stored our bags at the Sky 19 Hotel in Taipei so didn't have much to lug around.

I had noticed that on some routes/times folks are able to order a Train Bento for on board consumption. And on this route it was available. So, like the Missus said, on this trip ""you didn't meet a pork chop you didn't like." Well, guess what?

Of course I ordered some! And the prices were the same as if I'd bought them at a cart at the station; just about $2.50. Delivered to our seats.

The pork chop had hints of five spice, soy, garlic, ginger.....and was surprisingly, decently tenderized. I'm convinced that most pork outside the US tastes better! There's pickled veggies, and nicely flavored soy sauce eggs, great five spice tones, with a hint of sweetness....a Spam like mystery meat that increased my sodium level ten fold....this was just a fun meal.

Was it haute cuisine? For $2.50???? C'mon, this is food for every man/woman.....pork chop lover. For some history, here's a great post.

I love Taiwan!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taiwan - Taroko Gorge Part 1, Qingshui Cliff, Shakadang Trail, and Lunch at Taroko Village Hotel

We had a nice night of sleep after settling in at the Kindness Hotel. I had gone ahead and hired a driver to take us to and around Taroko National Park. But first came breakfast. And as I mentioned in my previous post on Hualien our hotel provided a breakfast buffet, which was quite varied and good.

Our driver arrived right on time. Though he didn't speak any English, the Missus enjoyed conversing with him in Mandarin. He was very friendly and, as we'd find out later quite thoughtful. The Taroko Gorge area is vast and we were only doing a day trip, just seeing the main sights and taking a couple of walks, so being English speaking wasn't necessary.

Hualien seemed quite spread out; based on where we were staying, which was in the area close to Hualien Station. The city is close to the ocean and we stopped for some photos (our driver really liked taking photos of us!) at Qixingtan Beach which was right past the airport.

There was no one in sight, so perhaps that's why the beach seemed vast and expansive?

I'm thinking that this was a Friday right after a major holiday week Qingming Jie (清明节 - "Tomb Sweeping Day"), so maybe that's why the place was deserted?

From here it was back onto the highway and eventually the the terrain changed dramatically. Rising up the side of mountains, it reminded me of the portion Kalanianaʻole Highway near Makapu'u back home. We made a first stop at a lookout. Man, was the view quite dramatic. This is the Qingshui Cliff area.

Beautiful rugged coast views on one side; imposing mountainside on the other.

From here we drove further up the coastline, the passing thru a tunnel, before parking at the Huide Rest Stop. From here, there an easy walk to the lookout. I actually saw the train tunnels below us as well took our walk.

We then headed off and into Taroko National Park proper. After driving thru a tunnel we arrived at a parking lot and a bridge. After a short conversation with our driver, the Missus told me this is the Shakadang Bridge and we headed down some stairs to the Shakadang Trail (also known as the Mysterious Valley Trail). It's more of a nice nature walk.

Once on the trail you get a nice view of the bridge.

The trail was nicely maintained and not very crowded when we visited. The Shakadang River is known for the crystal clear, emerald water that flows thru it.

I loved the jewel like marble boulders strewn along the riverside. The Missus took Her shoes off, sat, and soaked Her feet in the cool comforting water in front of this striking boulder.

About 1.5 kilometers down the trail there an actual snack shack-coffee stand! Yes indeed, this is Taiwan. It was interesting to see actual motorbikes and other vehicles using the trail!

After the snack stand we decided to head on back. When we got back to the car, we noticed our driver busy on his cell phone. We thought it was some kind of personal call, but would find out shortly what it was about. Our driver chatted with the Missus as we weaved our way to a large flat area with buildings and a hotel. This was Buluowan, the former sight of a village of the Truku people, the Indigenous inhabitants of the area. We found out that the reason our driver was on the phone was that in chatting with the Missus, he discovered we enjoyed food. So, he called the restaurant in the Taroko Village Hotel to make sure and reserve two of the lunches which featured a couple of traditional Truku dishes for us! Did I mention how much we loved Taiwan.

We led us to a table in the restaurant, so I did get many photos, but this is what lunch looked like.

 Of course we loved the tender, grassy-mild sweetness of the fern shoot.

The cuts of boar and boar sausage provided interesting contrasts in flavors; porky-mild sweetness, familiar flavors.

But, I really enjoyed the sticky rice cooked in bamboo. The rice attained an almost creamy texture, the slightly floral flavor heightened with a pleasant mild sweetness!

This was a fun meal. And we made sure to have our driver join us and pay for his lunch as well!

Taroko Village Hotel
972, Taiwan, Hualien County, Xiulin Township, 231-1號

After lunch we walked around the grounds of the Buluowan Upper Terrace.

Before being walked over to the next site on our agenda!

Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by!