mmm-yoso!!!

Taipei - Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake and Returning on EVA Airlines

After an early dinner at Kao Chi we took a round about way back to our hotel room. While walking up Chongqing South Road the Missus noticed a food stall. She had remembered how much I enjoyed the Hujiao Bing ( Pepper Bun) at the Wenhua Road Night Market and pointed out the stand to me. It is named Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake. 

The pepper buns were actually made on the spot. And then cooked in a tandoor style oven.

Even though we had just finished dinner, I just had to have one!

I couldn't wait to tuck into the pepper bun. Heck, this isn't Japan, it isn't taboo to walk and eat, so I just went for it.

 The bun is thin with a slight pleasing crispness to it. The filling was scalding porky heaven, with nice hints of black pepper, mild sweetness, and savory tones. This was delici-yoso!!!

I jokingly told the Missus that I'd return to Taiwan just for the Pepper Bun and Pork Chops! Actually, I'm not really joking!

Fuzhou Ancestral Pepper Cake
No. 13, Section 1, Chongqing South Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Well, this was it. Our flight out of Taoyuan International Airport was leaving for LA at 10am in the morning. Luckily, our accommodation was right next to the Z2 Exit for Taipei Main Station. Even though the station is still confusing for us, we found the ticket office, and got on to the Taoyuan Airport MRT Express which takes 35 minutes to get to the airport.

And since we were flying Business Class we were able to access the lounge. 

Which was quite busy....but it was a nice stop for breakfast.

And the flight back to LA was quite interesting.

It was a nice end to our trip. And it had us thinking about the next time we'll be back here!

Thanks for stopping by!

Taipei - Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant

On the way back from our Tea of Taipei tour, our driver/guide started asking about what we had enjoyed eating in Taiwan. Of course we mentioned Lu Rou Fan, Turkey Rice, and how I could not get enough pork chops! And inevitably, the subject of Xiao Long Bao came up. We mentioned going to the original location of Din Tai Fung on Xinyi Road which got a nice nod. Then he quickly asked if we'd been to Kao Chi. Kao Chi? Both the Missus and I had never heard of the place. He then wove us a story of how Kao Chi was started by Kao Su-mei (高四妹) 8 years before Din Tai Fung, back when DTF's owner was still only selling cooking oil. And Kao Chi should have been the famous Xiao Long Bao, but there came a moment when some international news outlet; I couldn't find much to corroborate my story except this, the owner of DTF got the interview instead and the rest, like they say is history. 

You know how much we like a good story! We decided to head to Xinsheng South Road, where the restaurant had moved from it's original location on Yongkang Street and check things out.

It's a nice, bright, and modern storefront. There's a case in front of the shop selling snacks. The restaurant is definitely not as packed in as DTF, more relaxed, and the Missus told me that the customers seemed to be overwhelmingly Taiwanese.

The Missus placed our order which soon started arriving. 

We had enjoyed all the veggies in Taiwan and when we saw white bittermelon on the menu we had to order that.

We loved the texture of this; slightly firm, yet tender. And for some reason, at least to us, white bittermelon while still being quite "puckery" is not a strongly bitter as the green species. 

And of course, we had to get the Pork Xiao Long Bao.

   So, how did this match up? Well, the wrapper was not as tender and more brittle than what we'd had at DTF. The "soup", the aspic based liquid was porky and flavorful. The filling was tender, though not quite as flavorful as DTF in our opinion. Though, it could be that having been to several locations of DTF around the world we've been indoctrinated?

What we really did enjoy was the Shen Jian Bao.

The buns arrived in a metal pan and really didn't look too impressive. But, with a slight adjustment of turning them over.....

At first glance, the tops didn't seem to be as fluffy as we'd prefer our SJB, but we were surprised when biting into them. The dough had a nice mild sweet-savory-yeastiness and that pan fried bottom really added to the textural contrast.

The filling was moist, slightly soupy, tender, porky goodness.

We'd gladly have this again!

Kao Chi Xinsheng Restaurant
No. 167號, Section 1, Xinsheng S Rd.
Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Man, we were so sad that our tirip to Taiwan was coming to an end. We'd be leaving in the morning. We decided to take a longer walk back to the hotel, walking all the way to Chongqing South Road. And this is where we came across one last, wonderful, surprise!

Stay Tuned!

Taiwan - Maokong Gondola, Shiding District, and Tea

Our time in Taiwan was nearing an end. We had one last day before leaving. The Missus had become a fan of tea over the last decade, so I decided to book a small group Tea of Taipei tour for us. It turned out that no one else had booked the tour for that day, so we had our guide/driver David to ourselves. It was a fun day, I'm going to mostly post just photos, otherwise this would be a super long post.

We got picked up at our hotel and immediately headed on out. David was amazing, had so much info for us. We were provided tickets for the Maokong Gondola at the Taipei Zoo and were told we'd be met at the top.

It was a fairly clear day, so the views were wonderful.

At the top we were met and taken for a nice stroll....

There are quite a few trails in the area and we were taken to a few of them.

All were easy to traverse.

After which we were taken to the Taipei Tea Promotion Center.

Which went over how tea is produced, the differences, and how to taste and approach tea.

The Missus really enjoyed this.

Taipei Tea Promotion Center
No. 8之2號, Lane 40, Section 3, Zhinan Rd.
Wenshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Seeing that the Missus was so interested in tea, David made a couple of stops so we could walk and admire  the fields of tea.

It's quite beautiful!

We then headed to Bitan and walked along the river and on the famous suspension bridge.

There seemed to be a number of hiking trails and walks in the area. I'm sure the Missus wants to return and go hiking here.

It was time for lunch and David asked us if we wanted to eat along the river.......which seemed a bit touristy. The Missus explained that we enjoyed typical, simple Taiwanese food and mentioned Lu Rou Fan. We walked over to nearby Xindian Road to this stand.

Which was ok, not as memorable as Jin Feng.

And then headed of to the picturesque Shiding District.

Making several stops along the beautiful Shihding Ciandao Lake (aka Thousand-Island Lake 千島湖) which is not a lake nor does it have a thousand islands, but is quite lovely nonetheless.

We visited a temple.

When I noticed some abandoned buildings along the shoreline, I was told about the creation of Feicui Dam which created this "lake" and also submerged part if Bishan Village, which was eventually abandoned.

The last stop for the day was the town of Shiding and Shiding "Old Street" which I was told dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

It was quite an interesting rustic town. Our destination was this tea shop.

Where the Missus got schooled in the traditional tea ceremony and tasting by a certified Tea Master.

The Missus really enjoyed this and of course we ended up buying some really great tea as well.

Fongchun (逢春茶莊)
No. 28號, Shiding E St.
Shiding District, New Taipei City, Taiwan

This was a fun day and as we were driven back we had a nice chat with David and he told us an interesting XLB tale and made a recommendation for dinner.....

Stay Tuned!

Taipei - Addiction Aquatic Development (上引水產)

You know, there are times, even in these "influencer - make things look great online" times where you might only need a photo or two of a delicious, memorable meal instead of extensive verbiage. And I think that these two photos are all that are necessary.

Add to that the fact that each of these nigiri "plates" was less than $25 each?!!?!? 

Ok, I'm going to go now, see you tomorrow! JJK! 

Though honestly, you could stop here if you'd like to.....

Otherwise, here goes.....

After spending most of the day checking out the National Center for Traditional Arts and Kavalan Distillery, we headed back to Taipei. On the way back, I thought stopping by a fishmarket-dining hall named Addiction Aquatic Development would be nice for dinner. The Missus agreed and we told our driver to drop us off in front of the market hall.

Our wonderful driver dropped us off right in front of the place which is located in a part of the Zhongshan District we hadn't been to yet.

We entered the huge market hall, historically this was the Taipei Fish Market and was transformed into the AAD in 2012. The morning fish market is now held next door. As we entered we came across tanks of seafood....wonderful looking seafood.

The Missus, who had become quite the social person in Taiwan asked one of the workers where all the seafood came from and he answered Her say, "mostly Japan!"

So, choosing where we were going to eat was pretty easy.

We picked the sushi bar of course! What's interesting about the sushi bar in AAD is that it's a stand up operation.

The young lady who served us was unusually serious compared to what we had encountered in Taiwan, but would prove to be quite good to us later on.

Anyway, instead of ordering the usual combination from the menu, we picked our own nigiri to start, based on what I saw in the counter case as I walked by. Our initial a la carte foray cost us a handy $10200 NT, now if that sounds expensive to you, well, it was about $30/US at the time of our visit. Pricey by Taiwan standards, but let's look at what we got.

We liked that the rice was on the smaller side and the shari wasn't overpowering. And yes, that buttery Otoro, Hokkaido Uni (!), so umami-sweet and creamy, tender-sweet-oceany Hotate, and Amaebi!

We also got two Temaki, the Ebi-Asparagus was $75 NT, about $2.25/US  and the Uni $150 NT - $4.50/US.

These were fine, but not nearly as good as the nigiri.

We went with the standard "Addiction Sashimi" $240 NT, think $7.25 US!

Now, I think we had been spoiled by the nigiri as the typical maguro, which was fine and the thick slices of hamachi, etc, was perfectly fine....but we wanted more nigiri.

So, we decided to order a second round of nigiri. Now this is when the young lady came in really handy. I started ordering using the Japanese names; you know, hotate, otoro, uni, when she stopped and said something to the Missus and walked away. I was wondering what was going on. Apparently, she told the Missus, "you like fatty, we have something for you!" 

And wouldn't you know it; when our nigiri arrived there was the great otoro, hotate, and uni....but also engawa, which was so collagenic and sweet!

Man, this was a great meal and when you totaled things up, it came to $ 2425 NT, big bucks right? That's about $75 US! For real.....

We had myriad of great meals in Taiwan, but man, this one really spoiled sushi for us. 

Addiction Aquatic Development
No. 18號, Alley 2, Lane 410, Minzu E Rd.
Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 10491

Can you believe this?

Taiwan - Dongshan River Forest Park, National Center for Traditional Arts (Wujie), Bajia Fish Farm 八甲休閒魚場 (Yuanshan), and Kavalan Distillery

**** This is a pretty long post so I'm not going to spend too much time on food (and whiskey), so if you'd like to return tomorrow I wouldn't hold it against you. But, if you'd like to see more of Taiwan, read on....

Time was flying. It seemed like we had just arrived yesterday and here we were leaving in two days! Wanting to make the most of our remaining time in Taiwan, I went ahead and booked two private tours/drivers. On this day, I wanted to visit one of my favorite whiskey makers while exploring a part of the island we hadn't been to yet.

Our driver was right on time and while she spoke no English, the Missus's Mandarin came in handy. Our driver had an end destination and we left it up to her to make stops along the way.

The first stop was in Yilan. A rather newish "Ecopark", the Dongshan River Forest Park. Opened in 2016, it was a wonderful green space, with art installations along the way. And the railroad still passes thru the park as well.

We enjoyed wandering around and just taking in the art and the beautiful sunny day.

We had some coffee and then headed off to our next stop. Apparently, our driver just got a sort of "vibe" from the Missus for our next stop.

We stopped in Wujie Township at the National Center for Traditional Arts. This 60 acre "town" is devoted to preserving and accenting the heritage of Taiwan, be it crafts, arts, music, and so on.

The various structures represent various architectural styles of Taiwan as well.

There are even temples onsite.

And performance areas as well.

And of course art abounds.

While one could take in the art.....

Or perhaps take a boat ride in the lake.....

There was some serious shopping to be done here.

There ere workshops with artisans in residence actually doing their "thing"!

And you were free to watch.

The one shop were I wish the Missus actually bought something was the one dealing in Black Jade.

Some of the item were just plain stunning.

In the end, after being tempted so many times......

We found something we both liked.

This was fun. We actually spent almost 3 hours here!

And when we left; it was time for lunch. Our driver headed into Yuanshan. We parked and then were led past pools of fishes and other creatures being raised.

This was the restaurant of Bajia Fish Farm. As a whole, a tourist type restaurant.

The interesting thing being that the main product of this "fish farm" is Ayu, also know as "sweetfish". I was quite interested to see how it would taste.

I had read about the fish smelling like watermelon, being sweet and fruity and so on. Basically, this tasted like a milder version of sanma to me.

I was glad to have tried it here, but it wasn't anything special to me. Perhaps being farm raised changed things a bit?

Bajia Fish Farm 八甲休閒魚場 (Yuanshan)
No. 1之10號, Bajia Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 26444

After lunch we headed down the road a bit, soon arriving at the Kavalan Distillery.

When planning our trip to Taiwan, I had really wanted to visit Kavalan. I first had Kavalan in, of all places Paris at Arnaud Nicolas. The Missus and I really enjoyed it, when having it again at Seven Grand and found that Old Town Liquor carried Kavalan, though I really didn't get the expensive stuff. Over time, I found that I really enjoyed the Solist Amontillado Sherry Cask, but heck, I ain't spending $500 a bottle for it. Anyway, our driver dropped us at the front of the distillery. And we headed in.

Because of the amount of time we'd spent at the National Center for Traditional Arts, it was getting later in the day, and we decided not to do a tour. Instead, we went to the "main" tasting room.

And the Missus and I shared the "World Championship Series" tasting.

And with a touch of water to "open things up", the Amontillado Sherry Cask, with the rich, slightly smoky-nutty-stone fruity flavor was again our favorite.

We really enjoyed this stop!

Kavalan Distillery
No. 326, Section 2, Yuanshan Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 264

Soon after, it was time to head back to Taipei. It had been a fun day, but now the question was; "what's for dinner?"

Stay Tuned!

Taipei - Mountain and Sea House Restaurant

While planning our trip to Taiwan, I came across a Michelin listing for a place called Mountain & Sea House, which had one Michelin Star. But what really got my attention was the restaurant served Taiwanese dishes that harkened back to the 1930's. In addition, the restaurant sourced their ingredients from their own farm, their swine from a ranch that raises indigenous breeds and so forth. Honestly, I could've spent the entire trip eating Lu Rou Fan (and of course pork chops), but that wouldn't be any fan fun, would it? A big plus is that Mountain & Sea House did online reservations, which I took advantage of.

The walk from our hotel was about 25 minutes where we ended up on Ren'ai Road and a lovely looking structure. The really knowledgeable staff told the Missus that the building is in the style of the Japanese Meiji Taisho period, which coincides with the time period of Japanese rule in the country and what is considered the heyday of Taiwanese banquet cuisine by many.

The interior is austere yet classy.

Of course, it was only the Missus and I, so ordering huge banquet dishes was not a possibility, but there is a huge "family menu" for 8 people that needs to be ordered in advance; a bunch of set menus, whole suckling pig, chicken cooked in pork stomach, and a bevy of seafood offerings as well.

We just ordered a couple of interesting items off the a la carte menu.

What was interesting is the the restaurant had it's own beer, barrel aged in wine barrels.

This had some nice tart-fruitiness to it; but wasn't as strong as say, a Belgian (of which I've had a few).

The Missus started with a Rose from Weightstone and winery in Taichung.

Which She really enjoyed. She would have a glass of white from the same winery, which was exclusive to the restaurant later during the meal.

After our tea service....

Our food started arriving. First up, was the eye catching "White Flowered Mountain Gourd".

The zucchini and carrot laced parcel was filled with a concoction of dried scallops, black pork, and several different type of mushrooms. It was a bit milder in flavor than we had anticipated, but man, the velvety chicken stock, seasoned perfectly, studded with sweet-earthy mushrooms was fantastic.

Next up were the Oyster Fritters.

It was the two types of greens; bitter-vegetal-crunchy that made this dish. The oysters and pork were quite mild in flavor and the fritter batter not as crisp as we would like.

My favorite dish of the evening was the Three Cup Pig Tail Stew. What seems like a bajillion years ago, I had my first taste of Taiwanese food in a restaurant in the SGV. One of the dishes was Three Cup Chicken. It was love at first bite! It was strange for us to not come across that dish in restaurants we visited in Taiwan? Regardless, this was amazing.

At first glance, the pork looked really dark, but it wasn't overly salty, loved the whole cloves of sweet-pungent garlic, a hint of ginger wafted through the air. The earthy mushrooms added another "meaty" dimension to the meal. The pig tail was swiny, the skin soft, the pieces of cartilage perfect for gnawing. The fragrant basil added the necessary herbaceous-anise tones to the dish.

The "Maqaw" Roast Pork was fine if a bit underwhelming.

Love the tender - porkiness; but the pork seemed to have not been marinated long enough for our taste.

I had our wonderful, friendly Server order me a glass of local Whiskey, he told me it was Lychee Flavored. It was quite nice.

This was a fun meal. We enjoyed the service and watching the families, many multi-generational enjoying their meals here. While we could have easily stuck with smaller restaurants, night markets, and street food; I'm glad we made time for places like this!

Mountain and Sea House Restaurant
No. 94, Section 2, Ren'ai Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Taipei - Chia Te and the Taipei 101 Food Court

So, now that we were back in Taipei, it as time to resume our hunt for Pineapple Cake for my MIL. We had a specific target on our schedule; but first....well, the Missus needed Her tea and I wanted a cup of coffee. Que in Wilbeck, a shop right around the block from where we were staying.

A decent Americano for $50NT - $1.25/US and the Missus got some tea as well.

Interesting place.....

And then we were off.....we had started collecting Pineapple Cake in Taichung at Dawncake and a couple of other places in the city, then at another place in Chiayi. But the one place the Missus was looking forward to getting pineapple cake from was this one.

Google best Pineapple Cake in Taiwan and Chia Te will just about always be on the list. Established in 1975, Chia Te has won best Pineapple Cake at the first Taipei Pineapple Cake Festival in 2006 and from what I gathered four more times after that. Add to things that Chia Te has only one shop, located in Taipei (though I understand you can order delivery and get boxes at the airport), you can understand this:

Yes, a line of course. We had arrived at around 815, Chia Te opens at 830, but the line already stretched all the way down the block and around the corner. Unlike typical lines in Taiwan; this one didn't move quickly. It took us nearly two hours to get into the shop.

They kept posting signs listing items they were out of.

The actual shop is tiny, we got our act together and ended up getting all of this.

I will say, that I really enjoyed this. I wish I got more than one small box.

You can get Chia Te in the states; but it is $$$. Though I'm not sure I'll want to stand in that line again when we return to Taipei.

Chia Te Bakery
No. 88, Section 5, Nanjing E Rd.
Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

By the time we finished it was time for lunch. Being on this side of the city, Taipei 101 was a 30 minute walk away.  I thought it would be fun to check to grab lunch at the food court there. Yes, I said food court. I know most folks would head to Din Tai Fung here, but we'd already been to the original location of DTF in Xinyi and as tempting as that was; I'd read about a Chinese BBQ Hawker with a Michelin Star having an stand in the food court. So, we headed to the basement of Taipei 101.

It was just past 11am when we arrived, so the place wasn't overly busy, though that changed quickly. And we quickly found the shop I was looking for.

And the Missus ordered some Roast Duck and Char Siu.

We saw this stand.

And we'd been wanting to try an oyster omelet, so we walked over and ordered that; along with another item....

We had no problem finding a table. We were lucky because in what seemed like a few minutes later, the place was packed.

First up; the Oyster Omelet and of course a pork chop.

We enjoyed the oyster omelet, even the sweet-sourish gooey sauce which added a nice acidity. The eggs were nicely tender, the small oysters meaty-briney; there were some nice greens mixed in. Overall, really savory and good.

And of course, the pork chop.

Nicely pounded, salty-peppery-porky; some mild garlic tones, mild crispness. Yes, I know, "I didn't meet a pork chop I hated in Taiwan".

On that note; the duck and char siu were diappointing.

The duck was dry, lacking in fattiness, the skin hard, not crisp, without enough five-spice flavor. That pork was tough as leather the edges strangely bitter, and also lacking in flavor.

Well, you can't win 'em all. Though about that Michelin Star thing......

No.45 City Hall Rd.
Xinyi District, Taipei City 110, Taiwan

All was not lost though as we saw this on our way out.

 And yes, more pineapple cake to carry back with us. 

I'm sure we'll be back to the area. We need to check out the observatory at Taipei 101.

From Taipei 101, it was a 30 minute metro ride back to the hotel. 

We had time to rest and relax. And wonder....we had reservations at a Michelin starred restaurant for dinner. How would that fare?

Taipei - Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice

After returning to Taipei from the Taroko Gorge we relaxed a bit at our hotel. The location of Sky 19 Hotel might seem a bit odd, occupying only the 19th floor of an large business building, but the location, right out the exit from Taipei Main Station was great. All the stores and shops in the area didn't hurt things either. Of course the subject of dinner came up. The Missus was wanting to get Lu Rou Fan, a classic braised pork on rice dish. I had a couple of places on my "list" and one of them had come up in the Missus's discussions with various drivers; Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice. The shop was located about 2 kilometers from our accommodations and after having my TR Pork Chop Bento on the train back from the Taroko Gorge, I thought a nice walk might help me burn off the pork.

We arrived at the busy corner where Jin Feng stood in about 25 minutes or so.

Good thing the Missus reads Chinese and speaks Mandarin as there are two queues; one for takeout orders and one for dining in.

Like just about everywhere in Taipei, the lines move quickly. There's no dallying, we got a table, which could be easily divided by plexiglass for single diners in less than ten minutes.

The menu has quite a bit of choices.

But we were after one thing; the Lu Rou Fan, braised pork on rice.

My goodness, where have you been all my life. The rice was cooked nicely and fragrant; that sauce was rich, porky-soy sauce deliciousness. A nice collection of tender meaty pieces, along with rich, fattier pieces that basically melted in your mouth. And for a medium bowl at $40 NT; that's about a buck-twenty-five.... you get the picture, right?

We also got the pork belly; which came out looking dark and somewhat foreboding.

This was quite silkenly tender; surprisingly so. It wasn't overly salty, with hints of anise, and a touch of sweetness. 

And of course, after punishing our arteries; we needed some veggies. We had enjoyed all variations of Bamboo Shoots during our time in Taiwan and this version was no different.

Crunchy and earthy with a touch of sweetness, the preserved vegetable added a bit of oomph to things.

The Ong Choi was also crisp and fresh.

A touch of soy and garlic, to bring out the chlorophyllic - nutty notes.

This was a nice, comforting meal, and if I recall, came out to around $4.50/US! No wonder we've been grumbling about the prices here in the US recently. In some places five bucks would get you little more than a cup of coffee here!

Jin Feng Braised Pork Rice (金峰魯肉飯)
No. 10, Section 1, Roosevelt Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan

After dinner we took a different way back to the hotel, exploring the area a bit more.

We had started to learn some interesting things to note about everyday life here. You'd hear some music, it was always the same song emanating from a truck. Well, this was the signal to folks that trash pick-up was occurring. We'd see folks rushing to the curb to deliver their trash for pick-up.

Further up the street we walked past the Judicial Building.

Where this little "soldier" was hard at work doing drills led by his Mom....who seemed to be filming from her phone. Perhaps for Taiwan's version of Tik Tok?

There was a kind of lively, yet orderly sense to things here.

And of course, every time the Missus saw a line She needed to investigate.

We were really enjoying our time in Taipei!

Thanks for stopping by!

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!