Eating My Way Through Taiwan: A Traditional Restaurant

A couple of weeks ago, a friend and his family took us to a traditional Chinese restaurant for a meal. It was a very special place. The entire building is built over a large Coi pond. There were individual rooms of all sizes and they were connected together by a series of bridges. On some of the bridges were wide spots where tables were set for couples and small family groups to sit outside over the pond. The bridges were covered and protected from the weather. What a beautiful place!

The fish in the pond were huge and colorful. The restaurant sold little packets of fish food, so children could feed the fish. Consequently as you walk across the bridges the fish would follow you in a huge clump, sticking their open mouths out of the water, hoping for some of the food to fall into their gaping maws. It is amazing but some of these beautiful and colorful fish were three and four feet long.

As in all traditional Chinese places the food was served Family Style: Large platters of food that’s shared among every one at the table. The beverage was Hot Green Tea, brewed at the table with Taiwanese Green Tea.

The meal consisted of San Bei Ji (Three cups chicken), A delicious spicy chicken recipe, two types of shrimp, some vegetable and beef dishes and clam soup. One type of shrimp was deep fried shrimp, served on pineapple with a “Miracle Whip” type of mayonnaise. The other was the very small, bay shrimp fried crispy with skin, antennae, eyes, and legs all intact.

We went there with about 21 people. The food was served quickly and hot. But it just kept coming. The owner, a young woman, in her early thirties came over to greet us and personally thank our entire group for eating at her restaurant.

One of the other interesting things was that the place was filled with Chinese artifacts; old hats and Chinese tea sets. The purpose of the evening was that our friend wanted to wish the Nieds well in America and to thank them for caring for his family.

Other posts you may be interested in:

Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Niu Rou Mian
Eating My Way Through Taiwan:  Bao zi
Eating My way Through Taiwan:   Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
Taiwan Travelogue:  The Traditional Market