Taiwan Food and Discovery – Hualien regional cuisine

Joy Clark continues her Taiwan culinary journey 

After a couple of days in the city, we headed south by car on a three-hour drive to Hualien on the east coast of Taiwan.  It feels good to know that we will be seeing more of the country, and also getting away from the city for a couple of days.  Our guide assures us that we will feel close to nature and be able to ‘taste the air.’ 

Hualien is the largest county in Taiwan, but due to its mountainous terrain it has one of the lowest populations (7%) in the country.  It doesn’t take long to understand just that as we get closer and feel the mountains enclosing around us. We travel through a series of tunnels cutting our way through the mountains.  It’s a scenic journey with brief stretches of lovely beaches and a blue Pacific Ocean.

We start by exploring the Taroko National Park.  Our guide tells us we have to stop so he can collect hard hats for us due to falling rocks.  We think he is joking – he isn’t – and we wonder, can this be safe!!  He says it is a safety precaution and because of the weathering of the rocks, a natural phenomenon of little rockfalls could happen but assures us it won’t be today!

The Taroko Gorge just blows us away as we make our way along the Swallow Grotto Trail.  The trail is easy to walk, and you can’t help but wonder how nature can create such beauty. The rock layers are mostly marble and the gorge was formed after the river cut through the layers of marble for millions of years.

We head back to our driver – hats in hand and thankful for no falling rocks; our guide was right. We move on to walk the Shakadang Trail – a round trip of 3 km.  The trail is winding and after the first curve we come upon a crystal-clear turquoise blue pool of water below a shear cliff.  Surrounding the water are enormous boulders and we dream of sunbaking on these and diving into the clear water.  Unfortunately, the drop from where we are standing would make getting down there impossible – and besides – it’s now starting to rain for the first time on our trip!

Tonight, we are staying in an eco-style boutique hotel, the intriguingly named Silence Manor, in the township of Ruisui.  It feels like we are in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lush gardens, fruit trees and lofty mountains. The rooms are large, light and warm, with the added bonus of a deep, hot spring bath in the bathroom – very Zen-like.  

Dinner is at the hotel and is famed for its presentation (there is no menu) and the use of ingredients from the hotel’s garden.  We weren’t disappointed – the dishes were outstanding with exquisite flavours.

Our second day in Hualien takes us to the Hualien Fengbin Sky Trail, a 150m path that hangs out over one of the limestone cliffs above the ocean.  We all feel fine about this, until we are told there is a 20m section that is transparent, built from steel beams and tempered glass. This will allow those, who are brave enough, to look through the glass to the shore below.  One of our group starts to feel a little nervous but we promise to flank either side of her and make sure she is comfortable. Although still feeling anxious, she decides she doesn’t want to miss out on what will be an amazing experience. And it was! 

Part of the trail is a fairly narrow path cut out from the cliff face that had connected the local villages during the Japanese period.  The walk also takes in part of a cliff edge section of the old highway.  If visiting, spend as much time as you can around this area – the coastline is incredible.

Our lunch today will be at the Yankees Dude Ranch restaurant.  Yes, its an unusual name for a restaurant in Taiwan – and why the name?  Our host explains that before they opened the restaurant the family had land on which they raised goats (Yang) and chickens (YangJi).  Unable to cook and sell food on their land (ranch) they moved to the city and set up the restaurant which specialises in chicken and goat dishes, as well as fish and vegetables.  All ingredients are locally produced and our refreshments include their home-made apple and pineapple, and lemon oolong tea.

Our lunch was long and relaxing but we  are up for a new adventure and more sightseeing. We set off for Qixingtan Beach at the north of Hualien City, where the mountains meet the sea.  There is no sand, just the most amazing pebbles in all shapes and sizes.  I feel the need to collect some as they are so tactile, but resist the urge as not only is it not permitted, I have to remember how many kgs of luggage I am allowed on the plane home!  It’s another hot (34 degrees) day and looking at the blue water we crave a cool dip but swimming is also not permitted on the beach, so we have to be content with dipping just our feet in the water.

We move on to the Clear Water (Qingshui) Cliffs in Sioulin Township.  These extraordinary cliffs were ‘created by collision between the Philippines and Eurasian tectonic plates around 6 million years ago.   As the earth crust was uplifted, the island of Taiwan was formed and at the point where the plates collided the long stretch of cliffs was created’.  The sight of these sheer cliffs with high mountains above, and the deep blue ocean below, is truly staggering.

It’s time to eat – again – and we head off to experience a local Hakka restaurant, Shi-Ting Hakka Restaurant or our dinner. Hakka cuisine is described in Wikipedia as a "style of Chinese cooking which is little known outside the Hakka home. It concentrates on the texture of food – the hallmark of Hakka cuisine. Preserved vegetables are commonly used for steamed and braised dishes such as steamed minced pork with preserved vegetables and braised pork with salted vegetables. Hakka cuisine may be described as outwardly simple but tasty.

The skill in Hakka cuisine lies in the ability to cook meat thoroughly without hardening it, and to naturally bring out the protein flavour (umami taste) of the meat. We rise early the following morning to take a train back to Taipei.  The scenic 2.5 hour journey takes us through a total of 31 tunnels through the winding and steep cliffs. Farewell Hualien, we’ve enjoyed your incredible landscapes (and amazing food) these past two days.

The writer was a guest of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau/Taiwan Visitors Association