Departure
We’re heading up to Sun Moon Lake today so we needed to prepare. The trip would take an hour on the High Speed Railway (HSR) and at least another hour by taxi before we reach the hotel. So first thing to do is check out of Li Yuan Hotel. I have to say, I liked this hotel. The rooms were small but bigger than the one I had in Hong Kong. Besides, it fit two twin beds and had space for a desk, though barely. There were two guest chairs but utterly useless. One was against the wall and right up to one of the beds. Might as well put a suitcase stand there. The bathroom was clean and the toilet had a bidet. Very nice. I think I did most of my reading there. TMI? You gotta expect that reading this stuff. Anyways, the nicest thing I liked was the self service laundry. No hassle do it yourself jumbo washer and dryer. They even have laundry detergent there. Awesome. Internet service is spotty though. At one point I got a hardline. It worked for a day then stopped. Networked was all forms of mess. I had to bounce around to other routers on different floors. Don’t worry, I recommend the place and I’ll put it in my feedback to get that fixed.
After check out and visiting a friend who just had a baby, it was off to Mitsui, my favorite restaurant in Taiwan. Yes, it’s kind of a splurge, especially for lunch. It’s a seven course meal filled with so many Japanese dishes. A meal if you walk away hungry then you gotta be a football player or something. Even when I gorge on sushi back home I can’t help but feel a little hungry after closing out the bill. Not here. But here wasn’t a sushi only place. The seafood was very fresh. I only had two complaints. The hamachi/yellowtail sushi wasn’t as fresh as the others and the grilled beef had too much fat on the ends. Otherwise, I love the ambience and nothing was ever rushed. The service was spot on with each section having a station where a waiter/waitress kept everything clockwork. Food comes out to the station, they check to see if you’re ready, serve and take away. I also learned there are several Mitsui restaurants and the original place, the first one I went to, was the highest quality. Have to agree. This meal was oh-so delicious but didn’t have the perfection as the first one. I’ll have to go to the original next time.
Now, for Sun Moon Lake, we stayed at the generically named Sun Moon Lake Hotel. I was worried the driver wouldn’t know which one to go to knowing there may be other hotels with similar names. Not the case. We arrived and everything went smoothly. Wonderful hotel that’s only a 10 minute walk from a small town.
We grabbed a small bite from town after walking around its four streets. Good local eats. The best thing was that it was cheap even though the prices were probably marked up for tourists and we were tourists. Alright, not we… me.
Lightly salted with some mixture that seeps into the meat. You can taste it after you peel the shell. It didn’t mask the taste of the prawn though. In fact, it enhances it. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
Such a simple traditional Taiwanese dish to go with our meal. The eggs were perfect, a little runny, and the tomatoes were still juicy. Not sure if they added ketchup or sugar to provide a little sweetness. Whatever it was made the dish. $100NTD
Ordered these greens that I have no idea what they are called. The taste was clean while the texture firm and a little gooey. A little hard to explain. Jus tknow its good and you should try this stuff if you get the chance. It was stir fried with red peppers and small fish to give it some saltiness. $50NTD
Here’s where I’m writing most of our experiences in Sun Moon Lake. Our room has this separate area with sliding doors to keep the nocturnal undisturbed as you’re up late writing or surfing the internet.
Each room has one of these deep soaking tubs. It’s not hot spring water but you can sit in it and act like it is one.
The final course for lunch. We had sesame and green tea ice cream as well as a red bean pudding. The cakes come complimentary. Overall, I like the rose apples. What can I say, I was stuffed at this point and ice cream was too heavy no matter how small the scoop was. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
This is a different type of mollusk, not your traditional type of clam. It’s chopped up and added to the soup. The dill gives a nice touch of freshness to the soup. Overall a wonderful refreshing soup. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
This dish fell short. There was too much fat on the cuts. Sure I like kobe and wagyu beef, but the fat is marbled in with the meat. Not hanging off the sides in chunks. Just trim these pieces off. They are too chewy. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
After having all the other dishes, this didn’t have the same kick. Maybe if I was looking for straight sushi. But the seared tuna and eel were great. The yellowtail pieces fell short. The coloring wasn’t all there as well as the taste. Maybe if this was one of the first courses it would work out better. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
Taking a gamble on trying out this dish paid off. Soft shell crabs are always savory and sweet. And this one in particular had eggs that added a level of richness to each bite. Delish. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
A simple sweet and tangy salad with the added texture of abalone. Not only is it refreshing, but the crisp slices of apple help keep this salad interesting for a carnivore. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
Oh the fish was so fresh even down to the raw prawn head that retained all of its flavor. Even my least favorite, squid, was soft and rich with a light firmness you rarely find at good Japanese restaurants. One course of the lunch set, $1500NTD (discounted)
The worst in a string of crazy taxi drivers. This was only number two. His thing were this tubes he hand created to funnel the air conditioning around, which he kept pointing in the faces of us. I was so close to smacking him. In his defense, in his thinking of course, these tubes saves him 200 dollars a day in fuel efficiency. Seriously. Well, maybe I’ll believe him when major car manufacturers buys his patent for this. Until then, he can continue arguing with his two GPS systems. Gotta have two in case one is wrong. But which one? Which One!!