Three months before the great Hualien earthquake of 2018 we arrived at this laid-back prefecture capital on Taiwan's east coast, best known to travelers as the launch point to the spectacular Taroko National Park. Within 24 hours this became my wife’s favorite Taiwanese city, which later made the horrific earthquake footages even tougher to stomach.
Part of our fond memory had to do with the gracious owner at Ziteng Hua Homestay who offered her own flu medicine to this sick traveler, thousands of miles from home on foreign land. We could not have found a better homebase in Hualien, 5 minutes’ walk from the train station and hosted by a parently couple who took time to drive us to the city centre and introduce us to the best attractions and local eats.
Restaurant Review: YEXIANG WONTON (Hualien) (Location Map)
This is THE absolutely unmissible gastronomic experience in Hualien, a 90-year-old institution and the undisputed Taiwanese mecca for wonton, testified by the prized photo of President Chiang Ching-kuo visiting the second generation owner. Forget your preconceptions of the Cantonese variant bursting with shrimps or the Sichuanese variant with its mouth-watering spiciness -- just arrive in anticipation for great homemade food.
Now operated by the fourth generation descendent, Yexiang has never shifted focus from its one legendary menu item, a local form of wonton known as Bianshi after the great grandfather’s Hokkienese roots. Each bowl comes with 10 balls of feathery wonton floating in a slow-simmered pork bone soup, topped simply with the time-honoured combination of fried shallots and chopped Chinese celery.
Start without any condiments to fully appreciate the silky smooth wrapping and an intensely meaty filling derived from the rear ham of a local pig breed. Scoop the wontons to a separate bowl then gradually mix in your choice of rice vinegar, soy sauce or powdered white pepper according to taste, and you’ll thank my host for his excellent recommendation like I did.
Bill for Two Persons
| Bianshi x 2 | TWD 140 |
| TOTAL | TWD 140 (CAD$6.1) |
My host’s next recommendation stood 3 minutes north of Yexiang in the form of a century-old former rice wine brewery, now reincarnated as the Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park featuring artist studios and venues for flea markets and performance spaces for indie musicians.
The artisan ware was gorgeously creative, and I would have bought a whole installation of organically sinuous lamps hand-carved from gourd shells if shipping them back to Canada wasn’t such a headache. The food offerings at its cafes were expensive and somewhat pretentious however, and instead we chose to walk two minutes east to another locally recommended eatery.
Restaurant Review: HAIPU OYSTER OMELETTES (Hualien) (Location Map)
Another beloved gastronomic institution to Hualien’s blue-collar masses, Haipu Oyster Omelettes is your classic hole-in-the-wall eatery in old-fashioned Taiwanese authenticity. Sanitary conditions are somewhat suspect, the chairs wobbly and the folding tables smeared with droplets of sauce from the previous client.
Prior to arrival we had been repeatedly forewarned -- lastly by a sales lady at the patisserie around the corner -- of infamous 45-minute queues which fortunately did not materialize on this breezy Tuesday evening. The minimalist menu featured only two items, the peasant favorite of Oyster Omelette and a peppery Clam Broth, as suggested by the heaps of fresh molluscs resting on the ice.
Sizzling on the hotplate in view of every customer was the prototypical Taiwanese Oa-jian with shucked baby oysters, baby Chinese cabbages and green scallions, eggs and of course a gooey roux of yam starch for that characteristic chewiness.
Every oyster omelette stand claims its own secret recipe sauce, and Haipu’s version turned out distinctly sweeter than most places I’ve tried. The expertly charred edges and chewy batter were nicely done, though I would have preferred if they charged more instead of skimming on the amount of oysters.
Bill for Two Persons
| Oyster Omelette | TWD 60 |
| TOTAL | TWD 60 (CAD$2.6) |
Two of Hualien’s most popular cheap eats made up just the first half of our dinner. An 8 minute walk south of Haipu brought us to our ultimate destination for the evening and our 5th night market visit (Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Kenting then Hualien) in 6 nights.
Restaurant Review: DONGDAMEN NIGHT MARKET (Hualien) (Location Map)
Arguably the cleanest and best-organized among tens of major night markets in Taiwan, Dongdamen Night Market is a massive 21st century amalgamation of several markets formerly scattered around the city, now collectively occupying a dozen city blocks every evening.
Every night market boasts its prominent local specialties, and Dongdamen’s most popular ranged from Deep-Fried Crabs to Chive Pancakes with Fried Eggs to this ominously named nibble known as Guancaiban, or Coffin Bread.
This Taiwanese adaptation of the bread bowl starts with a thick slice of deep-fried French toast, hollowed out and filled with mind-bending toppings from Kungpao Chicken to Stir-Fried Lamb with Black Pepper to Shrimp in Cream Sauce, all for a cheap TWD 55 (CAD$2.4).
Our choice of Stir-Fried Crab in Cream Sauce -- a slightly sugary topping in Southern Taiwanese tradition -- turned out surprisingly harmonious with the fluffy French toast. The shucked crab claws were reasonably fresh, and it’s easy to see why the Hualienese have embraced this cheap and filling bite as their own, across the island from its original birthplace of Tainan.
A night market crawl would hardly be complete without fruit smoothies, in our case the local favorite of bitter melon juice and the standard papaya milk. Despite arriving with a half-full stomach I really enjoyed Dongdamen Night Market, not just for cheap eats but also its outstanding cleanliness, as well as the family-friendly entertainment of live Taiwanese pop and aboriginal dance performances.
Bill for Two Persons
| Coffin Bread with Crab Meat in Cream | TWD 55 |
| Bitter Melon Juice | TWD 40 |
| Papaya Milk | TWD 45 |
| TOTAL | TWD 140 (CAD$6.1) |
Last but not least, we came across some of the best edible Taiwanese souvenirs here at Hualien.
After sampling numerous brands and flavors of Pineapple Cakes at various shops across Taiwan, our favorite was this creation by Fengliwan selected by the Presidential Office (i.e. Taiwan’s equivalence of the White House) as official souvenirs for diplomatic functions. Two varieties of pineapples were available, and we picked the fruitier and more acidic Native Pineapples (TWD315 for a box of 9 cakes) over the sweeter Diamond Pineapples. Drop by their shop at downtown Hualien (see location map) for some free samples and you’ll snub Taipei’s pricier brands as well.
Hualien was a pleasant surprise -- we stopped for Taroko National Park and ended up discovering an underrated small city with terrific local eats and the friendliest people. To fellow travelers / hikers planning on visiting Taroko, I highly recommend spending a couple more days on the east coast for Hualien and Taitung.
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