Taiwan: Yin Cha Hua Shi
This past weekend was crammed full of friends and family because everyone wanted to see us before my sister returned to the States. So after our lunch with our family friends at Miramar, my sister and I had to rush back to Danshui to meet up with my aunt and her friend for dinner. My dad recommended a little hidden restaurant located along the Danshui river:
There were no signs outside at all. If my uncle hadn't shown me the place a couple weeks prior, I would never have found it. The entire feel of the place was homey and unpretentious; much like entering someone's living room. We were the only people in the restaurant, so we were given the best seat with the best view in the house:
The charm of the place was really the owner. She treated us like her friends rather than her customers. We chatted throughout our meal about the area, the food, among other things. You can really tell how much she loves Danshui just by hearing her talk about the place:
The resident dog has to be the cutest dog in all of Taiwan. An An was rescued off the streets by the restaurant owner. Even though he was abandoned and both of his hind legs are broken, he is the most loving dog I've met in Taiwan.
There are only a few dishes on the menu. Each comes in a set meal at 250 NT (just over $8). You start off with a healthy freshly blended juice:
I tasted vegetable immediately. A lot of people would probably like this, but it was a bit too...healthy for me. (Any juice with tomato in it is WAY too healthy for anyone's good.)
My sister and I each chose a different entree to share. After hearing from the owner how all the seafood comes fresh off the boats in the harbor every morning, we knew we had to go with the fish options. We went with the seafood chowder:
The chowder was nice and thick from the pureed pumpkin and flavored by the fish, clams, and various veggies. We were both stunned to find not one, not two, but THREE whole fishes in our chowder.
For our other entree, we chose the fish in clear broth (we added 50 NT to get one big fish instead of 3 small fishes):
There was a little bit of sesame oil added for flavor, but otherwise the broth was super light with a subtle suggestion of ginger. The fish was tender and very juicy.
After the entree came a serving of noodle in sesame sauce:
Sesame sauce can sometimes be really heavy, but this wasn't like that at all. I liked it so much that I ate half of my sister's too.
To finish off the meal, you get a nice cup of coffee. Since I don't like coffee, the owner made me a drink with lemon, some kind of Indian seed similar to basil seed, and 海燕巢 or hai yan wuo (literally "sea swallow's nest"), which is a type of plant. I could only taste the lemon, so I didn't think too much about the hai yan wuo:
The owner threw in a dessert at the end just because she'd made some that day. The hai yan wuo made another appearance, this time in the form of a jelly:
The hai yan wuo itself wasn't overly flavorful, but the honey drizzled on top was super aromatic and delicious.
The four of us sat at that window table for almost four hours just eating, sipping our drinks, watching the sun set, and chatting with the owner. We also took a little walk along the river at the owner's suggestion. It had just rained so we were blessed to get some pictures of the rainbow fading into the river.
Yin Cha Hua Shi is a good place to just sit for hours on end. It really doesn't feel like dining at a restaurant at all, but more like sharing a piece of the owner's life. The food is 100% healthy, but tastes delicious all the same. Come for the food, the view, and the company. You'll be back.
尹茶話世
台北縣淡水鎮中正路1段7號
02-2805-9111
There were no signs outside at all. If my uncle hadn't shown me the place a couple weeks prior, I would never have found it. The entire feel of the place was homey and unpretentious; much like entering someone's living room. We were the only people in the restaurant, so we were given the best seat with the best view in the house:
The charm of the place was really the owner. She treated us like her friends rather than her customers. We chatted throughout our meal about the area, the food, among other things. You can really tell how much she loves Danshui just by hearing her talk about the place:
The resident dog has to be the cutest dog in all of Taiwan. An An was rescued off the streets by the restaurant owner. Even though he was abandoned and both of his hind legs are broken, he is the most loving dog I've met in Taiwan.
There are only a few dishes on the menu. Each comes in a set meal at 250 NT (just over $8). You start off with a healthy freshly blended juice:
I tasted vegetable immediately. A lot of people would probably like this, but it was a bit too...healthy for me. (Any juice with tomato in it is WAY too healthy for anyone's good.)
My sister and I each chose a different entree to share. After hearing from the owner how all the seafood comes fresh off the boats in the harbor every morning, we knew we had to go with the fish options. We went with the seafood chowder:
The chowder was nice and thick from the pureed pumpkin and flavored by the fish, clams, and various veggies. We were both stunned to find not one, not two, but THREE whole fishes in our chowder.
For our other entree, we chose the fish in clear broth (we added 50 NT to get one big fish instead of 3 small fishes):
There was a little bit of sesame oil added for flavor, but otherwise the broth was super light with a subtle suggestion of ginger. The fish was tender and very juicy.
After the entree came a serving of noodle in sesame sauce:
Sesame sauce can sometimes be really heavy, but this wasn't like that at all. I liked it so much that I ate half of my sister's too.
To finish off the meal, you get a nice cup of coffee. Since I don't like coffee, the owner made me a drink with lemon, some kind of Indian seed similar to basil seed, and 海燕巢 or hai yan wuo (literally "sea swallow's nest"), which is a type of plant. I could only taste the lemon, so I didn't think too much about the hai yan wuo:
The owner threw in a dessert at the end just because she'd made some that day. The hai yan wuo made another appearance, this time in the form of a jelly:
The hai yan wuo itself wasn't overly flavorful, but the honey drizzled on top was super aromatic and delicious.
The four of us sat at that window table for almost four hours just eating, sipping our drinks, watching the sun set, and chatting with the owner. We also took a little walk along the river at the owner's suggestion. It had just rained so we were blessed to get some pictures of the rainbow fading into the river.
Yin Cha Hua Shi is a good place to just sit for hours on end. It really doesn't feel like dining at a restaurant at all, but more like sharing a piece of the owner's life. The food is 100% healthy, but tastes delicious all the same. Come for the food, the view, and the company. You'll be back.
尹茶話世
台北縣淡水鎮中正路1段7號
02-2805-9111
"aromatic" woot.
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