Taiwan: Hao Cai Yuan

CK joined us in Taiwan toward the end of the week.  After my sister and I went to pick her up at the airport, we met up with my parents, my grandparents, and my uncle at Hao Cai Yuan for dinner:


The original plan was to go somewhere for live fish (where you pick your fish and depending on how big it is, the restaurant will prepare it a number of ways for you), but that unfortunately fell through.  Hao Cai Yuan came highly recommended, however, so we weren't too bummed by the change of plans.

For a group our size, we really should have made a reservation.  Luckily, a table cleared out and we were able to get seated without having to wait too long.

Hao Cai Yuan is known for its Taiwanese cuisine.  We started off with a cold plate of sliced pork liver and ginger (100 NT or slightly over $3):


The seasonal veggie was ong choy (80 NT or just under $3):


My father couldn't resist ordering the chicken (380 NT or around $13):


Whereas I just really wanted to try their braised pork over rice (40 NT or slight under $1.50):


I forced CK to share with me.  If I had the entire bowl by myself, I would have been done.

One of the highlights of the meal was the eggplant (150 NT or around $5);


One of my personal favorites was the fried intestine (200 NT or just under $7):


Those crunchy bits!  Holy moly.  So freakin' good.

The salted mustard greens with tofu was nothing to sneeze at either (160 NT or just over $5):


Such silky, silky tofu.

And the steamed fish!:


Dunno what kind of fish it was, but damn was it fresh.

And for a cleansing soup, we went with a clear soup:


Not 100% which soup it was, but I think it was the fish head soup in a clay pot (680 NT or just under $23).

Everything at Hao Cai Yuan was pretty spot on.  I could even enjoy the liver in small pieces.  While it might be considered a bit pricey by Taiwanese standards, the menu offers a range of options from really cheap to what we like to call American prices.  It's not a fancy place by any means, so it's a great restaurant to just relax with family and enjoy a good meal together.

I highly recommend Hao Cai Yuan.  It was certainly a fitting welcome for foodie CK to Taiwan.


好菜園台灣料理
新北市淡水區民族路35號
+886 2 2808 3343

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