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COMPASS MAGAZINE, May 2006

'Chewing Butt' at the Tree House Restaurant 380-2, DongShan Road, Sec.1, BeiTun District (04) 2239-3282 Hours:11 am-10 pm (open to 11 pm Sat/Sun)

--By Cai Pei-Rong Translated by Cara Steenstra

Along DongShan Road near Taichung's Da Keng Scenic Area is a series of gardens and tree houses with lazy music coming from within, provoking curiosity from passers-by about what kind of places these might be. Amongst them is the Tree House Restaurant, built by a gardening enthusiast. Using pieces of driftwood, he built three houses that can only be reached by steps. Each tree house is categorized according to its tree type--the "Lazy Person Tree House", the "Feng Ren (Crazy Person) Tree House", where you can relax amidst the autumn maple leaves, and the "Long Ren (Dragon Person) Tree House", built with Longan trees.

The Dragon Person Tree House is situated in a more tucked-away corner, where guests can make as much as noise they like and not disturb the neighborhood. As a result, it has earned the nickname "Deaf People's Corner". During the longan season, customers can just reach out and grab ripe longan fruit from the tree as an after-meal refreshment.
The sign at the restaurant's front door is not only eye-catching but also leaves everyone with an indelible impression, as it reads, "Deng Yan Kan Pi Gu", which literally means, "Chewing butt with your eyes wide open". However, this shocking name is actually meant to signify that patrons should come here to enjoy the good view with their eyes wide open, chew on the good food, then sit on their butts and not want to leave. It is also the name of their house dish, "Deng Yan Kan Pi Gu" (NT$380), made from squid eyes and pig tails cooked in a three-cup chicken style in a fragrant combination.

Another dish, "Chou Wei Xiang Tou"--literally meaning "Sharing the same rotten tastes"--is NT$220 for a small dish of crushed stinky tofu, stir fried with celery, that is very crispy and delicious. The "Shi Tou Zha Da Xia" (literally "Stone Crushed Prawns") is NT$380 and prepared using hot stones. Using He Shou Wu (Polygonum Multiflorum) as its soup base, the popular Eh Ma Ma ("Mother Eh") Chicken Soup (NT$300) has more than 20 kinds of Chinese herbs in it. Apart from hot stir-fry dishes, there are also a great variety of drinks and snacks available.
The opportunity to savor tasty food while surrounded by flora and fauna in a lovely little tree house truly does make this the place to "chew butt with your eyes open".