Shoal
Enrichment Path
(04) 2225-9811
1, Lane 177, MinQuan Rd.
Hours:10 am-9 pm
(closed Wednesday nights)
---By Lishea Zheng Translated by Sho
Huang
This establishment is situated right next to Taichung
University--from MinQuan Road, turn onto Lane 177 and
you'll see the restaurant's lush greenery. A closer
inspection reveals that it shares space with an adjacent
bookstore.
Chef Na Na used to be a book editor. Moving from literature
to the kitchen, her great cooking creations are inspired
by the Taipei's Lazy Fish Cafe' cooking philosophy,
with less milk and oil and specially selected ingredients.
Upon opening her own restaurant, she came up with personal
recipes for a balanced diet, including the Chef's Private
Set Meal, with four dishes and one soup for one to four
people. All main courses come with three side dishes,
too.
As autumn approaches, dishes like Salted Duck, Bean
Sauce Chicken, Lamb Jelly, Herbal Pork, Orange Sauce
Pork, and Egg Yolk Meat Balls are prepared with nutrition
in mind. To ensure this, nothing is deep fried, nor
are any spicy or artificial ingredients added to the
food. The menu changes daily with fresh ingredients
and some of Na Na's friends also contribute their favorite
recipes, so that customers can share in the warm, friendly
flavors.
One main dish, Salted Duck, is also known as Osmanthus
Duck. As osmanthus blossoms open up, ducks store up
quite a bit of fat as they prepare for winter. This
makes their meat especially rich and tasty. The restaurant
offers a special take-out deal, with one duck for NT$380
(roughly 1.5 kilos; orders need to be made three days
in advance).
An Afternoon Tea (NT$180) is also available with fragrant,
savory handmade Osmanthus Cake, Forest Black Tea, and
Chilled Sweet Bread. It is suggested that diners make
reservations to guarantee a seat. However, if you do
have to wait for your seats, you can always go to the
other half of this business--the bookstore--and bury
yourself in a good read.
