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COMPASS MAGAZINE, June 2007

Cheers to a night under the stars Beer House Specialties By Ann Li and Jenny Shi Translated by Ann Lee Most beer houses in Taichung open up around 4:30 in the afternoon and go strong until well after 1 or 2 in the morning. There are quite a few large-scale beer houses located on GongYi and ChongDe roads. Most of them are quite visible, have easy-to-see, showy signs, and extensive restaurant space. These places all have different promotions and usually offer about six or seven local and imported beers. Each of these beer houses has unique dining features, though most menus are filled with seafood and stir-fry items. Inside the QingHai food court on QingHai Road, there are also a few smaller beer houses. In this issue's Roundup, we will be introducing a couple of dishes that go nicely with your pint.
	A-Qiu Goose Restaurant 258, ChaoFu Rd (04) 2251-2966 Hours: 11 am-2 pm; 4:30 pm-1:30 am A-Qiu Goose restaurant is known for its grilled goose. Chefs stuff this goose with old ginger, cajuput, aniseed and other secret spices. The meat is then air-dried for one day before going into the oven. After the oven, chefs pour boiling oil onto it, to create crispy skin and tender meat. Before eating, dip the meat into their specially-made ice plum sauce. A half-duck feeds five people. Other dishes that go well with a pint of beer are Stir-fried Ying Hua Shrimp & Squid, Super Fiery Hot Stinky Tofu, and Golden Bigfin Reef Squid with Egg. The last dish is a stir-fried salted eggs and squid dish, sprinkled with white sesame seeds. It has a unique taste. As summer approaches, A-Qiu has special beer promotions from Monday to Friday.
	Zui Yuan Yang Beer House (04) 2251-3966 266, GongYi Rd, Sec 2 Hours: 4:30 pm-1:30 am Credit cards accepted. 10% service charge. Parking available. Zui Yuan Yan Beer House has been doing a reputable business for over 20 years. In June, they will be offering special promotions for Heineken—5000cc for only NT$699. Bottles of Heineken are 650cc for NT$99. Executive Chef Qiu Jian-Cheng recommends trying one of his popular dishes, like Stir-fried Tomatoes & Clams (NT$240). This dish stir-fries garlic, basil, celery and tomatoes with clam, which absorbs the tomato juice and the other spices and makes the dish juicier. The Oven-baked Crab Legs with Black Peppers (price depends on crab weight) comes with black pepper on the side. It is so tempting that it is sure to keep your fingers and mouth busy, until the last bite.
	Shui Du Ma Tou Jiu (04) 2254-0909 2, HuiZhong Rd, Sec 3 Hours: 5 pm-2 am Credit cards not accepted. No service charge. This summer, Shui Du Ma Tou Jiu is offering three different 500cc beers for NT$99 each and Taiwan Beer for NT$39 a can. The menu items here are simple and prices are clearly labeled. You will find some NT$99 stir-fry dishes that are worth trying, as well as other entrees like "Three Cups" dishes (cooked with soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil), teppanyaki, and fried dishes. Executive Chef Huang recommends the Bigfin Reef Squid in Wasabi Sauce (NT$240). The squid used to make this dish is delivered fresh by air from Penghu and is fried until it becomes golden crispy on the outside. It comes with wasabi-flavored mayonnaise, which is quite spicy, but at the same time brings out the pure sweet taste of the seafood—it will definitely have you wanting more. Another dish recommended by Chef Huang is the Grilled Salted Pork (NT$200). This special dish is marinated with more than 10 spices for a week, until the flavor is absorbed thoroughly, before it is grilled, sliced, and served. The Pepper Shrimp (half a kilo, NT$600) are taken right from their aquarium. These are imported, live Thai shrimp, seasoned with more than 20 Chinese medicinal spices and air-dried, which allows the fragrance of pepper to permeate the shrimp, creating sweeter taste.
	Da Pai Dang QingHai food court, next to the supermarket on QingHai & HeNan roads 0919-419-008 Hours: 4:30 pm-2 am Credit cards not accepted. Parking inside food court. There is almost always a crowd at Da Pai Dang. It is no wonder, with their great selection of rice, noodles, seafood and other hot stir-fried dishes, which vary from NT$60 to NT$200-plus. Recommended dishes include Hot Spicy Goose (50 grams for NT$15). A dish commonly eaten by farm families in the earlier days, the goose meat is sauteed with onions, chili peppers and ginger and is widely known as a great companion for a pint of beer. Ding Xiang Fish (NT$180) is also a popular dish here. The fish are scooped right from the tanks, freshness guaranteed.
	Fei Beer & Grill 223, QingHai Rd, Sec 2 0912-368-176 Hours: 5 pm-2 am Credit cards not accepted. Parking inside food court. Fei Beer & Grill mainly sells Japanese and Taiwanese-style cuisine. Owner Da Fei makes creative use of these two cooking styles and recommends trying their Grilled Sardine & Fish Roe (NT$120). This dish is a fine example of how Da Fei merges the two different styles of cuisine together. The Japanese-style fish roe is stuffed inside the sardine and brushed with specially-made barbecue sauce. The Pork Kebabs with Miso Sauce (2 for NT$60) have a taste that is a good balance between salty and sweet and is another popular choice at Fei.