Cycle 16 – Item 201
POST 5,680
25 (Fri) July 2025
“Chicken Meat”
1.5
at 一畝田 (155)
-Riufang, New Taipei City, Republic of China (Taiwan)-
with the Family
Summer Vacation in Taiwan: Day 2 of 4
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- Day 1 (16.200 Lobster, “Taiwanese Style”)
- Day 2 (16.201 “Chicken Meat”)
- Day 3 (16.202 Pan-Fried Buns)
- Day 4 (16.203 Niu Rou Mian)
In Taipei with the Family. 2nd time for me (see most recently 5.112 Niu Rou Mian), 2nd time for W, 1st time for the boys. Before sending DJ off to college, the original idea had been to take a grand summer vacation to somewhere far and fancy, like Italy, but neither W nor I felt much like planning or paying for it, so we settled on somewhere closer and cheaper. No plans really, just looking forward to great food, a bit of touring.
SIGHTSEEING
Booked a guided tour to take us out of Taipei proper and up through various sites along the northern part of the island.
Shifen Old Street
Shifen is a town that, apparently, once supported coal mining operations in the nearby areas of Pingxi (district of what is now New Taipei City). Though no evidence can be found (at least on Google) as to when the town was founded, a railroad was built in 1921 to transport coal out of Pingxi and still runs through Shifen, but no way to know whether Shifen had been there at the time or came much later. When mining ceased in the mid-1990s, the town and the railroad were revamped for tourism.
Or so the story goes, 10 families of coalminers originally settled there, which came to be called “shifen (十分) = 10 portions” because the families would always order 10 portions of supplies. Sounds like folk etymology, as I haven’t come across any evidence to support this claim, such as who those families were, when they lived there, what happened to them. My guess is that the real story is less cute, like a mining company purchased 10 parcels of land and built a town to support its workers.
Beyond the old street, Shifen is most famous for sky lanterns. The lantern is simply a large piece of colored paper attached to a roundish wire frame, equipped with a small flammable cell at its center. When lit, the air inside the lantern heats up, essentially turning it into a hot-air balloon that floats up into the sky and drifts away – reportedly, it can stay up for 10 to 20 minutes. For the price of NTD 200 (about USD 6.50), a shop provides a lantern and a paint brush with ink to write wishes on the sides of the lantern. As the lantern approaches the heavens, the gods can more easily read and thus are more inclined to grant the wishes.
We chose a red lantern, representing health and peace.
Have to admit that the sky lantern was more fun than I would’ve thought possible. Wish we’d had more time to write something more meaningful, but the rain started to come down, forcing us to rush the process. By chance, all 4 sides included the word “success,” so that’s gotta be a sure thing.
When I asked Jerry what happens to the lantern after it falls back to earth, he said that (elderly) people find them around the countryside and sell them back to the shops.
BRUNCH
While W and the boys stuck around to buy souvenirs, I started my way back to the bus and paused for a snack. I chose this cart because it also had cold beer and a chair that I could sit on.
Black Pork Sausage is a Taiwanese dish. Sourced from native black pigs prized for their flavor and texture, the meat and fat are coarsely ground/chopped, seasoned with spices and rice wine, and usually sugar, stuffed in natural casing (i.e., intestine). Commonly sold as street food, the sausage is skewered on a stick and grilled over a flame. Eaten as is or with ketchup and/or hot sauce.
On my prior trip to Taiwan, I had first experienced the black pork sausage at a night market and gave it a 2.0 rating: “very fatty and sweetish” (see 5.111 Pork Potstickers).
Having experienced Shifen, I realize that it’s a tourist attraction only because it’s a tourist attraction. Nothing inherently interesting or unique about the place. Even the sky lanterns can be found in other towns. The lack of documentation concerning its origins makes me suspect that it was never particularly important, and it’s not that old. Indeed, every single building, even the tiling on the streets, looked relatively modern, certainly not “ancient.” I call bullshit.
Shifen Waterfall
Measuring 20 meters high and 40 meters across, the waterfall is the largest in the country. Nicknamed “Little Niagara of Taiwan.” Located less than 1 km from Shifen Old Street.
Jiufen Old Street
Jiufen is a town that, apparently, once supported gold mining operations in the nearby areas of Riufang (district of what is now New Taipei City). According to an unsubstantiated description in Wikipedia, it began as a village at the start of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-1600s. It rapidly developed into a larger town following the local gold rush in the late 1890s. After gold mining was banned across Riufang in 1971, Jiufen became a ghost town until eventually being redeveloped into a tourist site.
Like Shifen, the name of Jiufen is said to reflect the original 9 families who lived there and ordered 9 portions (九份) of supplies at a time. Like Shifen, no evidence can be found to support this too cute etymology. Like Shifen, I’d surmise that the portions refer to something more mundane, like parcels of land.
Several depictions in popular media are credited for increasing Jiufen’s international popularity as tourist destination, most notably Studio Ghibli’s 2001 blockbuster Spirited Away, which is said to have been inspired aesthetically by certain elements of Jiufen, although the film’s director Hayao Miyazaki has denied this.
By sheer coincidence, I’d watched Spirited Away for the first time a couple weeks ago, upon reviewing the New York Times‘ list of The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century and seeing it listed at #9. I had no idea about the Jiufen thing at the time of viewing, and only became aware of the so-called connection in reading reviews for the tour prior to purchasing the tickets. Incidentally, I found the film to be quite grotesque and disturbing. As of this writing, I’ve watched 61 of the 100 movies, including Spirited Away.
LUNCH
一畝田 is a Taiwanese restaurant. Offers a small range of local items, such as xialongbao and drunken chicken. The name of the place translates to “one (一) acre (畝) of land (田)” – not unlike my theory about the etymology of Shifen/Jiufen – and would be pronounced, roughly, as “yi mu tian.”
The restaurant was highlighted on Jerry’s hand-drawn map of Old Street, notated as serving “chicken meat and soup dumpling,” more as a geographical landmark than as a recommendation, but we were so wiped after climbing the steps that the prospect of sitting down without taking a single additional step was too good to pass up.
The food was not good. The meat of the “chicken meat” was okay, but the skin was unpleasantly rubbery and slimy. The xiaolongbao, clearly factory-made, were crappy. The porkball soup was awful. The fried rice was okay. The first disappointing meal that I’ve had in Taiwan, ever.
Yehliu Geopark
Yehliu Geopark, aka Yehliu Promontory, is a cape on the northern shore of Wanli (district of New Taipei City). Renowned for its collection of curiously shaped hoodoo stones.
By this point, I was dying – not from fatigue, but sciatica, which was aggressively and acutely burning a literal pain in my ass. But Yehliu had always been the primary objective of the tour, as far as I was concerned, so I had to finish it.
Whereas hoodoo stones are formed over millions of years, as relatively soft rock underneath slowly erode while harder rock on top remain intact, resulting in dramatically contrasting figures, the hoodoo stones at Yehliu are particularly vulnerable given their exposure to the sea. The stones are estimated to weather at an alrmingly rapid rate of up to 0.5 cm per year, which means that it could collapse within the next few years. As such, the nervous joke is that, when the Queen’s Head Rock eventually falls, the Cute Princess Rock will assume the throne.
Wish that I’d had the resilience to explore more of the park, but seeing the Queen’s Head was worth the price of admission.
The tour was more intense than I’d anticipated. 4 stops. Around 5 hours on the ground, plus 4 hours on the bus, for a total time of 9 hours: 09:00-18:00. A good bargain at USD 44 per person.
I doubt that I’d ever go back to Shifen or Jiufen, but I might consider revisiting Yehliu, also to explore the many seafood restaurants in the area.
DINNER
Back at the hotel, we were grateful to have access to the Grand Club Lounge, which offers a happy hour every evening from 17:00-19:00. We arrived at 18:30 and took full advantage of the remaining half-hour.
Not to be an ingrate, but I was a bit disappointed by the spread. The theme appeared to be Japanese, though with just a single type of simple roll and fishcake soup. Otherwise, nachos and a few cold cuts. Perhaps the skimpiest selection that I’ve seen at a hotel lounge ever.
Surprisingly, despite the poor showing, despite the endless options available in a food city like Taipei, the lounge was packed with guests.
BEST IN CLUB – an on-going ranking of dining experiences in hotel club lounges:
- Shangri-La Singapore, Singapore (9.082 Horse Doovers)
- New World/Coast Manila Bay, Philippines (6.360 Lobster, Maybe)
- Shangri-La Qaryat Al Beri, UAE (10.299 Black Pepper Chicken)
- Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa, Malaysia (8.355 Seared Tuna Canapes)
- Shangri-La Dubai, UAE (10.295 Tofu & Mushroom Spring Roll with Hoi Sin Sauce)
- Grand Hyatt Taipei, Taiwan (16.201 “Chicken Meat”)
(See RESTAURANTS IN TAIWAN)
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See BOOZE)