Food and Fun in Southern Taiwan

A Short Trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan April 2018

April 18, 2018 Wednesday

Being in southern Taiwan and in the village kept us far away enough from most touristy places which are designated as "top things to do" for foreign visitors. We were just planning to enjoy spending some time with FIL, who will turn 90 soon, without having to travel a great distance. BIL suggested that we should visit the Outdoor Marine Life 3-D Mural Gallery at the nearby fishing village of Budai. We have never been there before and I was not expecting anything that would wow me at this small village. To my surprise, it turned out to be quite an interesting trip after all for being an attraction mainly for locals.

These 3-D murals are all scattered around the village, on walls or on the ground. I wouldn't say that these are top artistic expressions but I do admire the artists willingness to share their creativity in making these paintings available for the public to enjoy. One really needs to a little silly and be a part of the mural to make the 3-D paintings stand out and that was exactly what we did on that day. 

This first painting we saw was on the wall of the elementary school.

Passing by a roadside temple/shrine as we were walking around the village.

Across from the little shrine is the big Mazu Temple where a couple of the 3-D paintings are located.

Incense burner

On the temple ground.

I wouldn't do that in real life for sure!

Now we came upon the Haomeiyuchun Park (Hao Mei Fishing Village Park) with more paintings inside.

I enjoyed this place much better than the High-heeled Shoe 'Church' that we went to last time we were in Budai.

Haomeiliao Wetland

Our next stop was the Haomeiliao Wetlands which is not far from the outdoor 3-D Paintings Gallery. This is near the harbor of Budai on the western edge of the island. 

The inner channels of the harbor.

Some fish ponds in the surrounding area.

Beach at the Wetland

A-Tong Yi-Noodle

One of the food items that MOR misses living in the U.S. is the authentic Yi-Noodle, a local specialty of Yenshui township. He would always get some whenever he is home so we have tried many different ones throughout the years. This time, BIL brought us to this place called A-Tong Yenshui Yi Noodle for lunch which seems to have pretty good reviews online. 

menu and order form

Large bowl of Yi-Noodle topped with braised pork pieces.

Similar to fried won-ton but then they soak it in the soup.

A small bowl of noodle for me.

The 'skin' of these won-tons were too thick for me. I just don't understand the logic of frying something and then soaking it in soup. Making something that's suppose to be crispy into a wet mushy piece.

Appetizer of tofu and kelp

Tofu with 'thousand-year-old' egg

Boxes of dried noodle for sale.

Open-kitchen

In the Township of Yenshui.

The resident of the richest family in the village of Yizhu.

Apparently, the villagers are quite upset with the family blocking off public access through this alley with those two yellow poles.

The Wall of Fame built outside that resident.

A little bit of their family history.

Apparently, several members of this "Wung" family became government officials, not without controversies.

It says on this sign that Yizhu is one of the three townships in Taiwan that has the most people with Doctor's degree. I suppose that would included MOR.

We came here for a snack of tofu pudding in Yenshui.

Tofu pudding with peanuts

and with red beans

Seafood Dinner at Xiang Fa Restaurant, Dongshi Township, Chiayi

We were just spending a couple of days in the village and we did not get to see most of our relatives during the week. We were to meet with our other BIL, who is a teacher at a local high school in Yunlin, for dinner tonight at Dongshi. Dongshi is a fishing town north of Yizhu, a small, remote town on the west coast of Taiwan between Yizhu and Yunlin.

Xiang Fa Seafood Restaurant

Looking down at the old harbor from the breakwater.

Fresh seafood on display.

menu of what's available posted on the wall

Oysters are the local specialties.

Wonderful fresh shrimps

Some kind of clams

Asparagus with shredded pork

steamed whole fish

Seafood soup

Deep fried fish balls

Baby oysters with mushrooms and vegetables

Deep Fried Seafood Rolls

It was a great dinner and surely glad to have met up with BIL.

"He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." 

                                                                                                                              I John 5:12