[Wulai, Taiwan] - 山地美食屋

One of my favorite places to relax in Taiwan is Wulai. At some point in my life, I realized that it's harder to slow down and just breathe. Wulai allows me to do that with the marvelous natural hot springs, fantastic local produce, and small town living. A lot of foreigners like taking a cab to get to Wulai (actually, most foreigners like going to Beitou for hot springs and is probably more tourist friendly), but I think taking the bus and holding on for dear life is part of the fun. And, you appreciate it more when you make it there after not plummeting off a cliff amrite?

In Wulai itself, you don't need a car. There's the bus stop, and the main town. It's a small town. Some places you have to search for the bus stop on the way back, but it's the same general spot so it's easy to find. It also comes and goes regularly so if you miss one, just wait for the next. 

The majority of food vendors and restaurants are along the main street. It is impossible to miss. Just follow the smell of almonds and roasted meat. Pick up some samples of millet wine, or an entire bottle and make your way to the hot springs, or just meander around town and check out the shops. Or, if you feel like a short and easy hike, wander up the hill to see the waterfall. There's a small train you can take and avoid the dog pewp, or just enjoy dodging the piles. At the top, there are a few more shops to browse or buy from (scroll to the bottom to see a few pictures from the top of the hill).

The restaurant I eat at the most when I visit though, is 山地美食屋 - or roughly translated, house of mountain food. It basically means that they specialize in local aboriginal food. In Wulai, the local tribe is Atayal. The artwork, statues, and a lot of the food is Atayal and Taiwanese. If you've watched the episode of Andrew Zimmern in Wulai, he eats at Atayal PoPo (泰雅婆婆), or translated, Atayal grandma. I've tried both, but I prefer 山地美食屋. Feel free to try and see which you like best though! If you are feeling very brave, you can try one of the specialties that Zimmern tried - damamein (的麼面, or basically pickled pork). 

Some other specialties to check off your list would be the fiddler fern (the leaf curls up at the tip), mountain boar, bamboo rice, Reeves's muntjac (山羌 - it looks like a little deer), mountain yam, and a lot of the other vegetables displayed prominently in front of most restaurants.

Rice cooked in bamboo. The one on the left has mushrooms and some pork , while the one on the right is plain.

Millet wine - another local specialty

Super tender bamboo shoots

Betel nut leaves (v)

Fried river shrimp

Day lily and mushroom soup (v)

Dragon whiskers

Stir fried mountain boar

Stir fried bittermelon with tofu - similar to Okinawa's goya champuru

Local caught river shrimp and fish

Fresh mountain grown vegetables like  mountain bittermelon, fiddler fern, dragon whiskers, and betel nut leaves

Fresh mountain grown vegetables like yam leaves, mushrooms, and "empty heart vegetable"

Better view of the bittermelon and fiddler fern

Wulai Waterfall

 The little train I mentioned that you can use to go up or down the hill if you don't feel like walking.

Address:
No. 20, Wulai Street
New Taipei City, Taiwan 233
Wulai District