While planning our trip to Taiwan, I came across a Michelin listing for a place called Mountain & Sea House, which had one Michelin Star. But what really got my attention was the restaurant served Taiwanese dishes that harkened back to the 1930's. In addition, the restaurant sourced their ingredients from their own farm, their swine from a ranch that raises indigenous breeds and so forth. Honestly, I could've spent the entire trip eating Lu Rou Fan (and of course pork chops), but that wouldn't be any fan fun, would it? A big plus is that Mountain & Sea House did online reservations, which I took advantage of.
The walk from our hotel was about 25 minutes where we ended up on Ren'ai Road and a lovely looking structure. The really knowledgeable staff told the Missus that the building is in the style of the Japanese Meiji Taisho period, which coincides with the time period of Japanese rule in the country and what is considered the heyday of Taiwanese banquet cuisine by many.
The interior is austere yet classy.
Of course, it was only the Missus and I, so ordering huge banquet dishes was not a possibility, but there is a huge "family menu" for 8 people that needs to be ordered in advance; a bunch of set menus, whole suckling pig, chicken cooked in pork stomach, and a bevy of seafood offerings as well.
We just ordered a couple of interesting items off the a la carte menu.
What was interesting is the the restaurant had it's own beer, barrel aged in wine barrels.
This had some nice tart-fruitiness to it; but wasn't as strong as say, a Belgian (of which I've had a few).
The Missus started with a Rose from Weightstone and winery in Taichung.
Which She really enjoyed. She would have a glass of white from the same winery, which was exclusive to the restaurant later during the meal.
After our tea service….
Our food started arriving. First up, was the eye catching "White Flowered Mountain Gourd".
The zucchini and carrot laced parcel was filled with a concoction of dried scallops, black pork, and several different type of mushrooms. It was a bit milder in flavor than we had anticipated, but man, the velvety chicken stock, seasoned perfectly, studded with sweet-earthy mushrooms was fantastic.
Next up were the Oyster Fritters.
It was the two types of greens; bitter-vegetal-crunchy that made this dish. The oysters and pork were quite mild in flavor and the fritter batter not as crisp as we would like.
My favorite dish of the evening was the Three Cup Pig Tail Stew. What seems like a bajillion years ago, I had my first taste of Taiwanese food in a restaurant in the SGV. One of the dishes was Three Cup Chicken. It was love at first bite! It was strange for us to not come across that dish in restaurants we visited in Taiwan? Regardless, this was amazing.
At first glance, the pork looked really dark, but it wasn't overly salty, loved the whole cloves of sweet-pungent garlic, a hint of ginger wafted through the air. The earthy mushrooms added another "meaty" dimension to the meal. The pig tail was swiny, the skin soft, the pieces of cartilage perfect for gnawing. The fragrant basil added the necessary herbaceous-anise tones to the dish.
The "Maqaw" Roast Pork was fine if a bit underwhelming.
Love the tender – porkiness; but the pork seemed to have not been marinated long enough for our taste.
I had our wonderful, friendly Server order me a glass of local Whiskey, he told me it was Lychee Flavored. It was quite nice.
This was a fun meal. We enjoyed the service and watching the families, many multi-generational enjoying their meals here. While we could have easily stuck with smaller restaurants, night markets, and street food; I'm glad we made time for places like this!
Mountain and Sea House Restaurant
No. 94, Section 2, Ren'ai Rd.
Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan