**** This is a pretty long post so I'm not going to spend too much time on food (and whiskey), so if you'd like to return tomorrow I wouldn't hold it against you. But, if you'd like to see more of Taiwan, read on….
Time was flying. It seemed like we had just arrived yesterday and here we were leaving in two days! Wanting to make the most of our remaining time in Taiwan, I went ahead and booked two private tours/drivers. On this day, I wanted to visit one of my favorite whiskey makers while exploring a part of the island we hadn't been to yet.
Our driver was right on time and while she spoke no English, the Missus's Mandarin came in handy. Our driver had an end destination and we left it up to her to make stops along the way.
The first stop was in Yilan. A rather newish "Ecopark", the Dongshan River Forest Park. Opened in 2016, it was a wonderful green space, with art installations along the way. And the railroad still passes thru the park as well.
We enjoyed wandering around and just taking in the art and the beautiful sunny day.
We had some coffee and then headed off to our next stop. Apparently, our driver just got a sort of "vibe" from the Missus for our next stop.
We stopped in Wujie Township at the National Center for Traditional Arts. This 60 acre "town" is devoted to preserving and accenting the heritage of Taiwan, be it crafts, arts, music, and so on.
The various structures represent various architectural styles of Taiwan as well.
There are even temples onsite.
And performance areas as well.
And of course art abounds.
While one could take in the art…..
Or perhaps take a boat ride in the lake…..
There was some serious shopping to be done here.
There ere workshops with artisans in residence actually doing their "thing"!
And you were free to watch.
The one shop were I wish the Missus actually bought something was the one dealing in Black Jade.
Some of the item were just plain stunning.
In the end, after being tempted so many times……
We found something we both liked.
This was fun. We actually spent almost 3 hours here!
And when we left; it was time for lunch. Our driver headed into Yuanshan. We parked and then were led past pools of fishes and other creatures being raised.
This was the restaurant of Bajia Fish Farm. As a whole, a tourist type restaurant.
The interesting thing being that the main product of this "fish farm" is Ayu, also know as "sweetfish". I was quite interested to see how it would taste.
I had read about the fish smelling like watermelon, being sweet and fruity and so on. Basically, this tasted like a milder version of sanma to me.
I was glad to have tried it here, but it wasn't anything special to me. Perhaps being farm raised changed things a bit?
Bajia Fish Farm 八甲休閒魚場 (Yuanshan)
No. 1之10號, Bajia Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 26444
After lunch we headed down the road a bit, soon arriving at the Kavalan Distillery.
When planning our trip to Taiwan, I had really wanted to visit Kavalan. I first had Kavalan in, of all places Paris at Arnaud Nicolas. The Missus and I really enjoyed it, when having it again at Seven Grand and found that Old Town Liquor carried Kavalan, though I really didn't get the expensive stuff. Over time, I found that I really enjoyed the Solist Amontillado Sherry Cask, but heck, I ain't spending $500 a bottle for it. Anyway, our driver dropped us at the front of the distillery. And we headed in.
Because of the amount of time we'd spent at the National Center for Traditional Arts, it was getting later in the day, and we decided not to do a tour. Instead, we went to the "main" tasting room.
And the Missus and I shared the "World Championship Series" tasting.
And with a touch of water to "open things up", the Amontillado Sherry Cask, with the rich, slightly smoky-nutty-stone fruity flavor was again our favorite.
We really enjoyed this stop!
Kavalan Distillery
No. 326, Section 2, Yuanshan Rd
Yuanshan Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 264
Soon after, it was time to head back to Taipei. It had been a fun day, but now the question was; "what's for dinner?"
Stay Tuned!