After returning from Alishan we had some snacks at the 7-11. I was quite shocked to see draft beer "pulls" in the store….you can get draft beer at a 7-11!
We returned to the hotel, took a short nap, then headed out for an early dinner. The Missus was really in Her element in Taiwan. She would chat up folks and get recommendations. We were so taken by the Turkey Rice that we wanted to have that again. The young lady at the Tea Shop right at the corner recommended a Turkey Rice shop named "A Lou Shi". She told us it opens at 4pm, so we headed on out and wouldn't you know, we found the place!
And there was quite a line! Since this is Taiwan, the line was a good thing! It moves so quickly.
Check out who was waiting for some Turkey Rice right in front of us!
One quick look at the counter and you knew what they specialized in.
The place was in continuous movement of folks ordering, eating, then vacating…..
We really enjoyed the stir fried veggies in Taiwan, so of course we ordered all of it!
All the greens were prepped the same way, blanched, then sauced, then minced garlic were added.
The ong choi was crunchy, there was a light sauce which heightened the flavor. The garlic added a nice pungency.
The lettuce had what tasted like oyster sauce on it, along with the garlic.
The yam leaves had a texture like spinach, without the "gooeyess", but also had a nice mild sweetness along with the chlorophyllic flavor.
All were quickly blanched so the flavors weren't leached and there was some crispness to things.
And of course, we loved the bamboo shoots.
Crunchy, with a earthy-nuttiness and a hint of sweetness.
This place served Turkey Rice two ways. Sliced and a version more braised.
The rice was perfect, but the sauce was greasier and milder in poultry flavor than what we'd had earlier and the turkey meat was more chewy/tough as well.
Overall, we preferred A Hong Shi.
A Lou Shi (阿樓師火雞肉飯)
No. 102 Wufeng North Rd.
East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan
Still, check out the line as we left!
We had to walk thru Wenhua Road Night Market on the way back to the hotel.
And the Missus decided to stop at this charming looking stand for some Douhua – beancurd pudding.
Which She enjoyed.
And of course there was a "show" going on at the Central Plaza that evening as well…….
There's always something happening here I guess!
In an earlier post, I mentioned having problems getting train tickets because of the Qingming Festival (i.e. Tomb Sweeping week). Well, in order to get back to Taipei, I ended up hiring a driver, which in terms of US prices is quite inexpensive. In fact, after doing this car hire, I went ahead and did the same for other "excursions" during our trip. One good thing about having your own driver is that you have greater control of your schedule. So, I timed things so we'd be getting to our hotel in Taipei right at check-in time. This meant that we wouldn't leave Chiayi until after 12.
So, after grabbing a snack at the Hotel, we checked out and stored our bags and decided to take a walk around Chiayi.
There was a kind of rusticness to Chiayi, making it quite different from Taipei and Taichung. Businesses dotted the landscape all along Wenhua and Wufeng Road.
On Wufeng Road we came along this shop and decided to get our caffeine fix.
It turned out to be quite the hipster coffee shop.
The young lady working was so nice and sweet, while also being a bada$$ barista!
She made the Missus's pour over and I got my cold brew.
And she gave us some "treats" to have with our coffee.
River Bird Coffee Roaster (江鳥咖啡- 嘉義吳鳳北路店)
No. 132 Wufeng North Rd.
East District, Chiayi City, Taiwan
After our nice caffeine stop, we decided to stroll on back to the hotel. We stopped to do some shopping (and sampling) along the way.
Right at the center of the city is a fountain that dates back to the Qing Dynasty when Chiayi was the center of the sugar industry. The fountain stands where the city wall stood during the Qing Dyansty. But there's something else that catches your eye.
Yes, it's a baseball player; specifically a pitcher. This is known as the "Kano" statue. The statue is of the late Wu Ming-Chieh, star player of the Kano Baseball Team, the team from Chiayi was chosen to represent "Formosa" in the Japanese High School Baseball Championship in 1931 and against all odds made it to the final, losing in the championship game. Wu Ming-Chieh was the pitcher on that team. It is said that the success of the Kano Team encouraged Taiwanese to play the sport and now baseball is considered to be the national sport of Taiwan. An award winning movie was made about the team in 2014. And this is a wonderful article if you'd like to have more info! Everyone loves an underdog story!
We walked back to the hotel and in a few minutes our driver arrived and we were headed back to Taipei.
Thanks for stopping by!
And even though it seemed pretty busy along the whole 500 meter route, there was a laid back vibe to things. And so, we actually enjoyed this night market more than the 
The woman working was quite a good salesperson. She saw the Missus and I walk up and immediately started conversing with the Missus. And apparently this tactic worked as we got a Hujiao Bing – a pepper bun. 
As you walk within the park, you'll come across amazing trees. An example would be the "three generation tree". Where one tree grew upon another, each serving as a base for the next generation, a symbol for all who some here.
There were very nice wooden paths and bridges making Alishan a very easy visit. Perhaps too easy for the Missus as She was getting kinda bored with the whole place. Whereas I enjoyed the view and the trees. Oh the stories they could tell!
It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, loved the beefiness. I was told this is grass fed beef, so I expected it to be more toothsome. The cauliflower was delicious; at least that's what the Missus said as She quickly poached them all from the plate. The jalapeno mashed potatoes were quite creamy and not really spicy at all.
Man, these were super stuffed, full of porky goodness, hint of sweet- savory tones, and wrapped with rice paper. It was slightly more chewy than I prefer, but man, the overall package was much better than anything here is San Diego. This also heated up well in the air fryer!
As you can see, the Missus was all about the tamago on this day. This bowl had a lot of "stuffs"; scallion, spinach, bean sprouts, cabbage. The best item in the entire bowl was the menma which had a wonderful texture and the earthy-soy sauce tones were on point. The two slices of "chashu", I use the quotation marks because the two thin slices were not pork belly, it was lean and tough. 
The coconut crust was a bit too sweet for us. There were also spots where the coconut was burnt, adding a rather unpleasant bitterness to the dish.
We'd enjoyed the vibe at the Ningxi Night Market, though I think the Missus had gotten Her share of fried food and really wouldn't order much for the rest of the trip!
This was a nice start to our stay on the Big Island. And the Missus was to even get Her "Suisan fix" over the following days as well.
