Alishan Laiji Tribe HANA Kitchen
Address: 2nd floor, No. 2 Neighborhood Market, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan 605
Atmosphere/Facilities: Relaxed, comfortable, with restroom, suitable for children
Features: Folk-style restaurant surrounded by mountains, South African cuisine, barbecue
Price per person: 1,000 yuan
Laiji Tribe, an ancient settlement composed of Tsou people. The geographical location is 5 kilometers inside Fenqihu, Alishan! Close to Caoling and Meishan!
Transportation guide suggestion: Although it is one of the Alishan tribes in Chiayi, it is not recommended to go up the mountain directly from Chiayi! This section of the mountain road is winding and rugged, and traffic jams are common at Fenchihu! It takes about 90 minutes to drive from Chiayi Renyi Lake to the restaurant! Passengers heading south are advised to exit National Highway 3 at Zhushan Interchange and take County Road 149A towards Caoling and Meishan. The route is straighter with fewer bends and the journey takes about 60 minutes!
Consumer precautions⚠️
It is recommended to make an appointment by phone in advance (a must on holidays), and the temporary on-site waiting time will take about 60-90 minutes! Make a reservation at least two weeks in advance and check with the store about the reservation situation on the day to avoid a sudden increase in the number of people affecting the quality of the meal! The restaurant will reserve seats for you upon check-in. The location is remote, and it is difficult to control the road conditions and distance! The store usually has flexible reservation times, this time the reservation is for 12:30! We were 15 minutes late in finding the way and the signal reception was poor in the mountainous area! Unable to notify the delayed check-in immediately! When we arrived, we found that there was already a long queue for the seats! But customers with appointments are still allowed to pass through quickly! Please cherish and use this thoughtful service with caution! If you really can't arrive, be sure to call to cancel! Allow the store to seat guests as quickly as possible!
Dining experience:
1. Hana Kitchen adopts the mode of ordering, paying first and then delivering the food!
2. No cash payment system or card swiping! There is no carrier for electronic invoices.
3. The menu is on the wall next to the counter.
4. You can order food in batches as table space is limited. The wooden plates are large in size, so to avoid crowding the table, it is recommended to order food in batches according to your dining habits and portion sizes!
Since there were few people this time, we skipped the appetizers and desserts. The appetizer pumpkin soup is 150 yuan, and the main course grilled meat plate (small) is 400 yuan/pizza (Margherita) is 450 yuan. Drink (Laiji black tea) 240 yuan/pot.
The pumpkin soup (150 yuan/bowl) is made with real ingredients and is thick and has a solid flavor. In addition to fresh cream, it also comes with homemade bread.
Laiji black tea (240 yuan/pot) is different from the sweetness of traditional old-fashioned black tea! The black tea here has a low sugar content and tastes a bit bitter like cooked tea! The aroma and taste are not as gentle as Nantou’s specialties No. 18 (Red Jade) and No. 21 (Red Rhythm). Blended with a very light bergamot scent similar to English Earl Grey. Because it is especially suitable for eating with greasy foods such as barbecue and pizza! Neutralizes greasiness.
Grilled meat plate (small) 400 yuan/portion
Contains about two slices of sausage! About 250 grams of roast pork (I don't know if it's wild boar 🤗🤗), 2 portions of 1/4 steamed sweet potato, 2 slices of bread, side dishes (pickled onions, raw garlic slices, lettuce 🥬), seasoning (chili sauce, a little pepper and salt)
You can ask the store to pay more for the side dishes if you need them! Please cherish food, avoid wasting it and take in moderation.
The grilled sausages and pork are fatter, the ingredients are fresh and less fishy! The taste is just average and nothing amazing! It is not much different from the delicious roast pork and sausages that you often eat in tourist areas. The most surprising thing is the chili sauce that comes with the meal! The spiciness is average, the taste comes on quickly and lasts for a medium time. You will sweat quickly after eating it, so it is suitable for eating in mountainous areas to dispel cold and dampness. The unique aroma directly, simply and roughly adds points to meat products! Pair it with lettuce, garlic slices and onions to neutralize the greasiness! Combined into a new taste. In addition, the sesame oil, scallion and chili sauce on the bread counter is also good! The aroma of shallots is overwhelming! The spiciness is medium, and the characteristic is that it gets you addicted quickly! But the spiciness of this hot sauce comes and goes quickly! Perfect with starchy foods! Eat with rice or bread!
Chili sauce is sold in all stores at an average price of 300 yuan per can! Three choices: chili sauce (he just wrote chili sauce, which is used on the barbecue plate), scallions with sesame oil (available in the self-service area in the middle), and dried fish (I didn’t try this)! I personally recommend it if you like spicy food! The chili sauce is the most distinctive, with a different aroma from the usual chili oil and a different peppery smell from the Ma Gao chili sauce! Tastes good but can't really describe it! The store owner said that the ingredients were a secret recipe of the tribesmen and they didn’t even know it! Summary: mysterious good taste!
Thin pizza (Margherita) 450 yuan/portion
The price is similar to that of oven-baked pizza🍕! The size and portion are slightly larger. The amount of ketchup and cheese is generous. Ordinary and delicious, no special features!
The portion is small! We made a second addition! The store recommends whether you should try Indian curry rice! I thought Hana’s main dishes were South African bread and Tsou barbecue! Don’t even consider Indian curry! The South African platter has too much starch, and each dish comes with bread🥯! I really don’t want to eat so many carbs! Just order a small grilled meat plate and a pot of homemade lemonade for NT$240.
I don’t know if it’s because I added more food the second time, but the barbecue this time has a higher lean meat content! The greasiness was reduced, and I ordered more lettuce this time. It tasted completely different from the fatty barbecue dish I had the first time!
The lemonade is sweet with mint leaves, refreshing and sweet! It is suitable for drinking after meals. If you are not full, you can pair it with dessert.
Overall, I think the handmade bread and barbecue are the highlights of Hana Kitchen! Delicious but not amazing! On the contrary, the chili sauce performed more eye-catchingly.
Address: 2nd floor, Second Neighborhood Market, Alishan Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan 605
Atmosphere/Facilities: Relaxed, comfortable, with restroom, suitable for children
Features: Folk-style restaurant surrounded by mountains, South African cuisine, barbecue
Comfortable dining environment, integrating exotic and Tsou cuisine. Although the food overlaps with the traditional tribal tourist rest area on the first floor, it is also unique.
#Alishan #Laiji Tribe #South African Cuisine #Tsou Tribe Barbecue