We were visiting the town of Lou Dong in Yi Lan County and
we had the chance to eat at some very interesting restaurants. I will write two blogs on four different places we stopped to eat.
The first is Fusion cuisine.
It is a new Restaurant, recently opened serving absolutely delicious
Italian Food.
My only regret is that I
did not have my camera with me during our meal, but I did go back the next
morning to take some photos as a remembrance of our great dinner. When I get the chance to return, I will take
some photos of our food and add them to this blog.
The owner and head chef, Aqua and his wife, started in the
food business about seven (7) years ago in a rented space and this location is
first owned property.
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| Chef Aqua and his wife |
He traveled to
Europe to master his culinary skills before coming back to Taiwan to open his
business. You can tell by the interior
design that there was a lot of TLC (Tender Loving Care) that went into his
restaurant.
It is a modest entrance, leading to the open style kitchen
surrounded by a red brick and black marble top counter.
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| Chef Aqua busy at work preparing for tonight's dinner |
The dining room is on the second floor and
the steps leading up are a rainbow of bright colored ceramic tiles with a black
wrought iron railing. The second floor
is full of surprises with a gorgeous Italian mural painted on one wall.
The far end along the street side has an open
area design with a 100+ year old rustic Italian feeling. Hanging from a tall ceiling is a beautiful
crystal chandelier.
The interior design
gives the customers an Italian experience but this is just setting the stage
for a delicious meal.
The menu offered to us is a simple menu with eighteen (18)
main courses. Along with the main course
selection, he offers an “A” and “B” set.
The “A” set includes an Appetizer, Soup of the Day, Ink Bread, Beverage,
Desert and Fruit. The “B” set includes
only Soup of the Day and Ink Bread. The
menu changes from time to time, and regardless of the menu, you will certainly be
delighted with a fine meal.
As a side note, I have traveled the world, and spent many,
many weeks over an eight (8) year period traveling to Italy. I have visited Milan, Venice, Pisa, Florence,
Rome, Avezzano, Verona, Trento, Como,
Novara, Parma, and many other small towns and areas in the Northern half of
Italy. I have eaten in fabulous Italian
seafood restaurants, but never, never, have I ever tasted (Squid) Ink
Bread! I have tried black squid ink
dishes but these were too salty and “fishy” tasting for my tastes.
We ordered four different main courses all with the “A”
set. We ordered:
Paella
Today’s Fresh Fish (I ordered this one)
Linguine with Clam and White Wine
Roasted Lamb Shoulder with Rosemary
To start, they brought out this black bread with a robust
pesto and olive oil spread. I was somewhat
reluctant to try the bread, but the first bite with the pesto spread was
utterly delightful. We had to order more
bread it was sooooooo good. Next they
served the soup, and today’s special soup was pumpkin soup. On rare occasions I have seen pumpkin soup on
American menu’s, but this pumpkin soup was creamy, rich, and simply the best I
have ever had. The salad served was a
nice combination of vegetables and fruit with a very special house dressing.
Each of the courses took time to prepare, but the size of
the courses was very satisfying. The
presentation for each course and meal was beyond my expectations, and
comparable to a fine restaurant you might find in a large American city.
My fresh local fish was cooked to perfection, and the vegetables
and dressings added an explosion of flavor.
I also tried a little of each of the other main courses, and we all
agreed we found a great restaurant in this small town. The desert fruit tart, and fresh fruit was s
splendid way to finish the meal and to refresh our palettes.
This was a very special meal, fit for a kings and
queens! Now I know why they named the
restaurant “FUSION CUISINE”! Bravo chef!
Fusion Cuisine
Tel: 03-9613465
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After leaving the restaurant, heading for our car, we
noticed about 2 blocks away a small corner store with bright lights and several
people inside and seated at several outdoor tables. We decided to stop and to
our delight, the MY FARM store served homemade gelato style ice cream using their own farm
grown fruits.
They encouraged us to step up to the counter and sample
taste ALL ten (10) flavors of their gelato’s and we could not refuse. Yummy!
After the sampling we each purchased a small cup of our favorite(s), and
sat down to enjoy this refreshing treat.
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| Some of the flavors they offer including passion Fruit, Strawberry, mango and many more |
I love ice cream, and it is one of my life long
weaknesses. It is difficult for me to
refuse good ice cream, and believe me, I have tasted great ice cream all over
the USA and around the world too. Most
of my favorite ice cream’s, frozen yogurt’s, gelato’s, and sherbet’s use fresh
fruit and not syrup based frozen fruit.
When I tried this gelato style ice cream at My Farm, each flavor I tried had an
explosion of fresh fruit flavor.
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Let me digress to the past just a little. We will talk more about My Farm below. As a young boy growing up, my parents also
loved ice cream. We did not have a lot
of money when I was quite young, so ice cream could only be afforded for
special occasions such as birthdays, holidays, etc. It was great that we had seven of us in my
family, so we could get ice cream at least 7 times a year or more.
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| Not Me and not one of my brothers, but it could have been! - Courtesy of ford-life.com |
Growing up in Akron, Ohio, my favorite ice cream was at a
small drive-in restaurant near the old local airport called Stricklands. My Dad would take us for Ice Cream there on special occasions. Even as I grew older, I seldom ate their food, because their ice
cream was homemade and the best I had throughout my younger years. this was a favorite place to take a date on Friday night and Saturday! My favorite flavors at Stricklands was their maple walnut
and lemon chiffon ice cream, but they had so many special flavors throughout the year and
it was always a treat to see what new flavors they had each week. You could even order two, three or even four different flavors on one cone !!!! Just like below.
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| This looks similar to a four scoop cone from Stricklands - Courtesy of the internet |
In college, there was a new and hip ice cream restaurant called Barn Hills Ice Cream that
served decadent ice cream sundaes and deserts. The decor and uniforms of the staff reminded you of an ice cream emporium form the 1800's. They had a huge menu of deserts and would even make a
custom sundae for you with a huge selection of toppings. I do remember they had a Monster desert
sundae made up of 5 gallons of Ice Cream in a huge bowl. This was a perfect desert for large groups of
10-12 or more people. Over the years, I
have bought my own ice cream makers and have made hundreds of varieties from
many different recipes.
In California at the annual Gilroy Garlic Festival, I even
tried Garlic Ice Cream.
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| Gilroy's Garlic Festival Ice Cream - Courtesy of Wikipedia |
For more info on this great place to visit every summer
visit their web site or contact below:
Gilroy Garlic Festival Association, Inc.
Mailing Address: PO
Box 2311, Gilroy CA 95021
Street Address: 7473 Monterey Street, Gilroy CA 95020
Website: http://gilroygarlicfestival.com
Tel.: 408-842-1625
Fax: 408-842-7337
Of course, here in Taiwan, the Green Tea, Red
Bean, Passion Fruit, and even Taro Ice creams are delightful but not overly
sweet. Premium USA Brands such as Ben
& Jerry’s have some of the most interesting varieties and combinations of ice
cream that you must try when in the USA. Check the link below to see the flavors on their web site !!!!!!!!
In Switzerland, the fresh Mövenpick brand of ice cream has become a
global favorite, and their ice cream is one of the best in the world. Here in Taiwan in addition to their local ice
cream brands, In larger super markets, you can actually buy Mövenpick ice cream
alongside of Häagen-Dazs and other international brands including ice cream
from Russia and Japan.
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Ok, now back to My Farm. They also sell fresh dehydrated fruits and vegetables, organic rice, even ginger tea, all
great for cooking or eating.
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| We bought these to take home with us |
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| Shelves filled with dried fruits, vegetables and more |
The young owners
went on to tell us that all of their produce is home grown in the Yi-Lan area
and all are organic healthy to eat. On
occasion they also sell some fresh vegetables and fruits in their store like the fresh ginger roots below.
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| Fresh Ginger Roots and Ginger Powder Tea |
I suggest, when you are in LuoDong, there are some great places to
eat and these are just a two. I will do
one more blog on two additional restaurants in the area, so enjoy!
Edward C.
