大山無價

Went for a relaxing brunch with three friends at Dashanwujia (大山無價), a Japanese-style restaurant located near Xiadian (新店) in Taipei County, about 10 km south of Taipei City. The interesting thing was that there was no menu to refer to, and the chef simply prepared for us to eat whatever he wished. The meal - I think it was 10-course - was served over a period of around 3 hours and turned out to be excellent - very fresh, delicious, nutritious and healthy. And from where we were seated, we had a great view of the green moutains too. :)

This was followed by a short drive to Pinglin (坪林), about 20 km southeast as the crow flies from Taipei City, a rural area famous for its tea and through which the Beishi River (北勢溪) flows.

Evening was spent shopping around Ximending (西門町), with a short visit to the Redhouse Theatre (紅樓劇場), before we headed to Hangzhou South Road (杭州南路) for a eating joint famous for its soup dumplings (小籠包). I hazarded some fermented tofu (臭豆腐) while I was there, and stopped after a second scoop of the foul-smelling beancurd. :P

Overall, it was a great day. And happy Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone! :)