Right at the backyard of Taipei is Yangming Mountain 陽明山, Many Taipei dwellers would go up the mountain on the weekend for some mountain trekking, fresh cold air, and farm-to-table cooking.

Yangmingshan or Yangming Mountain is the only park in Taiwan that has volcanic geography and hot springs.

And because of its elevation, it is perfect for vegetation to flourish.

And instead of the usual restaurant on the main roads, my good friend and his family brought me to this secluded restaurant on a less popular side of the mountain, but no less impressive in terms of sights and weather.

Famous Chef Organic Restaurant offers the dishes that make Yangmingshan famous, including fiddleheads, betel nut flowers, and other wild vegetables that the aborigines collected from the forests.

Fiddleheads salad 涼拌過貓

Fiddleheads 過貓 are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. These were blanched in salted water and then covered with Kewpie mayo (the local version which is sweeter, not the Japanese ones) and crushed deep fried garlic and pork floss. Quite interesting, and I never could get properly good fiddleheads other than in Taiwan.

Sautéed betel nut flowers 炒半天花

Overall, there is really not much of an upside to betel nut as a commercial crop due to the impact to the environment. Nevertheless, one culinary curiosity does emerge from this harmful agriculture. This is the betel nut flower (檳榔花) aka 半天花 (“half-day flowers” because of the short duration of the bloom), which is sometimes found on the menus of Taiwanese eateries dealing in local specialties and the cuisine of Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

The fronds of the betel nut flower are delicately beautiful, and they keep their shape well when cooked. It tasted like enoki mushrooms but with a much stronger taste. Sautéed betel nut flower should be consumed only in small quantities, as it contains alkaloids such as arecoline, which can lead to sweating and difficulty in breathing. Nausea, vomiting and stomach pain are also associated with excessive consumption of betel nut flower.

Stewed Makino bamboo shoots 滷桂竹筍

Makino bamboo shoots (桂竹筍) have a relatively short season and are particularly associated with the months following the Tomb Sweeping Festival (usually around Apr/May). Makino bamboo shoots up with the plum rains, growing up to 20cm in a single day. In their fresh state they do not keep well and so they are usually processed immediately after harvest as a preserved product. Here, the shoots were braised in a sauce most likely because they were salted to be preserved.

Wheat vermicelli (Mee sua) in sesame oil 麻油麵線

This is a classic Taiwanese dish eaten during confinement after giving birth. Mee sua (麵線) or “string noodles” is a specialty of Taiwan and usually used in the street food oyster mee sua. During the cooking process, starch is released into the soup which acts as a thickening agent. To prevent it from thickening, they used sesame oil. You need cold-pressed black sesame oil to achieve the fragrance required for this simple dish.

Grilled chicken 脆皮烤雞

This is their signature, grilled chicken made with free-range chicken 放山雞 that roamed freely along the slops of Yangmingshan. As you can see from the photo, the skin was so crispy that it glistened deliciously. The result was a very juicy and tender chicken, and I had to say, with a very natural chicken taste.

Deep fried trumpet mushroom with salted egg yolk 金沙杏鮑菇

The salted egg yolk craze has reached Taiwan, and this time it was trumpet mushroom. It did work well with the fungi, as the texture was like meat after it was deep fried, and the salty egg yolk coating gave it taste and umami.

Not Stinky Tofu 不是臭豆腐

It’s tofu skin, but served with the condiments that are associated with the street food sensation, stinky tofu. The tofu skin was deep fried and the served on a bed of pickled cabbage.

I wasn’t sure if it was fermented like stinky tofu, but it tasted like it. Later I was told the secret ingredient was preserved tofu 豆腐乳.

Steamed corn-fed chicken 白斬玉米雞

While the grilled chicken was nice, the steamed chicken was outstanding! The yellow skin was so appetising, that I couldn’t help but ate more than I should. Even without a dipping sauce, the chicken was so flavourful. It makes my wonder why the Malaysian chicken we get were so small and skinny.

Tainan-style yam cake 台南芋頭糕

Yam cake was usually made with shredded yam with a starch to combine the yam, and added with deep fried shallots, dried shiitake mushroom, dried shrimps and bits of pork lard and belly. This Tainan-style yam cake was made with the additional flour.

Every mouthful was filled with the fragrance of the yam and other ingredients, and texture was fluffy like what a good yam should have. And you don’t feel guilty because there aren’t any additional starch.

Salted winter melon bamboo shoot chicken casserole 冬瓜竹筍雞

So far all the chicken dishes I had were delicious. So when the casserole of boiling hot chicken soup was served, I knew it would be good. The chicken flavour was enhanced with salted winter melon 腌冬瓜 and fresh seasonal bamboo shoots were added for sweetness.

Sweet potato soup 地瓜湯

And to round up a really wonderful meal, a Chinese dessert – complementary sweet potato soup, made with ginger, sugar and local sweet potato. The slightly ginger spicy sweet soup was perfect for the cold weather that day.

About Yangmingshan

Yangmingshan National Park is located in the north of Beitou. Yangmingshan was called Caoshan (Grass Mountain) during Japanese occupation of Taiwan, because it was covered with grass and seldom visited. After World War II, the KMT government renamed the mountain Yangmingshan and built a park here.

It is next to Shamao Mountain and Qixing Mountain with Datun Mountain on the right and Guanyin Mountain in front. The magnificent mountainous scenery and comfortable weather have made Yangmingshan National Park a perfect summer resort. Total area of the park is 11,338 hectares.

Famous Chef Organic Restaurant 名廚料理（竹子湖店）

Visited Sep 2023

#yangmingshan #taipei