[Taichung Xinshe 台中新社] You Jian Yi Chui Yan ♦ 又见一炊烟 @ Lynda's Taiwan-logue

< Visited in Nov 2018 & Nov 2014 >

The chinese character 炊 (chui1) refers to using fire to cook, or steaming. Used in sentences, the word actually conveys a rather poetic nuance, such as in the name of this Zen-themed, fine dining restaurant up in the back mountains of Taichung - 又见一炊烟 (there is no formal English name though its FB uses 'Fooding Smoke').

An approximate 40-minute drive from Taichung City into the mountains, you can actually drive on for 40 minutes to another of my favourite haunt - Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林, enroute passing the vibrant mushroom street of Xinshe.

If you are into "secret hideout" diners with authentic and creative menus, the likes of Leputing 乐埔町 and Marshal Zen Garden 少帅禅院, you will find 又见一炊烟 an interesting destination, though I must say that online reviews are mixed. Personally, I enjoyed both the cuisine and the ambience, sufficiently to have gone twice and to blog about it. Will leave the judgement to individuals.

Related reads:
[Taipei 台北] Leputing 乐埔町 ✭PLUS Mommy Liu's Rice Ball 刘妈妈饭团✭
[Taipei 台北] Marshal Zen Garden 少帅禅园

The restaurant proper is well hidden from sight at the main entrance. You can see from these photos that there are several flights of stone steps to mount, would be something to consider if you have kids and elderly in tow.

▼ Patrons are required to leave shoes outside the restaurant.

▼ Wet foot towels - a thoughtful gesture and for public hygiene, especially for patrons who are not wearing socks.

▼ Indoor seating is over two floors, on tatami flooring and low chairs.

▼ The picturesque courtyard is accessible via a dimly lit narrow walkway near the restaurant entrance.

▼ The few outdoor seats by the pond outside are good for enjoying after-meal beverage and dessert or afternoon tea, the latter something I could try on my next visit.

▼ View of and from the second floor balcony

Now for the cuisine... The menu makes seasonal changes of both locally sourced and imported ingredients, and offers a couple of mains, while most of the courses should be consistent. When you make your reservation, and when you are seated, the service personnel double checks if you have any allergy or preference. (*Prices may have changed since my visits.)

☷ Lunch for three in Nov 2018
NTD1408/pax (after tax). The three of us had opted for chicken as our main. The after-meal beverage was a choice between mulberry juice and some delicately brewed tea.
(Unfortunately, I had a bout of mild food poisoning the night before this, and was not in top form for the lunch.)

▼ #1 Salad

▼ #2 Gourmet cured ham on sliced persimmon

▼ #3 Seasonal bamboo shoot (one of my faves) with miso paste

▼ #4

▼ #5

▼ #6 Sliced cod fish in light broth

▼ #7 Grilled (free range) chicken skewer

▼ #8 Lightly grilled puff pastry & after-meal beverage

▼ Would have loved the fine tea if not for feeling that a fruity mulberry juice would quell my being queasy (it did).

☷ Lunch for two in Nov 2014
NTD1320/pax (after tax). I had pork for my main, and my friend, beef.

▼ #1 An appetizer of sliced papaya, cucumber, seaweed and "sea grapes" - or Umibudo 海葡萄, a speciality seaweed of Okinawa (though it also appears in some parts of the Philippines and Malaysia). I had it in Okinawa and absolutely love it.

▼ #2 Kamameshi 斧饭, literally translated as "kettle rice", a traditional Japanese rice dish. This was served to the table and placed aside to allow slow steaming while we enjoyed other courses.

▼ #3 Grilled scallop on pineapple

▼ Fruit vinegar to cleanse our palatte

▼ #4 Cold dish platter...

... starting with slightly seared scallop ...

... mashed potato ...

and sliced abalone.

▼ #5 Sea cucumber thick soup (very flavourful)

▼ By now, our rice was ready to eat.

▼ #6 Mains

▼ #7

▼ #8 Light chicken soup

▼ #9 Cheesecake and mulberry juice, which we enjoyed in the courtyard. By now, we were rather full, so thankfully the cheesecake was mild and bite-sized.

Till I see the "smoke from cooking" again...

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又见一炊烟
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Address --- No. 107 Section 1, Zhong Xing Ling Street, Xinshe District, Taichung City 台中市, 新社区, 中兴嶺街107号

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