Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant

Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant
No. 71
Fengming 1st Road
Fenglin Township
Hualien 975
Taiwan

http://moonhouse.cm-media.com.tw/


Excellent, Unique Dishes In The Mountains

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 9
Ambience & Setting: 10
Food & Beverage: 10
Service: 8
Value for Money: 10
Spent about SGD $14 / TWD $310 per person.

Located in the mountains of Fenglin Township in Hualien, Taiwan, Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant is a well known Chinese restaurant offering tasty, unique dishes made with local produce of the area. With fantastic views of the valley below, wallet friendly and affordable prices, solid service from staff, and incredibly delicious food, I had one of the most memorable meals of my life at Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant.

Ambience at Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant is incredibly beautiful. The exterior offers panaromic views from the mountain into the valley below, and on clear days, you can see as far as the city! The interior is designed like a traditional tea house, with wooden panelling against stone, the dark colours lit by bright spotlights and natural lighting, and a wooden mesh overhead that lowers the ceiling and turns the feeling of space into cozy, homely comfort. The floor is covered in mats resembling tatami, and diners sit around large wooden communal tables on low chairs.

Service at Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant is good. Staff are friendly and welcoming, although they only converse in Chinese Mandarin. But they are knowledgable on the menu, able to provide descriptions when asked about each dish. Orders are taken and fulfilled quickly, and empty / dirty tables are also cleared efficiently. Topping up of tea however, is largely self-service, as is payment which is done over the counter.

Food at Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant is the highlight here. I find the food to be very tasty, simply prepared such that the main ingredient shines on the plate, and are packed full of flavour. Dishes are meant for sharing, with normal portions enough for 3 - 4 people, but prices are low as compared to other restaurants, and is very affordable. Budget about SGD $14 / TWD $310 per person for a meal. Overall, a very memorable meal, and it's worth making the trip here if you're in Hualien, Taiwan!

Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant Address & Contact

Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant Entrance

Yue Lu Moon House Restaurant Seating

Table Layout

View From The Mountain

Receipt January 2015

Love how unique the Bittergourd In Sour Plum Sauce (TWD $140) was, the bittergourd wasn't bitter at all! Instead, the crunchy bittergourd has absorbed the sweet, sour, and tangy sauce it was marinated in, all but eliminating the normal bitter taste, with only a slight hint of bitterness still remaining towards the end. The freshness is excellent as well, and very satisfiying!

Bittergourd In Sour Plum Sauce (TWD $140)

Bittergourd In Sour Plum Sauce

The Charcoal Roast Chicken With Stuffed Herbs (TWD $650) is the signature dish here. A whole chicken is stuffed with various Chinese herbs and aromatics, then charcoal roasted till the skin browns. Its meat drippings and fat which melts off are retained, and made into a gravy. When served, diners are provided with cotton gloves, over which is worn plastic gloves, and are supposed to peel all the meat off the chicken.

The tender, soft chicken meat comes easily and cleanly off the bone, almost like a pulled chicken! Once all the meat has been pulled off, the drippings and gravy are poured over the entire dish before it's consumed. Super flavourful, the meat has notes of savoury, salty, smoky, sweet, juicy and is so tender. Incredible, highly highly recommended!

Charcoal Roast Chicken With Stuffed Herbs (TWD $650)

Charcoal Roast Chicken With Stuffed Herbs

Charcoal Roast Chicken With Stuffed Herbs

Drippings Gravy

Tearing Apart The Chicken

Going beyond normal rice, a normal service of rice here is actually a bowl of healthy Mixed Rice White & Red (TWD $15). The rice is well cooked, the grains are not clumpy or starchy, with a nice freshness that I like. However, the Tea here is rather light, not too strong.

Mixed Rice White & Red (TWD $15)

Tea

Despite the name, the Tofu In Salted Egg Sauce (TWD $250) is very different from the similarly named dish of Chinese cuisine. The sauce is more like a gravy, instead of a sticky paste, and is flavoured with both salted egg and regular egg, along with garnishings of scallions / spring onions and red chili. The tofu is so soft and tasty, with a braised / steamed texture, and picks up the savoury, sweet, salty, slightly spicy sauce well. Very good!

Tofu In Salted Egg Sauce (TWD $250)

Tofu In Salted Egg Sauce

The Mountain Vegetable With Mountain Nuts (TWD $120) is unique and unusual. A simple stir fry, the ingredients uses a vegetable grown on the mountain, along with mountain grown nuts, ginger, and water, a fine example of local produce. Flavourful and good, but I'm not used to the taste or texture.

Mountain Vegetable With Mountain Nuts (TWD $120)

Mountain Vegetable With Mountain Nuts