Has anyone else been to that crazy restaurant in Neihu that looks from the street like a huge pile of scrap metal with a giant spider climbing on top of the pile, upon closer examination appears like a building from the jungle of Angkor, half overgrown with banyan trees, and is no less strange inside, with a lofty, cavernous interior, abstract stained glass windows a couple stories tall, giant twisty protuberances inset with millions of small tiles, rising from the floor and hanging from the ceiling, and after descending the winding metal staircase, entering the interior dining chamber, where coi swim in the pond that flows between the tables, and stone lions and buddhas stand guard? If you haven’t been there, it’s quite a trip.
I ate previously at their sister restaurant in Taichung, which is very similar, but today was my first experience at the Neihu branch. I like it. The atmosphere is literally incomparable. Never have I eaten in a restaurant that looked anything like it, and I found it to be a great environment – fascinating to look at, a unique experience, and a very warm, friendly and sociable setting.
I liked the food too. For want of a better description, it’s Taiwanese food. We had a big group today, so we ordered lots of dishes: barbecued pork ribs; fried beef w onions and peppers; shrimp, pineapple, bamboo; mushrooms & something unidentifiable; a couple of typical Taiwan green veggie dishes; and some other dishes that were unidentifiable but tasted good. The rice was good too, as were the tea and the pounded rice desert with herbal tea drink.
Service was great too. Dishes arrived within minutes and attendants appeared regularly to refill tea cups. I don’t remember the price, but I believe it’s quite reasonable. Truly strange place, but a success in my experience.
That whole area was built in the past ten years as far as I know, but it looks like the restaurant has been there for at least a year.
I can’t give you an address or even a street name, but I can tell you it’s just a few blocks from the giant ferris wheel, on the closest main road that runs parallel to the river. If you’ve ever driven by you must’ve noticed and thought, “jesus christ, what the hell is that big pile of rusty scrap metal doing on the side of that building?” I don’t know the name either, as apparently it’s only in Chinese. Hopefully someone who knows what I’m talking about will pitch in.
[quote=“fred smith”]I am going out to Neihu right now. I will stop and pick up a card.
Fred
IF they are open of course… but at least I can write the address down.[/quote]
I have their card, but there’s not a word of English on it. If you do go inside, Fred, be sure to walk around and check it out; it’s really unlike any other place.
Don’t have a camera with me here, but someone just told me the name of hte place translates to “Five Angles of the Dock”. Even the Chinese version of the name is weird as she was shaking her head laughing as she translated it for me.
I’ve been there. I can’t really remember anything special about the food, but the place was CRAZY. It was like eating in a work of art… Actually, I think that’s exactly what it was.
It’s really close to the mall with the Ferris Wheel (Miramar?)
I didn’t know what you were talking about, MT, and then it dawned on me! That place is a restaurant? Unbelievable! I think ratlung and I saw it a month or so ago and we were like what the hell is that place.
Don’t have a camera with me here, but someone just told me the name of hte place translates to “Five Angles of the Dock”. Even the Chinese version of the name is weird as she was shaking her head laughing as she translated it for me.[/quote]
Don’t have a camera with me here, but someone just told me the name of hte place translates to “Five Angles of the Dock”. Even the Chinese version of the name is weird as she was shaking her head laughing as she translated it for me.[/quote]
I menat when you got home. I can wait.[/quote]
Ok, here you go. I believe this is the name of the place.
That’s “5 cents (pennies) on (boat board)s”. Boat board= wood salvaged from a boat deck (also using railway ties and drift wood) made into a restaurant by a woman.
The first one was in Cha Yi, but its gone now. There are a few more around.
The woman even has a book out now. She named it after the inspiration for the restaurants. She was walking on the beach and saw the first board from a boat. It had a 5 cent piece on it. Boom! Now she is a famous restaurantor (sp).
Nei Hu Rd. Sec. 1 Lane 32 #8. It is called Wu Jiao Chuan Ban and serves Taiwanese food. The main store is in Taichung. The two shapes that rise up are actually two women in dresses. I could not get a phone number because when I stopped by they were not open.
Anyway, does look like some place worth checking out and for those who are interested in this kind of stuff the Dinosaur Beer House on Ba De Rd. between Jian Guo and Fu Xing is worth another look. Also Taiwanese food.
You mean 伍角船板? (Wu Jiao Chuan Ban: official English name is mistranslated as “Five Cent Driftwood House”, but literally “Fifty Cent Boat Deck”, referring to a piece of driftwood with a Taiwanese half-dollar coin embedded in it which inspired the artist to start her restaurant chain.) It’s close to the Meilihua shopping mall (the one with the ferris wheel).
I’ve been there. I translated an article about the life of the owner/artist/architect, and I went to the site to make sure that the descriptions in the article were accurate. What a funky-looking place. Actually, I’m more impressed by the interior than the exterior.
Never tried the food. I would like to try it sometime.
Hsieh Li-hsiang is the artist/restaurateur. This is the 6th restaurant in her chain. The first two no longer exist. There are currently branches in Hsinying, Tainan, Taichung and Taipei, each one more bizarre than the last.
Don’t have a camera with me here, but someone just told me the name of hte place translates to “Five Angles of the Dock”. Even the Chinese version of the name is weird as she was shaking her head laughing as she translated it for me.[/quote]
If the second character didn’t have a “ren-zi-pang”, it would mean “pentagonal boat deck”. But the “wu jiao” refers to a half-dollar coin.
I can wait.