The Marvelous Tea Houses of Maokong

Cuisine Greater Taipei Restaurants
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[color=red]Note, at the bottom of this thread you’ll find pics of the name cards of 6 of my favorite tea houses. [/color]

I’ve just come back from a most pleasant tea house up in the hills of Maokong. Maokong is the mountainous area behind the Mucha zoo for those of you who don’t know. It is famous for its tea house and pleasant hiking trails.

Tonight I went to Zi Zai Tian. It is a tea house in a remodelled traditional brick home. The original home dates back to 1830. There is a picture of it in the main room.

The main room of the tea house is very spacious and airy. They have used most of the original walls and kept a decidedly old feel to the place. The old annex to the main house now forms a small side room. There is also a small veranda just off the main room with a single table. It is the nicest spot in the house as it looks out onto the gardens. There was a couple sitting there when we arrived.

Mei guanxi. We sat in the main room. I think there are only about 10 tables so even if it was busy it wouldn’t feel crowded. The tables and chairs are antiques, there are old ceramic pots everywhere, old wood pieces and which only adds to the quaint old-time feel of the place. It’s like one of those pleasant Shida area tea houses but in a genuinely old house set in a lush garden. There are a few tiny blemishes, but they are so small you won’t care. Overall, the atmosphere is soothing, earthy, and old-fashioned.

Outside, just up a trail from the main house are a row of tables for tea drinking. The whole area is suurounded by trees and bamboo so you are completely isolated from the street, power lines and any of the other trivial things that spoil so much of Taipei. A great spot for a social afternoon of tea of conversation. At night it is romatically lit. A perfect spot for that discreet asignation.

The house serves simple tasty meals on nice ceramic plates. The vegetables were sweet potato leaves and just lightly steamed or boiled. For drinks you can either make your own tea from scratch (a many hour long affair) or order hot or cold herbal tea.

The house was just redone a year and a half ago. It is the ancestral home of the owners of the new tea house. We had a small chat with the laobaniang tonight and she seemed very pleasant. Didn’t talk to her husband but he smiled at us and seemed gentle and kind.

Even though the house is way up in the hills and it was a Tuesday night, there were still 5 couples there, all in the thirties like us. No one was talking loud. Everyone seemed to be there because they appreciated the atmosphere and style of the place.

Just a few steps away is a small tea farm growing on the hillside with a narorow path through it. There are nice views over Moakong and Taipei in parts. Quite surprisingly I found a pomelo tree there with apple sized pomelos growing on it.

There is a another trail, through the tea house’s orchard, that takes you to one of the main arteries in the Maokong trails. About 40 minutes away is a high but narrow waterfall with a small temple built into the rocks behind it.

Anyway, I’ve found my summer retreat. I’ll be heading up there often on hot July and August nights for some tea and fresh air.

See below for the tea house’s card and address.

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Pick up a business card? Got an addy? There are dozens of roads and tea houses up there. This one sounds nice.

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Got the name card. See below.

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Never been to Zi Zai Tian, but there is a nice tea house which would be a good alternative if you don’t know where else to choose except Zi Zai Tian. Yao Yue (forgive my spelling, inviting moon,

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The tea house BB mentions is number 5 below.

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Thanks for the directions and map, Mucha Man. We tried Zi Zai Tian (

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Glad you liked it. Yes, the menu is pretty limited, but that’s pretty standard for a tea house. I do like that they serve brown rice with barley, instead of the usual white mash.

Oh, good to see the directions were okay.

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By the way, it’s closed on Mondays.

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Okay, I’m been meaning to do this for a while. Here are some of my favorite teahouses in Maokong. Most of these places can be reached from the Muzha or Zoo MRT stations for NT150-200 on a taxi. Maybe NT250 from Qizhang Station. All except the one above can be reached by the #10 or #15 buses that leave from the Zoo MRT and Wanfang MRT. Just show the driver the card or tell him the name. They’ll let you off anywhere and pick you up anywhere.

  1. The one mentioned above, Zi Zai. Front of card:

And back:

  1. This one has a lovely red tiled veranda and good lookouts over a valley and parts of Taipei City. You can see 101 when it is clear. Very pleasant on fall and winter evenings or even in summer on a weekday when there are few people. For boiling water for makign tea you get a basin with real coals. Pretty cool. Food is good. The chicken soup pot is great on a cool evening.

The outside looks pretty ramshackle. But here’s the view, though the pic doesn’t show how wide your view is. On a clear day it’s really spectacular:

Just down the road a hundred yards is a very pleasant cafe perched on the side of the road called Cat Got Nothing to do All Day. The serve okay coffee here but they have an incredible open view down a valley and across Taipei. I drive up to Maokong often just to sit on their deck and have a coffee as I watch the sun set. They have a simple but tasteful setting and play light jazzy music. No card for this one. Use the one above to get to the area.

BTW, there is no building here. It’s just a coffee van on the side of the road and a small well-groomed patch of land with tables and chairs. On the other side of the road, the cafe extends up the stairs to another open area.

This is a pic of the view from Cat Got Nothing to Do:

  1. This one has a lovely indoor setting. It’s like a mini traditional garden with a carp pool. Seating areas are curtained booths. Some seats have glass floors so you can see the reflection of your date’s underwear. Just kidding. So you can see the carp swimming below.

The only problem is this place allows indoor smoking. If anyone wants to set up a poker night, this place has a small booth with a round table and wood panelled walls that would make for a perfect setting.

Never tried their food but they have a good menu. Rooftop seating is open. Great views over Taipei.

  1. This one could be the greatest, and comes very close at night when its imperfections are hidden. An unparalled view over Taipei city, and above average western style food, are the highlights. The view: you can see all the way to Yangmingshan and actually see the Danshui river feed into ocean. The valley view of Maokong is one of the nicest. No power lines in sight.

The food is lamb, steak, pig knuckle, salmon. The owner lived in South America for 20 years and was a chef there. He speaks decent English and has an english menu.

I have had the lamb, bbqed ribs (so tender), and pasta and it was excellent. No gooey sauce. The chef does not like the Taiwanese habit of dousing everything in heavy sauce.

The upstairs is pretty barebones but when it’s dark you don’t notice, but downstairs has some nice wooden booths on the patio. The tables are cheap but in clean white table clothes and it’s quite romantic as you look out over the million dollar view of Taipei city (no exaggeration) and listen to crickets and cicadas chirp. Go on a clear day or night.

The food is presented well but on cheap plates. Inside the house are several tatami rooms as good as the Wisteria. They have great views so this would be a good place to go for tea on a winter’s day. There is no smoking here. Horrah!

Oh, they also serve drinks, beer and cocktails, and decent coffee. Best latte in Maokong.

Here is the view. Tell me you don’t wish you were there right now:

Next door to this place is a tea house with almost as great a view but a nicer setting in the day. For just hanging out during the late afternoon and catching the sunset, this is a top spot. The setting is an open red brick patio. Clean and tasteful. They serve simple flower tea drinks if you don’t want to make tea. I think they also serve beer. Quite a wonderful spot if it’s not crowded. To get here go right 50 feet as you face the one above.

The food is really lousy here though and around dinner time, when they cook, the whole patio smells of cooking oil. Go in the afternoon, lat evening or a quiet weekday.

  1. OK, this one is well known (BB mentions it above) and has a very fresh setting in a lovely secluded valley at the end of Maokong. My pick for summer afternoons. What makes it great besides the green atmosphere is all the private pavilions. Great place for an intimate afternoon or a gathering of friends. Open 24 hours a day.

I also like this place because they have set up their own water treatment facility to keep the stream clean below them. It works. I have explored the stream (easy to do from the tea house) and it is indeed very clean. Too small to swim in though.

  1. Okay, this one is about as close as you can get to the city. From the zoo MRT it’s less than a 10 minute taxi drive, which means it should be around NT120 of so to get here.

The setting is a small cottage decorated with farming antiquities. The outside garden has small stone tables and stone chairs. I believe the tables have plugs right in them for making tea. What makes the setting so lovely is that Zhinan Stream flows strongly right beside you. I’ve been here even with taiwanese families nearby and felt at peace because the stream drowns out their noise. The stream also cools down the area during the summer.

The food here is pretty good. Nice chicken soups and noodle dishes. It’s like having a swell picnic here.

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Thanks for all the detailed information! Great thread! :bravo:
I would like to ask whether you recall any of the tea houses having very comfortable chairs (with backs), however. With my chronic back problems, I just can’t bear to sit on those hard little wooden benchs and stools anymore. Lumbar support is needed.

I’m thinking of doing a Sat. morning zoo trip, then a bus or scooter ride to Maokong for tea, and a hot spring dip. Are there hot springs near the tea houses?

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good god those name cards are big…is that a feature of maokong?

must be a pain to carry round tho’… :wink:

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[quote=“Dragonbones”]Thanks for all the detailed information! Great thread! :bravo:
I would like to ask whether you recall any of the tea houses having very comfortable chairs (with backs), however. With my chronic back problems, I just can’t bear to sit on those hard little wooden benchs and stools anymore. Lumbar support is needed.

I’m thinking of doing a Sat. morning zoo trip, then a bus or scooter ride to Maokong for tea, and a hot spring dip. Are there hot springs near the tea houses?[/quote]

Sadly, Mucha has no hot springs just a few clean streams up in the water to wash your face off with on a hot summer’s day. There is a place in Shenkeng, a 10 minute ride away that has a 20 metre waterfall you can shower under. Pretty fun. I can give you directions if you like.

As for chairs, 1 has metal chairs outside. 3 has wood floored private booths where you sit on the floor. They have lots of cushions so you can lean back against the wall. 4 has hard plastic seats like in an airport upstairs and cheap backed chairs downstairs.

Cat Got Nothing to Do Cafe has simple B&Q patio-style chairs. The place beside 4 has patio style chairs as well.

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I understand it is easy to get taxi up to these tea houses, but how is it to get taxi back down again? Any recommended taxi-company to call?

If you were going to bring 8-15 friends for lunch->sunset “party” with food and alcohol, which place would you recommend? Any activities in the area to keep kids 8-18 busy while the adults drink themself silly?

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[quote=“X3M”]I understand it is easy to get taxi up to these tea houses, but how is it to get taxi back down again? Any recommended taxi-company to call?

If you were going to bring 8-15 friends for lunch->sunset “party” with food and alcohol, which place would you recommend? Any activities in the area to keep kids 8-18 busy while the adults drink themself silly?[/quote]

Two things first off: you don’t plan to go watch the sunset. At least not in advance. You decide on a dry and clear day to go up. Otherwise it most likely will be cloudy, or misty. If you want to plan in advance I suggest one of the tea houses in the valley so that no matter what the weather you will have a fresh, green environment. If the weather is great that day go for a walk to one of the lookouts to see the sunset.

Also, this is not a place people go to drink themselves silly, unless you are talking about potent Oolong Tea. In fact, there are only a few places that serve alcohol at all.

As for taxis, you just ask the teahouse to call one when you are leaving. The taxi will usually charge NT50-70 extra for coming up to pick you up.

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You’ll hardly find taxis cruising for passengers up there (unless they just dropped someone off), but you can call Da Fong - 2918-3000. They have a station in Mucha and regularly shuttle people up and down from Maokung. They usually start charging from the bottom of the hill though, so it’s not necessarily a cheap ride. The only other hangup is that it can be difficult to get a taxi at peak times - might have to call back a few times.

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Thanks for the replies and the number information regarding taxi.
I understand the planning of a sunset is impossible, so that would just have been a bonus. We ar just trying to find a place where a group of families that have not met for a couple of years can hang out and update each other with the latest gossip. What starts as lunch normally will last into the evenings with some alcohol induced sillyness.

Maybe the Maokong teahouses are not such a brilliant idea for this kind of happening - we also need a place with activities for the “kids”.

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Hi all, I just added some photos of views and interiors for a few places.

BTW, dragonbones, number 4 has one booth on the lower floor with a couch. Your back would be fine there.

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Great info, but I notice the business card for no. 2 and no. 6 are the same (有緣). Is one of them a mistake?

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Good catch. I believe number 2 is wrong. The address for PLC is 33 Lane 38, Zhinan Road Sec. 3
Phone: 2939 9706
The name is Hong2mu4wu Xiuxian2 Cha2guan3.

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It’s been about 8 years ago now, but I was at a tea house in this area. I was FOB and a friend who lived in Muzha took me. It was out doors on the side of the mountain under a wooded portico of a deal that was grown over with vines. It was almost supernaturally beautiful when it started to rain! It poured for two hours or more (it was rainy season), but no one cared. It was like we had out own private waterfall to shelter under. The tea was superb, there were pumpkin seeds and beautiful friends, and there was the sound of the rain. Really, that memory is like a little taste of heaven. I’ve always wanted to go back.