May 2025 Shoal Menu
It is usually she who handles the reservations, and ordering must wait until she arrives; she gathers every "Delicious!" and warmly confesses it to the staff when the plates are cleared, reminds the children to say thank you at the counter when paying, and, before leaving, instructs them to say goodbye to Aunties of Shoal. She knows the eating habits of the whole family and is the head of the table.
May, as though highlighted with a fluorescent pen for Mother's Day, comes in the volatile plum‑rain season; this appetite‑awakening, comforting menu is our heartfelt offering.
To accommodate friends dining alone who still wish to eat a shared set meal, each dish is designed with one person's portion as the basic unit, and the à‑la‑carte price is for one person. Friends dining in groups may decide the number of portions needed according to the number of people and their appetites; dishes are always served family‑style.
The Shoal menu changes monthly according to the seasons, and we serve only ten guests every thirty minutes. Reservations can be made via private message to our Facebook page, and we will reply when free. If you dislike digital tools, please call between 14:30 and 16:30 to reserve by phone. For reservations not on the day of dining, please avoid calling during service hours; when we are in a rush, it is hard to handle matters thoroughly.
May business hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, serving lunch and dinner; weekend afternoon tea is temporarily unavailable; closed on Monday and Tuesday. When visiting Shoal 2.0, please reserve in advance, note our business hours, and be aware of unscheduled closures—please don't make a wasted trip.
| May 2025 Shoal Menu |
| This translation is provided by ChatGPT and cannot guarantee complete accuracy. Please refer to the original Chinese menu for detailed information. |
Shandong Roast Chicken
NT$185
A painstaking, labor‑intensive chicken preparation that serves as the prototype for many roast‑chicken methods: lusciously tender, with aromatic crisp skin that gourmets adore. The legs are first rubbed with fragrant Sichuan pepper‑salt. A blend of assorted spices, soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine forms a deep marinade that thoroughly penetrates the meat. After these two rounds of marination, sweet wheat paste is brushed on and the chicken is fried until fragrant. It is then transferred to a steamer, doused again with soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, and steamed together with the fried spices until meltingly soft. The chicken is torn into thick shreds and served on a base of lightly crushed, crisp cucumber batons; the steaming juices are reduced into a tangy, refreshing sauce, and fresh cilantro lends a final burst of aroma.
Braised Tofu
NT$150
We choose Ming Feng original‑flavor dried tofu, a legendary brand in the soybean revolution, made from contract‑grown, food‑grade, non‑GMO U.S. soybeans. The beans go through ten stages of filtered water, are soaked at low temperature, ground once for soy milk, curdled, and wrapped by hand in cheesecloth—pure in flavor and color, with no additives. The tofu is then simmered in Shoal’s richly aromatic cured‑pork master stock, redolent of the lard‑sweet fragrance unique to five‑layer pork, blended with Ruei‑Chun’s century‑old, purely brewed soy sauce. The scent of beans and soy melds into sumptuous harmony. Sliced thin, the tofu is veiled in a misty tea‑brown glaze, yielding a soft, moist sweetness; a touch of Shoal red chili oil lifts the fragrance.
Tofu with Century Egg, Pickled Plum & Ginger
NT$150
We use award‑winning, lead‑free grassy century eggs from model farmer Su Qing‑fa in Tainan’s Duck Village. Duck eggs are coated in a red clay blended with an herb tea boiled from acacia, Indian goosegrass, banyan aerial roots, mountain grapes, and lemongrass, then cured and dried for a month, producing translucent ebony whites and lava‑like molten yolks with an exceptionally clean taste. They pair with Jia‑Hsiang tofu, noted for its fresh bean flavor, and the urn‑aged, premium Yong‑Xing soy paste from Tainan. The secret weapon is pickled plum ginger: young ginger with ivory buds sliced thin, skin on, and marinated in aged perilla‑plum syrup for a sweet‑spicy elegance. Minced perilla plum is added, and the plum syrup is folded into the soy paste, imparting a hint of plum perfume that whets the appetite. Recreating founder Su Wen‑wen’s childhood memory, this refreshing midsummer appetizer feels both intimate and distinctive.
Kinpira Gobo
NT$155
A classic vegetarian dish from "Zheng Xingze’s Shoal Bento." Thinly sliced burdock root is stir-fried in sesame oil with chili strips, perfectly balancing soy sauce, sake, mirin, and sugar for the traditional Japanese Kinpira flavor. The dish is soft, flavorful, and can be served hot or cold, with a sweet and savory appeal. Burdock, known as "Kinpira," symbolizes the courage and resilience of the legendary warrior Sakata Kintoki. Shoal played a role in supporting Zheng Xingze's wrongful conviction case, offering visitation, psychological support, and meal deliveries for three years until his acquittal on November 21, 2017.
Chilled Spicy Eggplant
NT$130
A private‑recipe classic from founder Su Wen‑wen—simple yet timeless, the first craving when nothing else appeals. Eggplant is steamed, cooled, and refrigerated, then tossed with Ruei‑Chun’s purely brewed soy sauce, matured under sun and moon for a deep flavor, and sparked with a few drops of Xincheng sesame oil. Scallion rings, minced garlic, and chili slices lend lively heat, while the supple, ice‑cold ribbon of deep‑violet eggplant refreshes at a glance. Toss and eat immediately; the dish waits for no one.
Deep‑fried “Ringing Bell” Rolls
NT$165
Named for their resemblance to the bells on a horse’s harness, these rolls shatter with a crisp “ka‑zi, ka‑zi” crunch and were once a famed Hangzhou specialty. Fillings for “ringing bell” vary—pork, chicken, or prawn paste—but here we follow the family recipe recorded by Wang Xuan‑yi: pork loin, shrimp, and water‑chestnut are minced to a paste, spread over tofu skin, rolled into even cylinders of gentle tightness, cut into short sections, and deep‑fried to a golden hue. A dipping sauce of sweet bean paste touched with sugar, served with scallion whites, adds a fragrant, mellow sweetness.
Garlic Shoots & House‑Cured Pork
NT$250
A revival of founder Su Wen‑wen’s childhood comfort dish. Belly pork is cured in Rui‑Chun soy sauce—a century‑old Xiluo brew made from contract‑grown, revived Tainan No. 5 black soybeans and urn‑aged 120 days—with salt, sugar, and spices. Stir‑fried with garlic shoots, the slices gleam ruby‑red and exude a heady aroma that pairs perfectly with rice or drink, offering a luxuriant sense of meaty bliss.
Stir‑fried Beef Tenderloin with Fermented Bamboo Shoots
NT$280
Fermented bamboo shoots are the linchpin here—clean, sharp, and thirst‑quenching, a staple pickle in Yunnan kitchens. Hot oil blooms the spices; the shoots release their unique lactic tang before meeting New Zealand grass‑fed beef tenderloin, instantly awakening the palate. Shoal ferments its own shoots from top‑grade golden‑jade Ma bamboo of Dakeng, Taichung: subterranean spears harvested and plunged into 2 °C water for pear‑like crispness, shells removed, shredded, and packed airtight—no salt, no water—for a truly self‑fermented sourness, using a Dai technique learned from our friend Ah‑Tsai.
Ginger Lily Pork Strips
NT$210
A seasonal, small‑farm delicacy. Ginger lily announce themselves: a single bloom scents a room, and in food they linger on tongue and cheek—subtle yet intense. Pork collar is cut into strips, lightly seasoned, and stir‑fried in a hot wok with cool oil; white petals like butterflies mingle with ginger‑bright, aromatic meat, setting a distinctively romantic note on the table.
Fire‑Roasted Shrimp & Conpoy
Loofah with Golden‑Silver Garlic
NT$160
Cantonese cooks call loofah “sing gwa” (victory gourd) because the usual word “si gwa” sounds like “to lose.” Though steaming loofah is rustic home fare, it lends itself to refinement. We layer Donggang fire‑roasted shrimp and dried scallop atop the gourds, then blanket them with “gold‑and‑silver garlic,” a fragrant mix of raw garlic heat and fried‑garlic nuttiness. Steamed over fierce heat, the loofah yields a lucid sweetness and supple tenderness, its clarity lifted by the sea‑sweet umami of shrimp and scallop.
Pepper‑Infused Dragon‑Beard Greens
NT$170
A single wind-cured chicken gives only 39 ml of rendered fat, collected drop by drop in a bamboo steamer. Perfumed with Sichuan pepper, this spoonful of glistening gold turns a plate of vegetables extraordinary. We pick plump organic dragon‑beard greens—the crisp shoots of chayote—whose snap foretells their crunch. Quick‑fried in the chicken essence, with ginger threads, peppercorn aroma, and a splash of rice wine, the greens finish lush, sweet, and irresistibly fragrant.
Minted Offal Soup
NT$165
Xià‑shuǐ—poultry innards such as chicken hearts, livers, gizzards, and duck intestines—bob in a rich chicken stock. A handful of fresh, responsibly farmed mint leaves releases a heady coolness, joined by crimson goji berries for gentle sweetness, creating the perfect summer heat‑relief broth. Offal soup is classic Taiwanese street fare once ubiquitous beside markets and noodle stalls. The term xià‑shuǐ traces back to English “haslet soup,” borrowed into Japanese ハススープ during the colonial era and rendered in Taiwanese with a similar sound.
Champion White Rice
NT$20
Rice grown by Tian Shou-Xi, the rice king of Zhubei, a pioneer in planting Taoyuan No. 3 rice, who once won the National Top Ten Classic Good Rice for two consecutive years and was the national famous rice production champion in 2014. The sweetness of the rice is instantly recognizable without needing to chew or savor deliberately; the taste buds immediately perceive the sweetness. The grains are distinct, with a moderate texture. The rice is milled fresh and delivered promptly, sun-dried rice cultivated with sustainable agriculture, without using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. Orange ladybugs and hardy morning glories are common in the fields. Green manure is sown annually to enrich the soil, plowing and sun-drying to activate the soil, intentionally limiting rice yields.
| Shoal's Chicken Rice |
Founder Su Wen-Wen's nostalgic recollections of her childhood and hometown. Originally a family dish made only for a few days during the anniversary celebration, it has accumulated countless fans who praise it as "the world's most delicious chicken rice!" Ma Shifang acclaimed it as "a peerless delicacy," while Feng Xiaofei said, "We need food like Shoal's chicken rice to increase rice consumption." One mother's comment was the most heartfelt: "This is exactly the kind of chicken rice a mother wants her children to eat!"
Signature Chicken Rice
Spiral-Cut Cucumber
Golden Pipa Shrimp
NT$340
In a white porcelain bowl, soft and fragrant rice is topped with sweet, tender chicken, drizzled with rich chicken broth blended with aromatic traditional black bean soy sauce, and then finished with a generous pour of rich and fragrant chicken oil... One bite will bring you joy! The fragrant and silky chicken rice, accompanied by various exquisite side dishes, is both homely and refined, making it irresistible to finish every last bite.
The spiral-cut cucumber is arranged like a coiled dragon; expertly sliced with a zigzag pattern, the silent knife work cultivates patience and discipline. Crisp and refreshing yet rich and appetizing, seasoned with soy sauce, Sichuan pepper oil, and rice vinegar—the blend of spicy and aromatic flavors serves to cleanse the palate.
Fresh shrimp are peeled and deveined, leaving the last segment and tail intact; the shrimp is flattened into a pipa (Chinese lute) shape. After marinating for flavor, it's coated with egg white and sweet potato flour, then fried to a golden color. This is a home-cooked dish that founder Su Wen-Wen enjoyed during her childhood, recorded in old recipes preserving the culinary trends of the 60s.
Mini Chicken Rice
Chrysanthemum Radish
Pig Liver Rolls
NT$190
The rice portion is halved, catering to those avoiding carbohydrates—this is the miniature version.
White radish is cross-cut to bloom like a chrysanthemum; the sweet and sour pickled radish is dyed with the yellow of gardenia and the crimson of perilla.
Pig liver rolls are a traditional Taiwanese delicacy that emphasizes quality ingredients and meticulous procedures. In the past, pig liver was expensive, and adding it to dishes was a display of wealth. Wrapped in caul fat like spring flower shrimp balls, the pig liver paste enhances the richness of the filling, mixed with scallions and water chestnuts for freshness to cut through the richness. The pig liver is made into a paste, visible in texture, jet black and glossy like volcanic mud, wrapped into a rich roll. Deep-fried in warm oil until golden and crispy, one bite releases the fatty aroma, unlocking the flavor of the liver instantly. Sized for two bites—one elegant bite, and another to satisfy.
| Refreshing Cool Drinks |
Chrysanthemum & Honeysuckle Cooler
NT$75
Pure, delicate, and lightly aromatic—this is a Cantonese herbal‑tea staple. We simmer pesticide‑free Hangzhou chrysanthemum from the Taitung Farmers’ Association together with sun‑dried honeysuckle from Blue Mountain Farm in a clay pot, yielding a heat‑clearing tisane rooted in Lingnan food culture and folk wellness. Shennong Ben Cao Jing Bai Zhong Lu notes: “The chrysanthemum blooms and falls late, the flower of greatest longevity; thus, its virtue to people is likewise enduring.”
Shiso Plum Juice
NT$130
Aged for ten years, purely natural with no additives. The plums are soft and glutinous, and the juice is pure and exquisite. Its elegant plum aroma stimulates saliva, counteracts richness, and awakens the appetite. Created by Mr. Su Zhong-Shi, father of Shoal’s founder Su Wen-Wen, after fifty years of refining his plum-making craft. Box after box of plums, bag after bag of sugar—Qingming is the season for brewing plums. The beautiful fruit from Alishan’s plum trees is naturally fermented in clear water, layered with plums and sugar in glass jars like time capsules, awaiting the next year’s burst of enchanting fragrance.
Preserved Oriental Plum Sparkling Juice
NT$130
Shoal proudly presents its sugar-preserved oriental plums, sourced from wild ancient trees in Yushan National Park and safeguarded by the Bunun people of the Meishan community. Grown without chemical fertilizers or herbicides, these plums ripen into brilliant ruby-like gems—so enticing that even macaques and wild boars are left with a lingering taste. Hand-picked at full ripeness rather than plucked unripe by poles, they are meticulously de-pitted by hand to retain whole fruit pieces. The naturally sweet, sugar-preserved plums are pure and free of additives, exuding a fragrance as delightful and aromatic as cherry blossoms. Blended into a sparkling juice, they yield an exquisitely refreshing cold beverage.
Preserved Akihime Plum Sparkling Juice
NT$160
These golden-hued plums are sweet and juicy from peel to flesh, shining as brilliantly as blooming canola in midsummer when cicadas serenade in the rainy season. Grown exclusively in Lishan, Taiwan, they have a very short harvest window and limited yield, making perfectly ripened Akihime Plums a rare summer treasure. Harvested at Baolian Orchard in Lishan—celebrated in A Woman Farmer’s Mountain Writings and often compared to a Taiwanese Walden—they’re nothing short of a natural marvel and a gracious gift.We sugar and simmer the whole fruit without any additives, transforming the soft flesh and fibers into a fragrant pulp that exudes a pleasantly sweet-tart aroma with a subtle honeyed note. Served in a tall slender glass, it bubbles into a champagne-like hue—bright, lively, and reminiscent of sparkling wine—while its distinctly sweet fruit flavor leaves an unforgettable impression.
Preserved Orange Sparkling Juice
NT$130
Sourced from Zhu Changhui Orchard in Zhongliao, Nantou, where eco-friendly farming has been practiced for eleven years, achieving organic certification. The oranges are fully ripened on the tree, then sugared and aged—purely natural with no additives. With its pleasant, sweet-tart fragrance, this member of the citrus family is like a friendly star in the fruit world. Oranges are Taiwan’s most widely grown citrus, with a long harvest season. The mother trees trace back to Xinhui in Guangdong, famed for its dried tangerine peel. In the autumn breeze and dewy nights, orchards are dotted with spheres of yellow and green. As early winter arrives, piles of oranges appear at roadside stalls, offering sweet, refreshing juice that embodies the scenery and flavor of Taiwan.
| Tipsy Quadrant |
Pomelo Brew
NT$160
"My brewing represents freedom!" states Kou Yan-ding, author of "You've Committed the Crime of Subverting Taiwan's Fruit Brewing." A single bottle can create a universe, once deeply immersed in Yilan's secluded self-brewed pomelo, before leaving Taiwan, he entrusted his precious brew to Shoal as a living testament to his existence. The brewing process is highly experimental, dissecting the pomelo's peel, vesicles, and seeds to explore the detailed flavors of brewing, a unique and astonishing experience.
Plumcot Sour
NT$160
These plumcots boast a brilliant red skin and fragrant yellow flesh, yet their short harvest season and low yield make them truly rare. In Taiwan, the most coveted varieties come from Baolian Garden in Lishan—revered in Notes from a Female Farmer on the Mountains and honored as the Taiwanese equivalent of Lakeside Musings, cherished as both a prized and sacred offering. Hand-pitted and sugar-cooked whole using only natural methods and zero additives, they yield a radiant red syrup that is sweet, beguiling, and reminiscent of strawberries—showcasing the captivating fragrance unique to red fruits. The finely pulped flesh reveals layers of plum tang, peachy perfume, and plumcot essence, fresh and refined. Mixed with Kou Yanding’s fermented Purple Glutinous Pomelo White, it embodies a blissful summer sweetness nourished by mountains and streams.
| Wind-Resisting Warmth |
Sour Mandarin Tea
Candied Grapefruit
NT$80
A unique Hakka tea drink, sour mandarin tea is made by repeatedly steaming and drying tea leaves stuffed into tiger-head mandarins, following the "steamed into rounds" method dating back to the Tang and Song dynasties. This rare compressed tea is used for health and wellness, with the lightness of aged tangerine peel aiding in vitality and warmth.
Shoal continues the tea-making tradition passed down from Zheng Xingze’s mother, Zheng Wang Qin-zi, who followed ancient tea-making methods. The tea blends twenty-year-old roasted tea with various herbs, following field research on Taiwanese herbal tea formulations, which often adapt to local needs. These practices honor the wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine.
The tiger-head mandarin from Miaoli’s Yuanli is grown with natural farming methods. Thick-skinned and juicy, the fruit’s sour and sweet flavor is released by opening the stem end and stuffing the cavity with tea leaves and herbs. The fruit is carefully steamed, compressed, sun-dried, fermented, and baked, undergoing nine rounds of steaming and drying. Over time, it becomes dark, firm, and shiny, embodying labor-intensive craftsmanship.
After being used in New Year offerings, these mandarins are transformed into tea, symbolizing blessings of peace, hence known as "peace tea." It takes six months to turn a single sour mandarin into sour mandarin tea, with its sweet and mellow flavor becoming richer as it ages, offering a glimpse into the wisdom of ancestral diets.
Eco-friendly green-skinned grapefruits from Yuanli are candied with rock sugar, Shoal’s malt syrup, and caramelized winter melon sugar, then aged for four years—purely natural with no additives. Finally, the candied fruit is gently baked to dryness. It’s said to dispel wind, lighten the body, and bring clarity of mind.
Candied Grapefruit Tea
NT$80
Green-skinned grapefruits from Yuanli, cultivated with eco-friendly practices, are candied with rock sugar, Shoal’s malt syrup, and caramelized winter melon sugar, then aged for four years—purely natural, no additives. As the rind’s sharpness softens over time, the tea remains clear and bright, said to dispel wind, lighten the body, and leave the chest free and open.
Starfruit Drink
NT$90
A traditional beverage rich in Taiwanese local flavor. In Taiwan History—Volume 27, Agriculture—Fruits, it's noted: "The fruit has five or six ridges; the sour ones are made into candied fruit or soaked in sugar water to make a drink." The greenish-yellow star-shaped fruit, with ridges like a sword's spine, preserves the sweet and sourness of starfruit with sugar. The clear amber-colored drink overflows with natural fruit aroma. The honey-soaked starfruit transforms into a gentle force, quenching thirst and soothing the throat. We select honeyed starfruit from the Liu family's Starfruit Drink in Tainan, a legacy spanning three generations over 85 years. It brings back warm childhood memories of roadside starfruit juice stands—drinking it is like savoring a gentle poem of nostalgia.
Stewed Pear with Chuan Bei and Rock Sugar
NT$95
Listed in the Compendium of Materia Medica as the second fruit, the venerable Li Shizhen said of pears: “They are beneficial, their nature descends and flows smoothly.” These New Century pears come from A-Sheng Orchard in Lishan, cultivated with eco-friendly methods—sweet as honey, crisp like water chestnuts, thin-skinned, and juicy. The whole fruit is simmered with Yongliang handmade golden rock sugar, enhanced with Chuan Bei. Purely natural, with no additives. Through careful heat control and aging, the result is warm and gentle. The pear is like unpolished jade, and the syrup is as clear as jade dew—a delicacy both mildly sweet and soothing.
| Desserts Supreme |
Grape Granita
NT$190
We use premium grapes from Xinshe, Taichung, cultivated with eco-friendly methods—ground cover, organic fertilizers, minimal pesticides, and greenhouse protection. They’re of the Kyoho variety, Taiwan’s most widely grown, forming large, firm clusters coated in a velvety purple-black bloom. Sweet and aromatic with a perfect sweet-tart balance, these grapes offer a rich, full flavor. Each grape is peeled and seeded by hand; the skins and seeds go into a cotton bag for a slow cook with sugar, forming a grape jam. After four years of cellaring, the jam is blended and frozen into a refined granita, boasting a sophisticated “adult” taste profile.
Longan Ginger Chocolate Granita
NT$200
This inventive granita features pesticide-free longan and ginger free of pesticide residues, complemented by organic brown sugar and unbleached rock sugar—all slowly simmered over six hours. It incorporates a concentrated longan-ginger soup, a longtime favorite from Xi Di Yao Farm, which melds with the subtly bitter roasted, nutty, and citrusy aromas of Michel Cluizel’s Mangaro Chocolate—rated by Forbes as “the world’s rarest and most precious chocolate”—to create a richly sweet and sumptuous flavor.
Preserved Plum Chocolate Butter Cake
Sun Moon Lake Assam Tea
NT$170
A decadent fusion of flavors, this cake features 100% pure Michel Cluizel cocoa powder blended seamlessly with rich milk, organic free-range eggs from Changhua Yongjing Green Life Farm, Sailor-brand flour, and sugar. A preserved plum jam—made from plums aged for ten years to develop a timeless, matured flavor—is swirled through the cake, which is then adorned with stunning, captivating “black jewels.”
