October 2025 Shoal Menu
Autumn is a season that weighs on the spirit. Many among our core team live with depression; once the autumnal equinox has passed, fatigue deepens by the day. To renew the menu month by month is no easy task, yet the kitchen manages to rouse us all back to clarity.
Toward evening the autumn wind brushes the sleeves, and the night settles cool as water. We prepare richly flavored dishes and simmer soups with quiet nuance. In this bracing autumn, may body and mind remain well.
To ensure solo diners can still enjoy a communal feast, every dish is priced and portioned for one person. When you come with friends, order as many portions as suit your party and appetite; the kitchen will serve everything family-style.
Our menu changes each month with the turning seasons, and we host 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.
In October we open Wednesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner; weekend afternoon tea is temporarily suspended, and we rest on Mondays and Tuesdays. When planning a visit to Shoal 2.0, please reserve in advance and double-check our opening hours, as unscheduled closure days may occur.
| October 2025 Shoal Menu |
| This translation is provided by ChatGPT and cannot guarantee complete accuracy. Please refer to the original Chinese menu for detailed information. |
Wind-Cured Chicken
NT$200
A Shoal classic, synonymous with the restaurant's culinary history and craftsmanship. "Wind" refers to an ancient method of preserving food before modern refrigeration—marinating and hanging it outdoors during the cold, windy days of winter to capture rich and abundant flavors. The sweetness of the chicken, the saltiness of sea salt, and the fragrant numbness of Sichuan pepper overlap in layers. The intense yet fresh Sichuan pepper salt enhances without overpowering. Stir-frying the salt elevates the spice's aroma; salting by hand determines the perfect flavor. Steaming preserves the tender texture and original taste, using a bamboo steamer passed down for three generations and meticulously maintained over the years by master craftsman Huang Fu-Xing from Lucao, Chiayi. This complex and time-consuming process infuses deep flavors, making it a masterpiece of culinary artistry.
Duck Gizzards Confit
NT$180
Shoal’s classic osmanthus salted duck, rich and savory, provides an abundance of luxurious duck oil. The pure, fragrant fat is used for confit. The gizzards are cured in coarse salt with shallots, galangal, star anise, black pepper, and nutmeg, drawing out the spices’ full flavor. Slow-roasted at low temperatures in osmanthus duck fat for five hours, the gizzards become tender and flavorful, surpassing traditional braising. After three days of salt curing and slow roasting, the confit is packed with a complex, savory aroma—a classic of Southwest French cuisine.
Four Delights Wheat Gluten
NT$230
A recreation of a family banquet dish by Ye Xin-Qing, founder of Yongfu House—a symbol of culinary nobility in the 70s. Shoal's close associate, Mrs. Ye Lin Yue-Ying, provided the family recipe. Unlike common methods that tear raw wheat gluten into small pieces for better flavor absorption, we retain its complete square shape. We select black winter mushrooms and seasonal fresh bamboo shoots, lily flowers, and cloud ear fungus, meticulously removing stems despite the labor. "Roast" here implies "braising"; slow cooking over low heat to let flavors infuse and reduce the sauce. Time and precise heat control are the essence of braising, bringing out the sweetness of mountain vegetables and subtly hiding the umami of scallops—all absorbed by a piece of wheat gluten, fully showcasing the subtle flavors of the cuisine.
Enoki with Shredded Dried Tofu
NT$125
A personal favorite from Shoal’s founder, Su Wen-wen. When she first had a kitchen of her own, she often cooked from Liang Qiong-bai’s recipes. As young people playing house, we loved cutting everything into fine shreds and tossing them together for a bright, refreshing bite. We use Ming-Feng Original-Flavor dried tofu, a storied brand of Taiwan’s soybean revolution, made from contract-grown, naturally bred, food-grade non-GMO soybeans imported from the United States. Ten-stage filtered water, low-temperature soaking, a first pressing of soy milk, then coagulated into tofu and hand-wrapped in muslin for shaping, uncolored and free of additives. Seasoned with the elegant depth of Ruei-Chun Original Soy Sauce, a century-old pure-brew brand from Xiluo, yielding a generous, savory fragrance.
Glutinous Rice Meatballs
NT$155
Often conflated with pearl meatballs and raincoat meatballs, this preparation is in fact its own rarity. Among related methods, it is the one that behaves as if time did not exist, happily embracing labor and detail. Madam Lu Su-lin, wife of former Tunghai University president Mei Ke-wang, in her book “Everyone Who Tastes It Says Bravo! 60 Traditional Home Dishes We Miss and Long to Master”, distinguishes the three by the treatment of glutinous rice, whether scalded, steamed, or stir-fried, and the particular flavors each yields.
Long-grain glutinous rice is rinsed, then doused with boiling water to soak. After draining, it is steamed until about seventy to eighty percent done. Once cooled and dried, the mass is rubbed apart back into grains. This elaborate pre-treatment has a name, “frozen-rice” or “shaded-rice”. The scald must be exact, and patience is required as the rice dries and loosens. The prepped rice is then stir-fried before the meat filling is sprinkled on. Cradled in the palm, each ball is rolled so the grains adhere and cloak it fully. When the steamer lid lifts and the mist billows, lotus leaves cradle the rich meatballs cooked through over high heat. The grains stand proud and slightly arched. Stir-fried frozen-rice asserts itself, giving more presence and a more three-dimensional flavor. Water chestnut brings crystalline sweetness and crunch, shiitake mushroom lends cool, gelid perfume, dried shrimp adds a briny sea note, and the toasty trace from precise heat completes the rice aroma. Altogether, it is a meatball both delicious and enduringly enjoyable.
Steamed dishes are emblematic of Hubei’s Chu cuisine. Through migrations during the Chinese Civil War, rice-centered dishes entered Taiwan’s blended culinary culture and once flourished on restaurant menus. They are recorded in the cookbooks of masters such as Fu Pei-mei and have long since become a localized rice cookery. In times of gentle winds and timely rains, when the five grains are abundant, one does not tire of refinement nor of fine cutting. It is no less than the highest pursuit of a rice-based cuisine.
Jade Fish
NT$290
A family recipe from documentary director Ho Chao-ti, passed down from her father. Day-boat ròu-yú, selected by Lin Kai-lun, author of “The Fake Fishmonger in the Kitchen.” A home-style Teochew half-pan-fried, half-simmered preparation, seasoned with Min-Hsing premium fish sauce, a generous amount of finely chopped scallions, and a generous amount of finely chopped cilantro. Gently cooked over low heat until the broth turns milky, clean and delicately savory. A Top 3 choice on our September menu. A guest from Singapore returned twice and said, "Just like my grandma’s."
Stir-fried Pork Liver and Large Intestine
NT$170
Rich and deeply savory, the perfect rice companion for offal lovers. Pork liver turns silky and plush, large intestine becomes tender yet pleasantly chewy, each offal cut with its own fiber and texture offers its own delight. This is a race against time in the wok, where prep is as crucial as heat control. The preliminaries are exacting, from selecting, slicing, to marinating the liver. The large intestine must be rid of odors, dusted with flour, repeatedly flipped and rinsed, its slick mucus washed clean, excess fat trimmed, then braised to absorb flavor, a threshold in itself. We season with Ruei-Chun Original Soy Sauce, a century-old pure-brew brand from Xiluo, whose elegant depth makes it irresistibly moreish.
Stir-fried Beef Shoulder with Pickled Cabbage
NT$230
Napa cabbage is rinsed, drained on bamboo trays, then layered with coarse salt, layer upon layer, forming ring after ring, sealed in a clay jar to ferment for thirty days until the sour and yeasty aromas are full and round. Three big crates of napa cabbage, coarse salt from the Zhounan Salt Fields, five stones at two kilograms each, and the vast cosmos inside a clay urn are handed over to lactic acid bacteria to bring forth creation. Sliced garlic, ginger, and chilies are first bloomed in oil, then beef shoulder is flashed in the wok. The earthy, gently pungent note of aromatic roots rises. Our house pickled cabbage, put up for the New Year season, brings a vivid sour tang and a full, fermented depth.
Brocade Bok Choy
NT$175
We use bok choy from smallholders in Xinshe, Taichung, grown with friendly practices for upright crunch. We choose organic king oyster mushrooms from Dafa Farm in Xinshe, plump and rounded like abalone. We source shiitakes from Le-guo Village in Guoxing, Nantou, grown with an ecological method only once a year, and sun-dried white-backed black wood ear fungus. Peppers and all vegetables are finely shredded. Stir-fried quickly with sliced garlic in our house-rendered lard. Rice wine and fish sauce add lift and savor. Green and crisp.
Aromatic Sweet Potato Leaves
NT$120
Harvested from the vineyard at Dongshi, the hometown of Liu Shijie, founder of Shi Brewing. Sweet potato vines grow beneath peach, plum, and grape trees, farmed with friendly practices. The leaves are vibrant, the stems upright and fine. We season with Yuan-Hsing Soy Sauce from Huatan, Changhua, a double-brew using mixed-bean koji that blends the savoriness of soybeans with the gentle sweetness of yellow-cotyledon black soybeans. Kettle-bottom soy replaces the brine of wet down-vat fermentation, brewing sauce with sauce to double both maturation time and concentration, yielding layered richness. We use Shoal’s house-rendered pure lard, with crisp pork cracklings and fried shallots. A simply seasoned dish in which every component is the best of its kind.
Chicken Soup with Persimmon Cake
NT$185
We source persimmon-frost cakes from Hankeng, a lineage bearing the Bao mark, made with bull-heart persimmons from Fanlu, Chiayi. They are charcoal-roasted with longan wood, a craft handed down through five generations. Even in a township famed for persimmon cakes, traditional charcoal kilns have become rare. The “Compendium of Materia Medica” praises the virtues of the persimmon for porridges and soups and notes the special use of persimmon frost: “It generates fluids and quenches thirst.” With a fragrance akin to wood-fired dried longan, these prized frost-bloom cakes inform a chicken soup inspired by the classic “Jisheng Fang” formula for Clove and Persimmon Calyx Decoction, yielding a lucid nectar of gentle sweetness, elegant aroma, and soothing clarity that brings comfort and warmth.
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 |
“Elegant Abode” Sour Plum Drink
NT$95
A standout woody bouquet with the deep aroma of smoked black plums and a lingering return of red cardamom. After a long soak and two clay-pot decoctions, the herbal profile is fully expressed. It moistens and quenches without sticky afterfeel or heavy finish. The recipe draws on Professor Chang Wen-te of China Medical University and researches Liang Shih-chiu’s “Essays from the Elegant Abode,” tracing materia medica sources to recreate a concentrated, robust formula.
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.
Plumcot Sparkling Juice
NT$120
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.
Preserved Pineapple Sparkling Juice
NT$120
Pineapple, so emblematic it’s like holding a Taiwanese ID card, representing the fervent summer of the south. Shoal preserves the whole fruit in sugar, first peeling the skin and boiling it into syrup until aromatic, then continuing to cook the fruit, capturing its fresh taste and fragrance through precise heat control. This southern flair sealed in sugar is bright and sweet. We select Tainong No. 2 pineapples from Songlinmei Organic Ecological Farm in Luye, Taitung, certified by MOA. Forgoing artificial flower forcing, the farm allows natural growth without inducing early bud formation. Farmer He Jiachen thanks beneficial birds for pest control, leaving some fruit for the wildlife. The result is tree-ripened fruit with a distinct acidity, intense aroma, and complex layers of flavor.
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 Ferment
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.
Green-skinned grapefruits from Yuanli grown with friendly practices are candied whole with red rock sugar, Shoal’s malt syrup, and Shoal’s winter melon caramel. All natural, with no additives. Aged four years so the peel’s sharpness mellows to tenderness. Finally, the candied fruit is gently baked to dryness. It’s said to dispel wind, lighten the body, and bring clarity of mind.
Preserved Pomelo Tea
NT$80
Organic white pomelo, whole fruit candied and aged for ten years. All natural, with no additives. A folk remedy in Taiwan to dispel external chill, it leaves the body light as if shedding a layer. A time-honored common wisdom for well-being. Juice vesicles, segment membranes, and peel are all candied with Shoal’s house made malt syrup and red rock sugar, the emperor of whole-fruit pomelos. After long aging the lustrous, plump vesicles steep in time, and the peel’s signature pungent bitterness turns soft and fragrant. A limpid sweetness, a crystalline acidity, and a tea infusion of poised elegance.
Preserved Grapefruit Tea
NT$80
Green-skinned grapefruits from Yuanli grown with friendly practices are candied whole with red rock sugar, Shoal’s malt syrup, and Shoal’s winter melon caramel. All natural, with no additives. Aged four years so the peel’s sharpness mellows to tenderness. The drink is clear and bright, dispelling wind and lightening the body, leaving the chest open and at ease.
Mint and Orange Tea
NT$100
Chen Shiduo’s Qing-era “New Compilation of Materia Medica” records an old formula: “When someone is struck by external evils and burdened by stagnant qi and will not take medicine, counsel the use of thin-orange tea for immediate effect. Use one qian mint, one qian tea, one qian orange peel, and pour a large bowl of boiling tea to drink.” “Mint not only excels at resolving wind evils but is especially good at easing melancholy.” We apply this to Shoal’s tankan cakes and candied tankan, hoping to sweep away life’s many wearinesses, the five labors and seven injuries.
Tankan Cakes are whole fruits candied in syrup, sweet, spicy, and aromatically vivid, documented since the Qing and now part of Taiwan’s Hakka foodways. Nourishing and home style, they perfume the teeth and gums. We source from Zhong Jing-feng, head of the production group in Emei, Hsinchu. Following Miaoli Hakka tradition, the tankan is scored, pressed into cake shapes to release their juices, then simmered whole with Zhubaoyuan hand made wood fired malt syrup, Shoal’s winter melon caramel, and red rock sugar until the rind softens to orange, the pith turns translucent, and the syrup is as thick as honey. After an overnight rest they are baked to dry: the peel taut, the flesh tender, textures layered, sour and sweet in fragrant balance. With careful heat and aging, time transforms flavor and the peel’s sharpness becomes supple sweetness.
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 Mu and Rock Sugar
NT$95
Pears are listed second among fruits in the “Compendium of Materia Medica,” where Li Shizhen wrote: “The pear facilitates flow by nature.” We stew wild-grown Hengshan pears from Dongshi whole with Yongliang handcrafted golden rock sugar, adding Chuan Bei Mu for benefit. Pure and additive-free, refined through careful heat and a period of resting, the result is gentle and harmonious. The pear is like uncut jade, and its nectar like jade dew, a clear and softly sweet restorative.
| Desserts Supreme |
Plumcot and Shiso Ume Granita
NT$180
Plumcots, rare jewels with ruby skins and amber flesh, arrive from Baolian Orchard in Lishan, famed in the memoir A Female Farmer’s Mountain Journal. Each short-season fruit is hand-pitted and gently candied without additives, yielding a shimmering scarlet compote whose bouquet recalls strawberries and other red-fruited delights. We fold the plum purée into shaved ice together with Shoal’s decade-aged shiso ume; the resulting granita mingles tart ume undertones with the honeyed, floral notes of plum, creating a refreshingly elegant tribute to high-mountain orchards.
Orange Granita
NT$175
From Zhu Chang-hui’s orchard at Xidiyao, Zhongliao, Nantou, where eleven years of patient, friendly farming have yielded organic certified tree ripened oranges. All natural, with no additives. Whole fruits are candied, gently simmered, and aged. Garnished with Meyer lemons from a Pingtung supplier practicing friendly cultivation. This gentle citrus lends a clear, lovely freshness that brightens the finish.
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 Cheesecake
Sun Moon Lake Assam Tea
NT$190
A harmonious blend of fruity and creamy flavors, Shoal’s preserved plum cheesecake delivers a luxurious combination of the rich sweetness of preserved plums and the indulgent smoothness of cream cheese. In Shoal’s dessert repertoire, only a cake as fragrant and full-bodied as this deserves the name cheesecake.
The preserved plums used are handpicked from wild trees growing on the cliffs along Laonong Creek in the Yushan mountain range, at an elevation of 1,000 meters. Without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, these plums are fully ripened on the tree and harvested just before they drop, their vibrant color and juicy sweetness preserved through meticulous hand-deseeding and slow cooking in molasses. The result is a naturally bold and fragrant plum with layers of intense flavors and a cherry-like aroma.
The cheesecake crust is made from local wheat flour, grown using sustainable practices by rice champion Tian Shou-xi from Zhubei. The crust perfectly complements the rich cream cheese filling, which is layered with bits of preserved plum and baked to create a seamless and unique flavor experience.
