Tou Ke Shan Mushroom (新社頭嵙山香菇) Eatery at Xinshe in Taichung City [Taiwan]

The drive up Lavender Forest (薰衣草森林台中新社店) from Tea Way Hotel is going to take us more than a hour, and included navigation up a narrow mountain road. Hence, I decided to pencil in a lunch destination at Tou Ke Shan Mushroom! 

Named after the 859-meter tall mountain, Tou Ke Shan Mushroom appeared to be more a farm with a retail wing for fungi, that eventually expanded to the F&B given its fantastic location right at the edge of a y-junction.

Let's start with the retail section; aside from mushrooms, there's a selection of other agricultural produce like pumpkins, bamboo shoots. Things that my mom would likely go excited for given their freshness！ 

My mom loves buying dried shiitake mushrooms and often uses them in her cooking, and I can so imagine her eyes lighting up if her eyes were to ever fall on the above huge bags of aromatic fungi! While my love for dried mushrooms blossomed only in my late 20s, early 30s, my field was limited to just eating them, unlike my mom.

Thankfully, the shop also sells freeze dried, ready to eat mushrooms (sliced / whole mushrooms) that came in flavors like natural, wasabi, black pepper etc! Best of all, sampling was strongly encouraged, and I had such a great time; my eventual bill for just the snacks came up to about S$100 worth! 

Vegetarians would be pleased to know there were also vegetarian meat floss and vegetarian bak kwa for sale! Well, they didn't quite interest me since I am not a vegetarian and prefer meat floss and bak kwa in their original, real meat form.

To encourage customers to buy their dried mushrooms, the operator even offered a smaller pack at just NT$100 (about S$4), with the advice that if we like, we can always return to buy! I did buy, and enjoy them in soups, but I am so, so far away in Singapore!

Notice with the things to note before sitting down at their dining area. For the benefit of those who can't read traditional Chinese characters: food is cooked upon order (so please be patient), no special request on holidays (they will be busy), don't move table after you have ordered, dishes ordered might be cooked together (hence, a person who ordered later than you might receive the food earlier), cutleries are placed next to the pillar in the shop, toilet is outside, and the final message "the boss has no patience for rude customers, so apology in advance).

Order list for our lunch! 

Deep Fried Mixed Mushrooms - in a mushroom farm that had operated for over 20 years, it's a must to check out their mushrooms right?! Given my love for deep fried food, the above would be a best start so that I can try out a range of mushrooms! 

Honestly, they tasted just like the normal deep fried mushrooms you can get elsewhere and the batter was just lightly seasoned with salt and pepper! Freshness aside, I did find the batter cloying towards the end, although to be fair, Alex isn't that big of a mushroom lover.

Grilled Mushroom Sausage - fascinating enough for me to order! Tasted just like your typical taiwan sausage, albeit with a crunchier texture given the pieces of mushroom. However, there's no hint of the earthly mushroom flavour I was expecting! 

Mushroom Minced Pork Rice - I can't resist luroufan whenever I am in Taiwan; how to when one bowl cost just less than S$2.00?! And it also came in smaller portions which I would very much prefer so that I can have stomach space for other snacks!

This was delicious; reminded me of the braised pork that my mom would sometimes cook, with a sweeter and richer flavour that reminded me of home-cooked meals. Meat floss was also added and they sure elevated the palatability of this already good minced pork rice! 

Fried Salt and Pepper Squid - according to the reviews, people were raving about the dish, even though the area is not exactly near the sea, which was about 30 kilometers away! 

Loving it for sure; the natural flavor of squid was so strong with a non-rubbery texture that they could never be from frozen squid! Batter was crunchy yet airy. Absolutely delightful! What I needed most then was a mug of beer! 

=====

Totally love the meal! 

Address

No. 53, Nanhua St, Xinshe District, 

Taichung City, Taiwan 

Map

As above.

Pictorial Menu (in Chinese)

As above.

Website

https://keshan-sianggu.weebly.com/

Pricing

Deep Fried Mixed Mushrooms - NT$70

Grilled Mushroom Sausage - NT$40 

Mushroom Minced Pork Rice - NT$45 

Fried Salt and Pepper Squid - NT$290

Additional Information

Toilet would be outside the restaurant.

Pray it doesn't rain when you visit. 

For the gentleman, the urinals were not blocked.

Hence, do unzip and zip up only when you are facing the urinals! 

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

Review of Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel - Premier Deluxe Triple Room @ Da Nang City in Vietnam

On my first trip to Da Nang in Central Vietnam, I decided to stay at a hotel in heart of the city. Haian Riverfront Hotel Da Nang was convenient but I couldn't deny the draws from the beach, with a long coastline, two kilometers away.

Hence, on my second visit, both Alex and I thought we should consider a hotel by the beach, even though my mom, a shopaholic who loves to explore malls and markets, would be joining us!

After much consideration with a few bookings, cancellations, Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel was finally confirmed to be our choice of accommodation! A 3-star hotel, it actually came with a gym, a rooftop pool and a review score of 4.5 from over 3,000 reviewers on Google Maps! 

Let's proceed to check in! 

p.s photos taken over a few days.

Welcomed, with a welcome drink! That's like quite a standard process for hotels in Vietnam and Thailand; not so much for Singapore, I feel.

What I prefer more, however, would be the infused drink dispenser often placed at or outside the hotel lobby! Nutrient rich, healthier, with no added sugar; definitely a much needed thirst quencher.

Important information; for me, it would have to be the operating hours for the gym and pool. For my mom, it would be the operating hours for breakfast. Oh yes, the Wi-Fi info too! 

Collected the key card! 

Room 1107

Our Premier Deluxe Triple Room on the 11th floor! At 35 square meters, this was one of 111 rooms within the 22-floor Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel which was opened in year 2020.

Some photographs for reference; the room was more long than wide, and honestly felt a bit too tight for three persons. Having said that, it was comfortable. My other gripe was that the room appeared a tad too dark.

There was a small window by the side which could provide us with some natural illumination but due to the proximity of our "next door neighbour"; there was literally no view and sunlight was blocked. Needless to say, the curtains remained drawn most of the time. I should have paid more for ocean view! 

Although the snacks were chargeable, the serving of fruits wasn't and being fruit lovers; my mom and I cleaned up the plate in the next two days. p.s. one-time provision, no refill.

The washroom with two major inconveniences; there wasn't a lock for us to lock up the washroom and there was no place for us to hang our towel near the shower! 

Buffet Breakfast

We stayed at Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel for four nights and given my mom's insomnia, the buffet breakfast was something she absolutely looked forward to having in the four days at the hotel.

Variety of food options for your reference; including a live station for noodles and eggs. Sadly, I am not big on soupy Vietnamese noodles. It also didn't help that I usually do not have breakfast in Singapore, preferring brunch instead.

But free food is hard to resist for a stingy Singaporean like me! So, I would definitely get some food; not in huge quantity as I prefer a sampling before taking more. Typically, you would find me going for seconds for fruits. 

Another thing I enjoyed every much at Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel was the plain porridge topped with condiments like meat floss, pickled onions, spring onions, shallots and roasted peanuts! So delicious! 

Gym

The compact gym with pieces of equipment that were sufficient for my needs; can get too crowded with just three or four guests though. Located on the roof level, there was a great, partial view of the coastline.

What I couldn't stand was the inconsiderate behavior of guests; there was a night that a family just allowed their young kids to play in the gym! Noisy it sure was, and I was more concerned of their safety, which they clearly didn't bother. Hence, I actually recorded myself jogging on the treadmill, in case of any dispute.

Swimming Pool

One of the major highlights for staying at the beachfront of Da Nang City would likely be the rooftop swimming pools that many of the hotels have, and it's no exception for Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel.

Open air pool looked so inviting; I actually swam there twice. Correction, more soaked than swam since the pool was only like about 10 meters long. 

Stunning view on the left side. 

Recognize something familiar?

The 67-Meter tall Lady Buddha from Chùa Linh Ứng Buddhist Temple at the Sontra Peninsular; which was one of the more famous temples in Da Nang! I brought my mom there of course but as it was May; the weather was a no joke; freakish hot! 

Two swimming pools on top of hotels just next to us! 

View in front of Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel; a stretch of eateries closer to the beach that included bars, seafood restaurants etc. Go at night for a relaxing stroll that was hopefully blessed with a light sea breeze. 

View on the right side where the coastline looks like it has no end. The direction actually points to the ancient town of Hoi An. You may also refer to the separate posting I had on the beaches of Da Nang; initially thought to be one beach, there were actually a few beaches along this coastline. The one in front of us is known as MyKhe Beach.

View at the back; where you can also catch the nightly shows at the Dragon Bridge, albeit at the distance! From the direction, I suspected that Bana Hills was right ahead but I could only confirm at night.

The lights on Bana Hills should be a confirmation! Before staying at Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel on this trip, we actually stayed at Bana Hills, where we caught sights of the beaches at Da Nang from the hilltop! 

Water sports at the beach.

Photographs of sunset and sunrise at the rooftop swimming pool. I wanted to take a time-lapsed of the sunrise but it was difficult to do as the swimming pool opens after sunrise! :(

More photographs! 

In addition to swimming, it's always beneficial for the soul to chill out with an ice cold beer, while staring at the big, big sky with the inviting water in front of us, on top of a building. Damn, I can understand why some people would love to retire in Vietnam.

Spa

Redeeming our 30-minute free massage at the hotel spa! 

Honestly, I didn't pencil down any review of the massage on my notes; so.... I am thinking it should be pretty average as compared to our experience at the nearby, and highly rated Golden Lotus Oriental Organic Spa.

I only remember the roselle tea before we started the massage since it's not that common! Always impressed with massage parlours in Vietnam; so much to drink and eat!

Treatment menu for your reference.

=====

Frankly, the stay was acceptable and I really did like the swimming pool! Another two advantages were the distance to the beach, and that the michelin-bib-gourmand Bé Ni 2 Seafood Restaurant, was just two doors away! 

p.s. there's an annual Da Nang International Fireworks Festival between May and August! If you are fascinated with fireworks, you may wish to time your visit so that it coincides with the festival! 

Address

224 Võ Nguyên Giáp, An Hải, 

Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng 550000, Vietnam

Map

As above.

Website

https://minhtoansafiocean.com/

Pricing

Premier Deluxe Triple Room - 1.311 Million Dong

(booked via Agoda.com)