定置漁場三代目 The Fishery 花蓮總店 — Restaurant in Hualien City

Rating: 4.8 / 5 stars 🤩 : rich & balanced broth, overall execution 🤧 : queuing

Queuing is probably the least pleasant part of this experience. From my understanding, online reservations cannot be made. Diners can only turn up on-day in advance to place themselves on the list. There are approximately three seatings, each roughly 50 mins apart, subject to the speed of turnaround.

Everything gets much better once you’re in. You would have been browsing and ticking the order chit whilst waiting for your table to be ready. The chit is collected upon entry, and the first dish hits the table within 5 mins. This is very impressive. I’m sure the small menu helps with keeping operations lean and smooth. That said, there is no shortage of options.

Highlights: Fried fish - a la Fish & Chips, but just much better than any other I’ve had and will have. Flavours are well balanced, and the fish’s structure is very well preserved during the cooking process. Good choice of fish that offers great mouthfeel. Tsukumen with grilled chashu - meat is well charred and tender. Tsukumen broth is very hearty, but just a little over seasoned. Saltiness might be overbearing for some. Amazing flavours in general. Yuzu pepper ramen - refreshing broth, with the Yuzu flavour imparted through the citrus oils. Peeled chilli pepper - great heat and flavour from the peeled chilli pepper - a meaning homage to a signature flavour of Hualien.

Portion sizes are good for the price paid. Service is remarkably fast and professional. Certainly a must...

Ordered the signatures yuzu soup and the XO congnac. Both tasted reasonably light. Just what was needed for a cooling night. I had a free too up for my fish soup and drank all of it. Special shout-out to the one who created the chilli sauce (if it’s created) - it’s really special and every single ingredient within was just to the point 🤩. I think I really like it because there is a hint of sesame oil inside too. Dipped my ramen soup’s fish and fried fried into it too. The fried fish’s flesh Well quite well w the chilli too. The fried fish’s dip was good too - relatively interesting w a refreshing light sourness aftertaste 👍🏻

The rice tea is ok. Thought it’s not bad to wash the food down. If not there is Water free and chilli self-service. Toilet uses sliding door to open.

Arrived at 5.40pm and there were already many ppl waiting outside. Queue number all taken before 6pm. Do come before 6pm for queue number in order not to disappoint. Will recommend if you are around in hualien. Q a few buses here from huskies station.

Can have the super yummy egg pancake nearby (about 1 min away) while waiting for your turn - if...

My no. 1 ramen place so far in Taiwan. The ramen is chewy, and the milky fish soup base, boiled for 5 hours, is delicious. They offer unlimited refills for both the soup and ramen. The restaurant is open for only 4 hours a day (2 hours each for lunch and dinner). I hope they’re busy catching fish in the ocean during the other times! They don’t take bookings, so we arrived 15 mins before they officially opened for dinner to register our names, then waited another hour to get a seat. They started turning away customers 20 mins after opening because they had sold out. The wait was long, but you can cross the road to buy the equally popular 炸彈蔥油餅 to tide you over. You’ll need to line up there too, but it moves...