Wang Tea House — Restaurant in Hualien City

Sooooo glad I stumbled across this teahouse in Hualien. Here are the reasons why:

THE AESTHETICS. It's a modern teahouse that gives off an industrial feel with a zen twist. The walls are an exposed concrete material with black metal trim, and the wood accents give it a warm and traditional vibe. There are pendant lamps with warm lighting contributing to the cozy feel. Downstairs there are pools with live koi fish. The middle of the building is open air with live plants growing from the ground floor to the second floor.

THE FOOD. It's such a good value! So the menu is completely in Chinese so I have to go line by line with Google translate to figure out what I wanted to order. I went with what I thought would be small snacks: shrimp tempura, a bowl of mince pork rice, fried egg and a boba tea. There was a Facebook check-in special where it would give you a free plate of fried tofu if you checked in, so I did that. Apportions ended up being a lot bigger than I had anticipated haha. It was a lot of food for one person. Good thing I built up an appetite biking the city. THE DRINK. So I only ordered a milk tea but they had put it in wrong so I got two drinks out of it. Apparently with the meal they also gave a complimentary hot black tea. So I ended up with an iced black tea (the wrong order), a boba milk tea, and a hot black tea.

All of this ended up being less than $10usd! That's crazy good value for the money. Flavor of the food was good. Not Michelin star but tasty and filling. The black teas were a little sweet for my taste but it had a very nice fragrance and flavor. The place is called Wang's Tea House. I would definitely recommend anyone to check it out if they end up...

Quite disappointing, to be honest. Hard to believe this is a renowned establishment in Hualien.

The waiting time was extensive, and the management seemed rather haphazard. Upon being led to the second floor, we found it half-empty, making us question the long wait downstairs. No staff escorted us upstairs, nor were we greeted upon arrival.

Ordering was done via QR code scanning, but even after ordering, the food took ages to arrive. When we inquired, we were told payment was needed first. Why not include this in the mobile process? Upon complaining, we were blamed for not reading the table instructions, which were poorly visible due to colour matching with the table.

If you're expecting the quality of a Chun Shui Tang, I'd recommend visiting their outlets in other cities instead. A rather self-important establishment that falls...

Food, drinks, service, and atmosphere were all amazing! You will definitely be able to find something for breakfast, lunch and dinner, all at a very reasonable price. There are 2 locations in Hualien as of April 2023, and I hope to see more across Taiwan in the near future! For first time visitors:

1. Pick a table (any table) that has a little menu on a skinny clip board.
2. Write down your table number (front of table) on the menu, and mark your selections
3. Head to the cash register at the entrance to place your orders and pay for your meal. This is where you will also be asked how you’d like your teas (sugar and ice levels).
4. A few receipts will then be provided, one of which is a list that the servers will check off as they are brought to you. So keep this on the table with the...