Moon Pavilion — Restaurant in Taichung

醉月樓台灣菜 Moon Pavilion⠀ Taiwanese Food Restaurant⠀ ⠀ Taichung tour! 台中之旅！⠀ Similar to the previous post in regards of the building - The building is converted from a former ophthalmologist clinic dating to 1927, hence its Chinese name. The building is operated by Dawncake (日出), a Taichung-based confectionery brand. The building sustained heavy damage in the 1999 Jiji earthquake and the 2008 Typhoon Kalmaegi, and after the typhoon, the building was in ruins and abandoned. In 2010, Dawncake purchased the ruins, and over the next two years, refurbished the building into a restaurant. The store opened to the public in 2012.⠀ ⠀ Moon Pavilion actually located in 2nd floor of this Japanese-style four-story structural steel building. The entire decoration is definitely worth to go for a visit, and even have a meal in this Moon Pavilion. As recommended in Michelin Bib Gourmand, Moon Pavilion juxtaposes colourful velvet banquettes with original wrought iron and red bricks for an interesting clash between the industrial and the Victorian. The food pays tribute to the old-time Taiwanese palate, showing delicate balance and shrewd judgment. Pan-fried butterfish over rice noodles, and three-cup chicken are the must-tries. Save room for the famous ice cream with countless toppings (there’s always room in stomach for desserts!).⠀ ⠀ The first on-the-house appetizer (開胃菜) is Dried Bamboo Shoots with Peanut. Crunchy, nice appertizer, while waiting for the real heroes to arrive.⠀ ⠀ 📝Ordered 「紹興酒紅燒肉百頁結」- Shaoxing Wine Braised Pork - Definitely the superstars of the superstars of the night. That thick braised pork, with bouncy and tender texture, dancing in the middle of the chopsticks, is inviting you to take a full bite on it. Perfectly cooked with full aroma of Shaoxing Wine, you can use the buns (even the buns cannot fit the entire braised pork, just imagine how thick and awesome the meat is) and eat it. Each cuts are no lesser than 3cm thick (not that I really measure it with rulers, haha) squared. The 百頁 tofu (actually… many didn’t know that it’s not really a tofu nor soy product haha, but let’s just call it that way) is having crunchy texture and soaked well with the sauce too.⠀ ⠀ 📝Ordered 「蚵仔烘蛋」- Oyster Baked Egg - Served in a fancy plate, the baked egg has pretty generous oyster in it. Wouldn’t say it’s a lot, nor little, just nice. Perfect dish to go along with the braised pork rice, or white rice. The portion is not too huge, I would say that it’s perfect for 2 person, especially when you’ve ordered quite a number of other dishes.⠀ ⠀ 📝Ordered 「蹄膀肉燥飯」- Braised Pork Rice - Awesome. Wanted to go for the signature mullet roe fried rice, but was thinking that it could be too much, while we would like to save our stomach to savor the other dishes. This braised pork rice is awesome, and each fine chopped fatty meats braised well with the sauce, soaking each of the rice. Goes perfect with all dishes.⠀ ⠀ 📝Ordered 「30年老菜圃膠原雞湯」- Chicken Soup - Rich solid texture, that’s what I would say. Filled with collagen and chicken, this soup is rich in flavor, and you can definitely taste the herbs used in the entire cooking process. Definitely one of the must-order when you’re here.⠀ ⠀ 📝Ordered 「糖醋魚」- Sweet and Sour Fish - A little bit too sour to my liking, but nevertheless, still a good call. The texture of the fish is good, bite off easily without...

Braised Pork Belly with Mantou, Seasonal Vegetables, Lu Rou Fan, Sweet Potato Rice & Sundae - About 1700++NTD

We came for the sundae but fell in love with the food. The braised pork belly was so flavourful. It was on point. Eat it with the mantou that comes with it - perfect combination. Like Gua Bao but elevated. They said the green one was made with cabbage (couldn't recall what the red one was, maybe sweet potato?) - couldn't taste it but the bun itself was soft and fluffy. Red and green for Christmas! As for the vegetable, the cabbage was sweet. Naturally sweet. And it was crunchy. Not too oily. Both rice was good. Nothing much to rave about. The sundae - ice cream was why we were here because we didn't want to queue downstairs and dare I say their fruit flavoured ones were amazing. You can skip the tea one (we didn't bother finishing it) because the fruit ones were so good. After tasting their pineapple cake, we also went down to buy some.

Definitely not a cheap option but I think it was worth it. You can either have plain water or choose a tea for 30NTD per person. The atmosphere was quiet and relaxing. Though you have to take note that if you make a reservation for 1PM and comes early, they will not serve you until your reservation timing. Not even a drink despite the restaurant being relatively empty. That was a lil' weird but I respect their business policy.

Oh, visit their washroom. Pretty...

Fancy decor, with loads of MSG. I was extremely thirsty afterwards. Just like most items that are sold in here, food was quite pricey, especially for Taichung area. Flavor wasn't the greatest, but wasn't awful either.

Pineapple shrimps tend to be quite dry but the pineapples were fresh. The 30 year old chicken soup and the black garlic chicken soup both tasted about the same. Buddha jump over the wall was nice tho. The sweet potato and the dragon beard leaves were fine, but the eggplant was way too oily. Shrimps marinated in wine was pretty good. The tiny sticky rices (6) wrapped in bamboo leaves were kinda nice. Lots of other fancy and delicate dishes that are worth a try.

You are really here for the ambience, rather than for the food. Interior was honestly quite nice, with an open kitchen. Beautiful staircases leading up to the restaurant are great places for photo taking. Fancy modernized washroom along with old photos and wall hangings, depicting the history and reconstruction of this building are on the 3F. Lunch time was quite packed, while dinner time was quiet. Service here can be a hit or a miss, depending on the day. They usu give you a small free finger dessert afterwards, but their service can be slow at times that you'd rather not wait for it. Still, I'd like to give 2 thumbs up to the few that were working really hard and...