Truku的屋頂 — Restaurant in Xiulin

Executive summary: cozy space. Family run. Reasonable price. Great hospitality and aboriginal-style food. Reservation one day in advance is usually required. Do call to check availability.

As I walked into Truku的屋頂 (Truku's rooftop), I fell in love with the place already. The place is cozy with just a few repurposed school desks and chairs. The walls are decorated with aboriginal artifacts and drawing. A pregnant stray cat lazily swung its tail, watching our group out of the corner of her eyes. The owner enthusiastically welcomed us in.

We made a last minute reservation for a 7-people dinner on the recommendation of our driver. Usually, a day's notice is required because of the material and preparation involved. Lucky for us, the owner was able to receive us and we were treated with Taiwanese Aboriginal food in family style. Wild greens salad, pork skin thinly sliced and dressed, to name a few of the cold dishes. Grilled wild bird, free ranged chicken, and salted pork for main. The food is amazing and many dishes come with stories. After a long day's hike in Taroko park, this was just what we needed. All of us were satisfied and content after the meal.

Every one of us loves this place. We unanimously decided that we will return to the restaurant the next time we are here. For a fleeting moment, we all had the selfish thought that we want to keep this place our secret. But we know in our heart, we wanted this place to thrive and we wanted others to experience this gem of a restaurant.

Thank you, Truku的屋頂. You were the perfect ending of our short trip to Taroko. We will...

Best meal we had in Hualien this time!! Authentic aboriginal home dishes 👍🏼

We found the restaurant by accident at the last minute but were lucky to have seats for four people — the place is small with only three small tables and is obviously family run, so it’s better to make reservation in advance (also for the materials/ ingredients to be prepared).

We were so in love with the salted pork and the banana rice that was wrapped in (maybe banana) leaves (the rice is part of the set meal), and all the side dishes were delicious, especially for the very tender omelets prepared with local veggies.

The only two things I can say about this place are the speed they prepare for meals and the tidiness of the space (it doesn’t mean it’s not clean; the place looks like part of a small, well-decorated home), but since we were in Hualien for holidays and had no reason to rush, and the meals were so delicious, the overall experience...

Had a salted pork set meal.

1. comes with loads of vegetables (wild veg and alfalfa too). Soup comes with goji berries. Nutritious!
2. pork is the right amount of tenderness, saltiness and fats. Comes with little garlic slices.
3. choke full of carbo. Banana glutinous rice is really good. Besides that, they serve bamboo rice is a must try aboriginal food for people for have not tried it before. May be a little overkill on the carbo.....

Comes with a complimentary wood piece which you can personally inscribe on with a "burning pen".

A true little gem of a place in the middle...