Floyd and I and a friend to try out a new restaurant this evening (or what we thought was a new restaurant). Have you seen No. 9 Harbor? No, it’s not an address on Harbor Road; it’s the restaurant across the street from Starbucks where the one we called the Prawn Palace used to stand.
Well, as it turns out, No. 9 Harbor is the Prawn Palace, just with a new look. They’ve changed the interior quite a bit, including getting rid of the murals that used to show scenic spots in Taiwan and switching them out for giant pictures of beer (and one with a ship/travel theme).
The menu is the same, though – that was our only clue that it wasn’t really a new restaurant.
Here are the dishes we ordered. Some of them were our old standards back in the days when we used to eat at the Prawn Palace a lot, and a few were ones we tried for the first time this evening.
Above: their asparagus is always tasty. Good and garlicky!
This was my favorite dish: the kung pao chicken. It’s also the first one we ordered the first time we ever came to the Prawn Palace – which was the first restaurant Floyd and I ever ventured out to alone back when we were new in Taiwan. Click here to read my blog post about that memorable event!
The black pepper beef was good but very spicy! This picture doesn’t do it justice – there were a lot more chili peppers in it than you can see here!
This scrambled egg and shrimp dish wasn’t quite what we had expected. But it turned out to be delicious, though a little soupy. I think it was my second-favorite dish of the evening.
We didn’t think the duck would be quite like this either! It came breaded and deep-fried, with colorful shrimp chips adorning the platter. I liked the flavor, but Floyd described it as “deep-fried grease”. The frog, which I forgot to take a picture of but is also one of our old favorites, he called “deep-fried bones”. As you can imagine, neither had much meat on it!
Along with the ubiquitous white rice, this restaurant offers its customers free noodles. With bits of cabbage, carrots, and mushrooms, they’re pretty tasty.
Well, all in all we enjoyed our meal at No. 9 Harbor. Have you been there? If you live in Taichung and enjoy Taiwanese food, we recommend you try it out! (Of course, if you can’t read Chinese, make sure you bring along someone who can.) Feel free to reply to this post and let us know what your favorite dishes are – Floyd and I are always looking for new favorites!
We’re back in California for the summer! Here are some of the things that have stood out to Floyd and me in the last few days since we’ve returned to the States:
Wow, everything is so much more expensive than it was last summer. The price of gas is horrifying!
Look at all the sidewalks everywhere! Why aren’t there cars parked all over them?
There’s so much sky visible (because all the buildings are so short)!
It’s so quiet here. Sometimes at night we can’t hear a single sound. Where are all the singing trash trucks and screeching birds?
Speaking of trash trucks, they’re all so quiet and boring. Why don’t they play Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” and “The Maiden’s Prayer” loudly enough to be heard for blocks away while everyone in the neighborhood comes running out with bags of trash?
Most of the streets have only cars on them. Where are all the motorized scooters and wandering dogs?
Speaking of dogs, all the ones we’ve seen here are naked! (See my post about Taiwanese dogs here.)
Speaking of cars, why are they so HUGE?
Why are there so few vegetables on the menus at restaurants?
So many people speak English. It’s weird to understand what’s being said around us all the time, and to actually be able to read all the billboards and street signs.
There are so many white-skinned people here! When I catch a glimpse of one, I keep finding myself taking a closer look to see if I know them.
How does everyone manage without a 7-Eleven on every corner?
Where can we get REAL Chinese food????
