Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel claimed first place in the main dish category of the Apple Daily New Year’s Eve Meal Competition on its first try, with its “Charred Eel Rice Cake”! This year’s main dish entries featured radish cakes, rice cakes, and savory pine cakes. One of the judges, renowned food critic Xu Tianlin, said: “The eel is at the level of Japanese cuisine, and the rice cake includes sakura shrimp, squid, and shiitake mushrooms—the seasoning is really excellent!”
The charred eel rice cake is made with a variety of rich ingredients such as sakura shrimp, squid, and shiitake mushrooms, all stir-fried thoroughly with glutinous rice to infuse flavor, paired with tender and juicy slow-grilled charred eel. (Photo provided by Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel)
As the only five-star hotel in Beitou that specializes in Taiwanese cuisine, this year Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel’s Yongcui Dining Room presented New Year’s Eve dishes that focus on classic, traditional Taiwanese flavors, while also incorporating some banquet-style dishes from Beitou’s restaurant culture. The goal is for everyone to enjoy a delicious and well-prepared reunion meal and to remember these timeless, well-preserved flavors forever. In addition to the champion Charred Eel Rice Cake, there’s also Lihpao’s authentic Taiwanese-style Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. The broth is simmered for one hour using chicken stock with a touch of Shaoxing wine, then mixed with premium ingredients such as shark fin, abalone, tendons, dried scallops, shredded bamboo shoots, taro, chicken thigh meat, pork ribs, pigeon eggs, and more. It’s then steamed for another 180 minutes. The dish perfectly showcases the harmonious blend of ingredients, offering a delightful sweetness without any cloudiness in the clear, rich broth—making it an astonishingly delicious version of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel Jinlong Xixiang Taiwanese New Year’s Eve Meal Set. (Photo provided by Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel)
The classic New Year’s dish Mustard Green Gold Ingot symbolizes harmony and unity. It must be tried—it uses locally sourced, freshly butchered black-haired pig meat, marinated slowly with over ten types of proprietary Chinese herbal ingredients and red yeast rice, then braised over low heat. The caramelized skin is chewy and smooth without being greasy, the lean meat is tender and full of aroma. The crispy mustard green strips are also perfectly infused with the braising sauce. One bite of the pork knuckle paired with a bite of the mustard greens is a taste to remember.
Beitou Lihpao Hot Spring Hotel – Yongcui Dining Room
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