The hotel’s New Year’s Eve specialty “Divine Dongpo Pork” weighs a full 1 kilogram — tender meat, rich juice, and every bite bursts with flavor.

Reported by Liao Minghui / Yangmei

Just after the Christmas and New Year holidays, the Lunar New Year is just around the corner.The New Year’s Eve food business officially kicks off in early January, and savvy consumers mostly place their orders a month before the holiday to avoid missing out on limited handmade dishes that sell out quickly.，After all, the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve symbolizes family togetherness and strengthens bonds — it’s something that can’t be taken lightly at all. With modern people juggling work and life, cooking a table of delicious dishes is time-consuming and labor-intensive. To make things easier for consumers, convenience stores, hypermarkets, online shopping platforms, and major hotels have all launched New Year’s Eve meal series. Among them, the room-temperature New Year’s Eve meals offered by hotels have the best reputation. Chef-prepared on demand and non-frozen, you can easily enjoy the color, aroma, and taste of a five-star restaurant at home. Elders can enjoy time with their grandchildren, adults can chat over drinks, and kids can play — the whole family can revel in a joyful atmosphere without having to queue up at restaurants or worry about drinking and driving. Bringing home takeout New Year’s Eve meals from hotels is a stress-free yet classy choice for busy modern families.

▲ Hotel room-temperature takeout New Year’s Eve meals prioritize freshness — five-star cuisine made daily, only $5,888 for a 6-person portion. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

Hotel room-temperature New Year’s Eve meals win in “freshness” — tender meat, savory broth, and bright green vegetables.

Modern palates are getting more discerning. The New Year’s Eve feast not only needs to be impressive but also must combine deliciousness and health. The biggest concern with frozen delivered New Year’s Eve meals is how the dishes hold up after reheating, especially green vegetables, which often turn yellow and limp when heated, losing both visual appeal and texture. Hotel room-temperature New Year’s Eve meals solve this issue — chefs prepare them daily, and customers can pick them up on the day they plan to eat.All dishes center around “freshness,” with every bite showcasing the chef’s meticulous preparation and precise cooking techniques.

The “Divine Dongpo Pork” weighs a full 1 kilogram, slow-cooked with brewed soy sauce until the meat is tender and the sauce is rich.

East Sun Mountain Resort Hotel compiled statistics on its most popular New Year’s Eve dishes over the years and designed 10-person and 6-person room-temperature takeout New Year’s Eve meal menus. The most popular dish is Dongpo Pork, which is also the hotel’s classic signature New Year’s Eve dish. Chef Huang Yaoting from East Sun Mountain’s Chinese restaurant not only emphasizes authentic taste but also pays great attention to ingredient selection. “For Dongpo Pork, we use pork belly with balanced fat and lean — it has to be fresh, locally-raised pork. In addition, making great Dongpo Pork requires not only top-quality pork and proper heat but also an aromatic, rich broth — the soy sauce used is 100% brewed because only brewed soy sauce has that soybean fragrance. Cheap chemical soy sauce simply can’t make a good dish.” New Year’s Eve meals must use real ingredients to deliver both substance and face — ensuring both guests and hosts enjoy the meal. Especially with today’s increasingly discerning tastes, the quality of ingredients is immediately obvious. Chef Huang pointed out that since these are New Year’s Eve dishes, they must carry a sense of grandeur and luxury.At East Sun Mountain Resort Hotel, Dongpo Pork is not served in small cubes but as large chunks of marbled meat. It is stewed and braised to a full 1 kilogram — when served, it looks luxurious and hearty. When sliced, the meat is tender with rich juices; one bite releases a burst of juice and aroma. Rich but not greasy, it’s so addictive you’ll keep going back for more.

The difference between hotel-grade Dongpo Pork and homemade versions lies in scale and technique. Most families have fewer members and cook only what they will eat, so there’s little focus on heat control or broth. Hotels, on the other hand, braise dozens of kilograms at once using a secret brew of brewed soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, simmering for over 5 hours to fully infuse the flavors and extract the essence of the meat. Only through such techniques and heat control can the meat become soft and tender without falling apart, while the broth becomes concentrated with the essence of the meat’s flavor. One bite leads to a flavor explosion — delicious enough to pair with drinks on its own or wonderfully satisfying with plain rice.

▲ Succulent, tender, rich in flavor, and not greasy — the finest Dongpo Pork weighs a full 1 kilogram, luxuriously presented and filled with juicy tenderness when sliced. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

Whole scallops in the pot — “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” gathers a thousand delicacies in one bowl.

This dish is always essential on the New Year’s table. Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, with a thousand delicacies in one clay pot, combines both luxury and flavor — even lion’s head meatballs and eight-treasure rice pale in comparison.“Buddha Jumps Over the Wall” uses premium ingredients and requires painstaking effort and time. Dried scallops, pig’s trotters, bamboo shoots, chestnuts, taro, mushrooms, pork ribs, quail eggs, and more than ten other ingredients are layered into the clay pot. The mixture is first boiled over high heat and then simmered over low heat, gradually drawing out the essence from the pot. Every bite blends the mountain and sea flavors within the pot, making it the most popular New Year’s dish for the whole family. Chef Huang Yaoting said that real ingredients are absolutely key to making a great Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. East Sun Mountain’s version uses S-grade dried scallops, which become tender and bouncy after long cooking, with distinct textures. Lower-grade beads of scallops, on the other hand, may soften on the outside but remain tough and hard to chew in the center.

▲ A thousand delicacies in one pot. The charm of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall lies in its comprehensive and genuine ingredients. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲ Each ingredient absorbs the essence of the mountain and sea treasures in the pot, making it the most popular New Year’s dish for the whole family. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

No New Year’s Eve dinner is complete without an appetizing cold platter — the “Aromatic Five-Fortune Platter” is colorful and cheerful.

East Sun Mountain Resort Hotel’s “Aromatic Five-Fortune Platter” includes drunken shrimp, mussels, dragon beard lettuce rolls, braised beef shank, and Mexican abalone. This colorful cold starter is visually appealing. The drunken shrimp is marinated in a special medicinal wine made with Shaoxing wine, rice wine, goji berries, ginseng, and red dates. The perfect heat locks in the shrimp’s natural sweetness and infuses it with a subtle wine aroma. Crack open the shrimp head and suck out the rich roe — the ocean’s umami fills your mouth. Among the heavy meat dishes, greens play the role of cutting grease and balancing nutrition. The “dragon beard lettuce rolls” offer the freshness and crispness of vegetables, cool and refreshing to whet the appetite.【Where to buy?】Click here to order these hot, limited New Year’s Eve dishes.

▲ Premium ingredients + vibrant colors — the Aromatic Five-Fortune Platter is auspicious and cheerful. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲“Sakura Shrimp Rice Cake” symbolizes rising success year after year. The sticky rice absorbs the sweet flavor of Donggang sakura shrimp.Paired with the umami of mushrooms, it’s a staple loved by the whole family. Sakura shrimp is crispy and easy to eat — no need to peel shells like with crabs or shrimp roe. Both elders and children can enjoy it with ease. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲ You’ve got to have a whole chicken for the New Year.“The tonic “Imperial Braised Whole Chicken” uses Taiwan’s native free-range chicken. The long-simmered broth is light and not greasy,and the chicken retains a rich meaty flavor even after long cooking, never becoming bland. The chicken comes with production traceability, completely eliminating any risk of avian flu-contaminated poultry. For the herbal tonic, the most popular ingredient is polygonum multiflorum, which offers the fragrance of traditional medicine without being overly medicinal. Warm and nourishing, it warms the body and stomach and is packed with nutrients — an essential tonic dish for gathering around the stove. (Photo / Reporter Zhang Yizhong)

▲Each goose in the "Dongsen Tea-Flavored Goose Platter" undergoes avian influenza testing to ensure safe consumption.Chef Huang Yaoting specially selects 6-month-old geese weighing at least 3 kilograms. The meat is tender, sweet, and considered the finest among poultry—low in fat, high in protein, soft yet springy. Smoked with sugarcane, it enhances the natural sweetness. Served chilled and sliced, it makes the perfect drinking snack. (Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

▲"Steamed Sea Grouper" symbolizes abundance year after year. With fresh, lively seafood, simply steam it with scallions and ginger to bring out its natural flavor.Compared to freshwater grouper, sea grouper has thicker, more delicate flesh and absolutely no unpleasant earthy taste. (Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

▲Tired of sesame oil chicken kidneys?“"Fried Hair Moss Chicken Kidneys with Crab Roe" is a refreshing and healthy festive dish.Its low-oil, vegetable-rich design offers a more balanced nutrition.。(Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

Limited editions are always brutal. The exact baking times for the sold-out handmade toast are revealed.

A visit to Dongsen Mountain Forest Resort Hotel is incomplete without trying their sold-out limited-edition handmade toast. Available in four flavors—original, red bean, fruit, and spicy cheese—only 24 loaves are made per day,meaning just six per flavor. Due to limited availability, no delivery or phone reservations are offered. Visitors to Yangmei can rush to the hotel during baking hours to grab them.The most unique is the spicy cheese flavor, using pungent Taiwanese chili peppers paired with high-melting-point cheese that resists melting. Each bite delivers rich, creamy cheese chunks and bright red specially made chili peppers. It’s an immensely popular Western-style pastry. Tear it apart by hand to feel the delicate softness and springiness of the bread, while your taste buds enjoy the natural milky aroma and authentic texture. The dough is made entirely with fresh milk—no water added—and uses imported New Zealand butter free of trans fats, with no lard, shortening, or other inferior oils. Free from moisture retainers, modified starch, or additives, the fine, dense yet slightly springy texture comes from the skillful hands of pastry chef Yu Xiaohui.To enhance the dough’s moisture and create a softer, moister texture, the chef combines tangzhong and sponge dough methods, fermenting it three times with fresh yeast and kneading it manually for over 30 minutes. Throughout the process, the temperature and humidity of the dough are precisely controlled by feel.Every loaf of handmade toast reflects the chef’s dedication to quality, delivering a luxurious taste of genuine ingredients in every bite.

▲ Who says delicious can’t be healthy? Dongsen Mountain Forest handmade toast insists on using natural ingredients—every bite is pure, unadulterated goodness, not artificial flavoring. (Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

▲ The tangzhong + sponge dough method with triple fermentation adds softness and moisture. This time-consuming process results in bread that’s dense and delicate, soft yet springy—without any additives. (Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

▲ Original fresh milk toast has a subtle milky aroma. Premium ingredients, skillfully baked by the chef, make this basic white toast simple yet refined. Tenshokuhoshi red beans are chunky with low sweetness—kids’ favorite. The fruit flavor includes eight types of dried fruits: green grapes, mango, passion fruit, tomatoes, apricots, lime grapes, cranberries, and Taiwanese pineapple, offering rich nutrition and vibrant colors. Spicy cheese is the most popular toast. Each bite includes whole chunks of cheese and spicy red chilies—fiery and satisfying. (Photo by reporter Chang Yi-zhong)

【Where to buy?】Click here to order these sought-after limited-edition festive dishes.

Dongsen Mountain Forest Resort Hotel Festive Dish Takeaway Info
1. Items are for takeaway only.
2. Sales period: January 5, 2016 – February 4, 2016
3. Pickup period: February 4, 2016 – February 7, 2016
(1) Pickup times February 4–6: 11:30–14:00, 17:30–21:00
(2) Pickup time February 7: 11:30–14:00

Takeaway for 6 people: NT$5,888 (actual items will be packed in festive meal boxes and containers)
* Fragrant Five-Fortune Platter
* Scallop Buddha Jumps Over the Wall
* Dongsen Tea-Flavored Goose Platter
* Steamed Sea Grouper
*Hair Vegetable Chicken Kidney Braised with Crab Roe
*Tonifying Imperial-Style Braised Whole Chicken

Set menu New Year dishes (each dish serves 10)
*Fragrant Five-Fortune Platter $1,088
*Green Dongpo Pork $888
*Dried Scallop Buddha Jumps Over the Wall $1,680
*Sakura Shrimp Rice Cake $688
*Tonifying Imperial-Style Braised Whole Chicken $988

[Handmade Toast]
*Baked every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. 24 loaves per bake. Not available during Lunar New Year.
*Four flavors available. Sold out upon availability.
*Price: Original Flavor Fresh Milk $150 per loaf. Hokkaido Red Bean, Fruit, and Spicy Cheese $180 per loaf