Two days and one night in Pingtung is just enough on one of those whirlwind tours that has you rushing from one stop to another for the obligatory victory-sign photo. A better option, perhaps, is to spend two nights, go by car and enjoy the relative freedom of the road, rest where and when you like and breeze in for the main course in Tungkang at a time of your choosing. And do remember while you eat that of the estimated 10 million eggs a female fish lays, just two will manage to make it to adulthood and possibly to your plate.
Two-days-and-one-night tours are operated by ezTravel (www.eztravel.com) for around NT$5,000 to NT$6,000.
Restaurant: Rising Dragon (龍興)
Address: 1 Guanghu Rd, Ln 362, Sec 1, Tungkang, Pingtung County (屏東縣東港光復路一段362巷1號)
Telephone: (08) 833 3428 or (08) 832 0379
Average meal: NT$1,000 at least
Details: No English menu
Rarely do I have a shock of pleasure on tasting the house special at a restaurant, but the buttery meat of toro provoked an immediate and involuntary "mmm" -- much like the "ah-ha" response of a discovery.
Toro is how the Japanese refer to the meat taken from the upper belly of the bluefin tuna and it's especially good when landed the same morning and served up at the Rising Dragon restaurant, by Tungkang harbor.
At the meal laid on by the restaurant to entertain the dignitaries left hanging by the flying visit of President Chen Shui-bian (
It was at this point that the Japanese contingent of journalists forgot its customary politeness and dived in. There was a minor feeding frenzy and soon there were just greedy faces looking at bare plates. Though usually eaten dabbed in wasabi and soy, one photographer in the party indicated that such was the quality of the fish that it would be sacrilege to use the sauce.
Purists will be delighted by the Rising Dragon. Though clean and well-appointed it's not a fancy restaurant but what it does well is provide the freshest bluefin tuna.
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