VONNY'S GARDEN VEGETARIAN RESTAURANT (綠素界花果茶餐飲坊)
95 Linsen Road, Sec. 2 (林森路二段95號); tel 274-6568. 11:30am to 9pm. Average meal NT$130. English menu. Credit cards not accepted.
The garden in question is a fenced-off patch of grass on the sidewalk no bigger than two tatami mats, but it's not for this that people come to Vonny's, a recent addition to Tainan's dining scene.
If the patronage of Buddhist nuns and monks is the sign of a good vegetarian restaurant, then Vonny's has garnered a crucial seal of approval. Gray and orange robes and shaven heads are a regular sight within the spotless, functional interior. But families drawn by the healthy and inexpensive food on offer make up the bulk of customers.
The menu lists more than thirty drinks teas, herbal brews, slurpees, sodas, yogurts and coffees while the choice of food is no less extensive.
The spicy dumpling soup includes chunks of vegetable protein so closely resembling beef the imitation is eerie. The curried rice, macaroni and hot pots are highly popular. And all of the dishes are refreshingly lacking in the oil that characterizes a lot of Taiwanese cuisine.
Meanwhile, those who want to put together a salad when they get home can pick up organic lettuces and vegetables at the take-out counter.
Seated diners will find their orders taken and their food delivered very efficiently, but without much in the way of smiles or greetings the style of service, much like the interior decor, is functional rather than endearing. Despite this, Vonny's wins high marks. It's all about the food.
HUD LA VOOS (呼拉嗚嘶 PUB)
1, Lane 398, Chingnien Rd. (青年路398巷1號); tel 208-3621. 11:30am to 3pm. Average meal NT$200. English menu. Credit cards not accepted.
Boasting a menu that draws adventurous gourmands - mountain squirrel, country mouse, deer, wild boar, various fowls and grasshoppers are some of the offerings - Hud La Voos is an Aboriginal-themed, Aboriginal-run restaurant/bar, sedate during the hours of daylight but joyfully raucous after midnight.
Out front, the shaded garden features what is said to be a geomantically excellent fish pond, and some out-of-the-way nooks for those who prefer privacy.
The four Hsun sisters who own Hud La Voos do almost all of the cooking and waiting. At lunch time, visitors can expect to be greeted by whichever of the sisters is outside cooking deer meat or rodents over the slate barbecue, and shown in to a cozy eating area adorned with mementos of mountain life (among them shotguns and boar skulls), Aboriginal handicrafts and jewelry. Many of these items were made by the sisters and are for sale.
The "Mountain meats" served at Hud La Voos are lean and tasty, and come with crunchy vegetables grown in the isolated Kaohsiung County valley where the young women grew up.
Less audacious diners will be relieved to see spaghetti, dumplings, tempura, plus the ubiquitous mini-hot pots on the menu.
Almost uniquely in Tainan, Hud La Voos, which means "Bottoms Up!" in the Bunun tribe's language, sells authentic mountain liquor. The sweet, milky shandichiu comes in five varieties, sold by the tumbler or by the bottle (or rather, in unlabeled plastic containers).
The combination of cuisine, drinking and dancing pulls in a good mix of foreigners, Aborigines and non-Aboriginal Taiwanese. When the bar is full, or simply when the mood grabs them, the sisters perform traditional Aboriginal dances, then invite all and anyone to join them in group hoedowns a splendid aid to digestion.
THE NEXT RESTAURANT (勒那斯特餐廳)
87 Chingdong Road (慶東街87號); tel 236-4290. 9am to 11pm. Average meal NT$250. English menu. Credit cards not accepted.
The Next, which derives its name from the fact it is owner/chef Ann's second restaurant venture (the first is still going strong), has won the loyalty of Tainan's expats - and not a few locals - by consistently delivering American-size portions of pasta, Mexican food, salads and sandwiches in elegant surroundings.
Those who like their dishes and cutlery to have some substance and heft will find the complete absence of Styrofoam and plastic delightful, while the lacquered tables and chairs, wooden roof beams and languid ceiling fans add to the refined atmosphere.
Large windows and a low-rise neighborhood mean that whether you sit indoors or outside, you can enjoy your meal with south Taiwan's most abundant resource - sunlight. At The Next, lunches have a tendency of stretching well into the afternoon.
Among this writer's favorites dishes are the Mexican turnovers and the nutty beef salad. But as a sign outside the restaurant proclaims, the menu is revised often and surprises await those who have been away. Soups (pumpkin, for instance), innovative seafood creations and old-fashioned high-cholesterol breakfasts are mainstays.
Meals come with juice, tea or a bottomless cup of coffee included. Beers, wines and cocktails are also available. The range of desserts is narrow, but should satisfy most gluttons try the Omelet Confiture if you're not on a diet. Turn up, start in and pig out.
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