Amid Snake Alley's pell-mell profusion of restaurants, sex shops and karaoke bars, just look for the albino boa constrictor and you've found it. There are about a half dozen snake restaurants left in Snake Alley, and if anything, Golden Dynasty is the most handsomely decorated of the lot. Others are fronted with dirty metal cages packed full of listless cobras, live turtles hanging from hooks through their necks and other exotic edibles that fall under the rubric of down-home Taiwanese "health food."
But Golden Dynasty limits itself to some fairly roomy terrariums holding boa constrictors, and of course the snake slaughtering table, where special snake butchers wired with microphones slice open snakes, pull out their gall bladders and collect their blood in cups, all while inviting passers-by in to try some.
On nights with heavy foot traffic, especially weekends, these little shows can take place about once every 20 or 30 minutes. The result is often a quick influx into the well-lit and generally restaurant-like interior.
PHOTO: DAVID FRASIER, TAIPEI TIMES
The standard set to order, especially for first timers, is the snake soup combo (NT$200). It includes a bowl of snake soup, a cup of diluted snake blood and bile, two tablets of snake oil, and three shot glasses respectively containing ginseng wine, snake venom and snake penis liquor.
According to common legend and the management, each of these elements has indubitable health-bestowing properties: the snake oil pills contain vitamins A, D, E, F and K and combat high blood pressure and arteriosclerosis; venom guards against cancer, keeps skin healthy and removes toxins from the blood; bile is good for the eyes; and snake penis liquor, which is mostly a guy thing, offers benefits in the area of sexual power and stamina.
For those wanting something more, there is a whole menu full of snake and other specialty foods. The snake served is the local nanshe (腩蛇), which is tastiest stir fried (the meat tends to be tough and stringy), though you can also get it honey roasted or in the soup. For those whose daring palates are not satisfied with snake alone, there is also the fried bees' pupa plate, sugarcane rat, Formosan deer, wood pigeon and partridge three-cup style (sorry, no pear tree).
Per plate prices range from NT$300 to NT$600, and servings are less than prodigious. A few normal dishes are also available, like green beans with shrimp, stir-fried green vegetables and so on. Generally, the cooking is pretty average and the portions tend to be small, especially for the price. So as a basic rule, go for the experience, which in many ways is worth it, and not the food.
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