I have not associated Taiwan with beaches and coast trips. I’d only been to Taipei once before in 2008 and all I remember is the extreme heat, a visit to Taipei 101 and the Raohe night market in a flying 36 hour trip. This time I’m with my daughter and had 5 days and 4 nights – which is plenty when you do hit-and-run travel like my daughter and I do.
We based ourselves for two nights in the coastal city of Hualien. This city is normally a launching pad for the Taroko Gorge, but access has been stopped due to earthquake damage. North and South of Hualien is some amazing coastline with well maintained roads running right along the edge of the ocean either high up along cliffs. There’s also rivers running through other gorges and some the inland driving is also spectacular.
So after two big days of driving and swimming, it was great to relax in the evening with the very laid back citizens of Hualien at their night market and a couple of surprising beer venues.
The Dongdamen night market is open seven nights a week. The 400 stalls have the usual wide range of food and drink options, and plenty of old school carnival games where you can win stuffed toys. There’s even a small bar, which I had to support. I tried Wild Boar which went very well with a unique Taiwan beer.
The star of the Hualien beer scene is an American style saloon bar called Salt Lick. This is a fabulous joint that supports Taiwanese craft beer. The bar staff and clientele are a mixture of locals and visiting overseas students. On the two nights we visited, Redpoint Brewing and 3 Giants were represented on 5 taps. Good range including a sumptuous Red IPA. Despite eating at the night market, I had to give the chili a try and it was worth it. Great merch as well.
On the same street as Salt Lick is a tiny little tap room offering Mai Tien beers. Unfortunately the taps weren’t pouring so we had to try a couple of beers out of the bottle. I love a witbier, but the Mai Tien version was a little agricultural. The Spirulina is surprisingly drinkable despite the green appearance. Nice to be able to drink on the street.
Not far off Zhongshan Street is the highly promising but hugely disappointing Flashover Taprooms. 16 taps serving beers and cocktails. Some pretty good beers on the night we visited, but unfortunately the beer was either flat or warm or both. Such a shame because the venue is beautiful. You can’t win ‘em all.
Salt Lick Smokehouse & Grill: 151 Zhongshan Road, Hualien City, Hualien County
back of the ferry 