The Man from Mosel River

Matsu Tempel in Lugang 鹿港, Taiwan

The Matsu Tempel and it’s surroundings in Lugang 鹿港 are very crowed places. People from near and far visit the historic center of this harbour city in central Taiwan. Lugang has lot’s of interesting things to offer, among them some Taiwanese food specialties which you should not miss.

These you can enjoy in one of the many street eateries like the one below just opposite the entrance to the magnificent temple.

A typical street eatery

One such delicacy of Lugang is called “e-a zen” in Taiwanese, a kind of omelet made of eggs and oysters, with starch from sweet potatoes. Lettuce is also added. Finally a sauce is added whose composition is usually a trade secret. Every family has it’s own recipe but the liquid consists, among others, of soja and miso sauce, sweat chili and other ingredients.

The photo shows how “e-a zen” is prepared

“e-a zen” ready to be eaten

Oyster soup with ginger

My friend Jim after the oyster feast

We had also oyster soup with the “e-a zen”, the oyster omelet. If you do not like oysters this is not a meal for you. But if you do, the two dishes are “heaven on a stick”. What a wonderful explosive experience for your taste buds. Incredible. Delicious. A must if you travel in central Taiwan.

We enjoyed the open air atmosphere where we shared a table with a Taiwanese couple. The son of the owner, very business like at the tender age of 10, waited on us, brought us chairs and the necessary eating implements. He also managed brilliantly our messy ordering in improvised Mandarin.

We washed the food down with a cold Taiwan beer. The place and the food were a great choice. Go and do it yourself.

Taiwan Beer