TAIPEI: Shiyang Culture Restaurant 食養山房餐廳

台北市士林區菁山路101巷160號
No. 160, Lane 101, Jinshan Road
Hours: 12:00-3:00PM / 5:30-9:00PM
(02) 2862-0078

PRICE: $$$$ (approx. NT$1100/person ~US$37/person)
RATING: YYYY (I strongly recommend this place!)
DIRECTIONS: Drive or you can take the MRT to Shilin and hail a cab
RESERVATIONS: Needed
MENU: None.
MUST GET: Everything they give you.

So if you ever get a chance and make it out to Yangmingshan while you are in Taipei, you should definitely try this restaurant. This place definitely takes advantage of its natural surroundings. This restaurant consists of multiple one story buildings, so it takes a while to walk around the entire area. But it's a nice walk surrounded by many trees, flowers, and even some small man-made lakes. It's a bit hard to spot unless you know the area, so make sure you look for the following two pictures, a huge gate, and one of the waiters typically standing guard out front... if not, you might just pass it without realizing.

The restaurant is very elegant, despite being in the middle of the "woods." Everything is very sleek in design and the atmosphere is quite soothing. Shiyang is known for its modern Chinese cuisine. The menu is seasonal, so it's not a place I would go back to again anytime soon but its definitely worth going to at least once. Maybe when it hits wintertime, I'll find my way around here again. It's also a set menu; the only options you can choose from is vegetarian and non-vegetarian, so be open to the dishes they serve you. Everything I had tasted great. The only downfall is that the lunch and dinner menus are the same.





mango + passion fruit puree


vegetarian roll; mountain spring tofu with passion fruit, soy sauce, and wasabi; smoked salmon and potato salad


scallops in a steamed egg custard


pineapple vinegar


smelt fish, rice, and flowers wrapped in bean curd with pumpkin and broccoli on the side


an assorted sashimi and vegetables plate


chrysanthemum vinegar


fried rice cake with abalone


rice with king oyster mushrooms and prosciutto


chicken with lotus roots, lotus seeds, and bamboo soup topped with a waterlily


raspberry puree, panna cotta, papaya, and honeydew melon

The mountain spring tofu with passion fruit, soy sauce, and wasabi was by far the softest tofu I have ever tasted. Not to mention the pairing of passion fruit with soy sauce was amazing! I was also a really big fan of the bean curd with smelt fish, rice, and flowers and the fried rice cake (the abalone I gave to my mother however). I was stuffed after the assorted sashimi and vegetable platter came out, but I was still able to have multiple bowls of the soup! Apparently, for the soup the waiter is supposed to be able to open the lily so carefully that it will actually float on top of the soup, but sadly our lily decided not to cooperate.

So bottomline, for the scenery alone this restaurant is unbelievable but paired with its light and tasty dishes this restaurant has gone to the top of my lists of places people should eat at while in Taiwan. The price is nothing to what you would pay back in the States, but for Taiwan it is quite hefty but it's worth it!




***Also, so funny story... I made the reservation for my mom, my aunt, and me. When we got there, at our table sat a magazine about Taiwan for foreigners! Of course, it was the ONLY table that had this magazine. Once again, my American accent gave me away! How embarassing!