Nanfangao is located in the southeast of Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan, and is a fishing harbour on the Pacific coast, one of the three largest fishing harbours in Taiwan. When I travelled to Yilan earlier, I was taken on a day trip to Nanfangao Fishing Harbour by a friend from Taiwan, and I think that apart from the freshly-caught seafood that is a must-try, there are other snacks that are worthy of introduction, so I will introduce the other food in Nanfangao Fishing Harbour and the general information to you.
(1) Nanfangao Tourist Fishing Market - Ready-to-eat Bluefin Tuna Sashimi $10,000/kg
Nanfangao Tourist Fishing Market. Located between the first and second fishing harbours, it is the peak time for boats to return to the fishing harbour at 3pm and 4pm every day, when the fish are at their freshest and most abundant. As the boats unload one by one, buyers from the neighbouring restaurants and fishmongers will rush to buy fresh fish. Even if tourists don't buy fish, it's still fun to come and join in the fun and enjoy the atmosphere.
Most of the seafood on the floor is counted as a whole plate, and if there are other more expensive fish, they will be counted in the same way as in Hong Kong's Sai Kung, whereas ordinary tourists such as us can actually grab a small amount and then find a nearby restaurant to cook it for us.
The catch of the day varies with the weather and the season. For example, in the summer, the largest catch is of horned prawns, sweet prawns, and skipjack tuna, which are also the most tasty. From April to June, we often find bluefin tuna from the North Pacific Ocean, which is the largest of the tuna species, so we may find a shop that offers sashimi of bluefin tuna for sampling. The shop said that the usual bluefin tuna sashimi is only $1,000/kg, but if you want to eat bluefin tuna, it is $10,000/kg, which is very expensive.
Nanfangao Tourist Fishing Market
Address: Junction of Nanning Road and Neipi Road, Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Website: welcome2suao.com.tw
Business Hours: 08:00~18:00
(2) Lai Ying Seafood - Freshly caught seafood for customers
There is a saying in Taiwan's fish markets, "Now Fish", which means the freshest seafood caught on the same day. The small shop in the market, Liying Seafood, offers freshly caught seafood. It is a restaurant that offers fresh seafood cooked by a local seafood chef.
Lai Ying Seafood is an old, plain, no-frills restaurant that doesn't have much seafood to choose from, but customers can buy live fish from the stalls next door and ask them to cook it. Seasonal fish is available in large quantities and the prices are more affordable. For example, we ate a plate of sashimi, four small dishes and a plate of fried rice at Lai Ying, and the total cost was only about $1000, which is not too expensive for Hong Kong people, right? Commonly recommended dishes such as sashimi, grilled shrimp, steamed fish, fish soup, fried clams can also be eaten here.
Lai Ying Seafood
Address: B1, Nanning Market Valet Area, Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan
Tel: +886 3 996 6734
Opening hours: 10:00-19:00
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(3) Yau Kee Fish Balls Authentic Nanfangao Flying Tiger Fish Balls
Flying Tiger Fish, also known as Ghost Head Fish, is a speciality of Nanfangao, with white flesh and a mild flavour. The whole fish can be eaten in different ways, be it pan-fried, deep-fried, boiled or barbecued, each with its own flavour. The head and belly of the fish are the best ingredients, the roe of the tiger fish is full of flavour, and the bones of the fish can be boiled to make a rich fish soup, and of course, Yau Kee Fish Balls are made from tiger fish and sold in crisp and chewy fishballs.
Flying Tiger Fish Balls are handmade without preservatives and can be eaten in the shop, but they can also be frozen for tourists to buy at home. Fish Balls cost NT$100 per catty, and can be used as hot pot ingredients, fried in oil, boiled in soups, barbecued or steamed, and vacuum-packed fishballs can be preserved for a whole year and are still very tasty.
Yau Kee Fish Balls
No. 2, Nanning Road, Su'ao Township (corner of Neipi Fishing Harbour)
Business Hours 10:00~18:00
(4) Liao Wing Chuan Rice Cake - Hidden Alley Old Time Flavour Rice Cake
Liao Rongchuan Rice Cake has been recommended by Taiwan's famous food and travel variety show "EatSmart Player". (The location is a bit inconspicuous, you have to look for it in the alley next to the Nan Tian Gong. During the daytime, most of the shops in the alley sell fish, but local people know that there are quite a lot of snacks for sale in the alley. The rice cake of Liao Rongchuan Rice Cake is really good, if you come to Su'ao Nan'ao, you must come to eat it once, anyway, the portion is not a lot, and it's not too much to eat one more portion.
To a Hong Konger like me, the steaming hot old-fashioned rice cake is actually similar to fried rice. The QQ glutinous rice is drizzled with braised pork sauce, sprinkled with colourful and flavourful fish floss, and topped with pickled cucumber, which is already rich to look at, and the whole texture matches well to the taste, and the entire bowl of rice cake gives me a strong human touch with every bite. The fish ball soup at Liao Rongchuan Rice Cake is also good, cheap and tasty!
Liao Wing Chuan Rice Cake
Address: No. 9, Jiangxia Road, Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 270, R.O.C.
Opening hours: 11:00-20:00
(Closed on Mondays)
Tel: +886 3 996 3961
(5) Steamed Ryuno Seafood Restaurant - Must-try Fugu Fish Jelly Dessert
Steamed and boiled seafood at the opposite side of the old market in Nanfangao. It has been featured in a number of TV food programmes. The restaurant mainly serves fresh seafood stir-fries, but the ingredients are all specialised, such as mackerel, monkfish, prawns, puffer fish, etc. The puffer fish is also known as chicken puffer fish in Hong Kong. Fugu (puffer fish), also known as chicken puffer fish in Hong Kong, is also available in Taiwan.
We had our main meal at the restaurant, and this time we are just introduced to one of their specialities, the "Tai Po Maw", which is actually puffer fish jelly. The fish jelly is actually puffer fish jelly, made from puffer fish skin boiled for more than ten hours, and then added Chinese herbs such as wolfberries and red dates, and then frozen into a fish jelly dessert, try a bite, with a QQ and melt-in-your-mouth texture, the taste has a light lemon fragrance and sweetness, not a hint of fishy flavour! It is also rich in collagen and protein, which makes it a good health product for women's skin care and maintenance of knees and joints. Each small bowl is priced at NT$$150. It may seem expensive, but it's super delicious.
Steamy Ryuno Seafood Restaurant
Address: No. 5, Nanning Road, Su'ao Township, Yilan County, Taiwan 270, R.O.C.
Tel: +886 3 995 5000
Opening Hours: 11:00-16:00, 17:00-20:00
(Closed on Tuesday)
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