Three Treasures from the Treasure Island 寶島三寶

If I have to pick the best three things from Taiwan, I would say in less than a blink of an eye:

• Sunny Hill's pineapple cakes (微熱山丘鳳梨酥) 1 ;

• Ali Shan's Zhuowu coffee (阿里山卓武咖啡) 2 ;

• Kavalan Solist Sherry Cask Whisky (噶瑪蘭單一麥芽雪莉桶威士忌).

Sunny Hill's Pineapple Cakes

The pineapple cakes from Sunny Hill are unconventional and full of surprise. First, they are not compliant with traditional geometry, being rectangular rather than square in shape. The golden crust shell is like an elegant jewellery box that makes you feel curious of its content. The real surprise comes when you take a hard bite into the filling. Unlike all other pineapple cakes which are basically sweet winter melon fillings, this Sunny Hill specialty is absolutely pineapple! A sourish and fresh taste of pineapple emerges from the firm but not stiff pastry shell and gets punched up by the subtle buttery crust. Absolutely the best pineapple cake!

Zhuowo Coffee

The popular Taiwanese folk song "young ladies from Ali Shan are as tender as water, and young men from Ali Shan are as strong as mountain" is the best description for Zhuowu coffee from the Ali Shan region. This single-origin coffee demonstrates both tenderness and strength. Drinking Zhuowu coffee is a totally different kind of coffee experience. You don't even expect an aggressive aroma filling the pantry while the brewing is done. The first sip of a carefully dripped Zhuowu coffee is mild and tender like Chinese tea, but the strength gradually comes toward the end of the cup, and its amazing earthy scented aftertaste punches through your palate and gets registered in your mind! Absolutely unforgettable!

Kavalan Whisky

Kavalan, or "Gemalan" (噶瑪蘭) as pronounced by the local people, is the aboriginal name for Yilan (宜蘭). Accessibility to the superb quality spring water from the Central Mountain (中央山脈) and the Snowy Mountain Range (雪山山脈) is one of the key factors for Kavalan's success in whisky making. The seriously made single malt whisky matured in Sherry Cask has a distinctive dark color and fantastic smell of lychee, mango, cinnamon and berries! I usually prefer smelling whisky than drinking it because the strong alcohol kick always overpowers and somewhat counteracts the smelling pleasure. But this Kavalan whisky is a rather different breed. It gives the nose and mouth the right balance of fruitiness, spice and alcohol. An utterly delicious whisky!

August 14, 2018

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References:1 Sunny Hill's pineapple cakes in Hong Kong（CitySuper, Shop 3001, Level 3, Harbour City）2 Review of Zhuowu coffee3 Special thanks to Mr Lance Chan of Cafe Solé at Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區), Taipei, for introducing Zhuowu coffee to me.