Hengchun Archives - Caffeinated Excursions https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/tag/hengchun/ Blog of a Traveling Coffee Addict Sun, 12 Nov 2023 15:09:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1.3 https://i0.wp.com/caffeinatedexcursions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/wp-1555570621336.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Hengchun Archives - Caffeinated Excursions https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/tag/hengchun/ 32 32 141833777 Where to Eat and Drink in Hengchun (Kenting), Taiwan https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/where-to-eat-and-drink-in-hengchun-kenting-taiwan/ https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/where-to-eat-and-drink-in-hengchun-kenting-taiwan/#comments Tue, 21 May 2019 17:00:20 +0000 https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/?p=6717 If you’re headed to Taiwan’s beautiful Kenting National Park, you might be wondering where the best restaurants are. The answer: in the center of Hengchun, a small town located a few miles away from the resorts and beaches. Despite its relaxed vibe, Hengchun has a surprisingly vibrant restaurant and bar scene...

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Where to Eat and Drink in Hengchun (Kenting), Taiwan

Published May 22, 2019

If you’re headed to Taiwan’s beautiful Kenting National Park, you might be wondering where the best restaurants are. The answer: in the center of Hengchun, a small town located a few miles northwest of the resorts and sandy beaches. Despite its quiet streets and relaxed vibe, Hengchun has a surprisingly vibrant restaurant and bar scene! The following is a list of all the best places I tried during my five-day visit to the area.

  1. Eat
    1. Hengchun Fu Ji Steamed Dumplings
    2. Chill High High Burritos
    3.  Cafe Cinema
    4. Miniorange
    5. Pizza Options
    6. Ali Seafood
  2. Drink
    1. 30M Bar
    2. New Cut Warehouse
  3. Coffee
    1. Cinema Cafe
    2.  Small Room Coffee

Eat

Exploring the beaches and attractions of Kenting is an energy-intensive endeavor. Grab something to eat at one of the many restaurants listed below.

Hengchun Fu Ji Steamed Dumplings
恆春福記蒸餃

Sometimes in Asia, hole-in-the-wall places end up being the best. Fu Ji is definitely proof of that. Located on one of the few avenues in town that has a lot of restaurants to choose from, Fu Ji looks more like a street stand than anything else. But don’t let their humble appearance deter you. Their dumplings and soup will blow you away!

Their menu consists of the handful of items shown on their red banner in the picture above (which unfortunately has no English translations). Go straight for the steamed dumplings, which in Chinese are called 蒸餃, or “zhēng jiǎo.” At Fu Ji, they’re delicious, juicy, and served fresh!

If you’re really hungry, order the dumplings and a bowl of 肉羹, pronounced “ròu gēng.” This thick soup reminded me of sweet and sour soups I’ve had at Chinese restaurants in the States, but the flavor is even more fragrant. If you get these two items, your bill will be 110 NTD (3.50 USD). Not only will it be delicious and filling, but also really budget friendly!

Chill High High Burritos
笑哈哈墨西哥捲餅

Do you think that name might be implying something? This little place is technically the lobby of a hostel (I think), but nonetheless they had good food, a nice vibe, and friendly staff.

Their menu basically consists of burritos along with some other small plates. I can’t say that they were necessarily the most authentic burritos ever, but I’d dare to say that their use of local ingredients almost made them an unintended fusion dish. Definitely worth a try especially if you haven’t had a burrito in a while!

Cafe Cinema
金像咖啡館

When you think of a retro cafe, do you picture a diner that sells or displays a lot of old-school record discs? Well, this is 2019, and at Cafe Cinema they’ve updated the concept with hundreds of DVDs! The vibe inside is so fun and creative, and I think you can actually rent them (but I never saw anyone try).

In addition to a unique concept, everything I ordered at Cafe Cinema was delicious! The seafood spaghetti I tried was so good that I had to go back and get another plate (the second time with Italian sausage). The noodles were perfect: cooked just enough not to be soggy. Anyone with a spaghetti craving should head over here right away.

Cafe Cinema is also mentioned below as one of the cafes I recommend because they also brew a delicious cup of coffee and have a great vibe for sitting and relaxing! More on that below.

Miniorange
迷你小橘子

This small restaurant is only open until 2:00 in the afternoon, but it’s the perfect place for brunch. I’m not really sure exactly what I ordered here, but it had bread, a scramble, mashed potatoes, and a generous serving of salad. This was probably the most balanced meal I’ve had in weeks!

Pizza Places

I ended up trying two pizza places in Hengchun and liked both. John Dough Pizza had outdoor seating and a chill vibe. The pizza was good and the servers were nice.

The other one I tried was Mangia Pizza. They were clearly going for a more authentic (i.e. Italian) feel, so I took the liberty of ordering a glass of wine with my pizza. Their dining room was pretty small, so they eventually filled up and had to shuffle tables around to seat everyone, but the mushroom pizza I got was good nonetheless.

Before heading to Mangia, I tried to go to Pizza for Peace, but was told that a party of ten was about to come in and that I’d have to wait at least half an hour. The restaurant wasn’t that small, so I was thrown off that they’d be unable to accommodate more than ten diners at once, but I appreciated the honesty about the wait at least.

Ali Seafood
阿利海產

The last place I’ll mention wasn’t located in town, but Ali Seafood got good reviews from this blog so I tried it one night. Since Hengchun and Kenting are right on the water, I felt a bit obligated to try a meal fully dedicated to seafood, and while the dishes there were good, nothing stood out as great. If you’ve been to a seafood place in Hengchun that you loved, let me know in the comments below!

Drink

For a town of this size, I was surprised to find any bars at all! The two I tried were both so interesting and definitely worth a visit.

30M Bar

Let me just put this out there: this could be my favorite bar I’ve ever come across. I know that might sound a bit hyperbolic, but hear me out!

First of all, the bartender, James, is amazing. He’s a great conversationalist and is so welcoming to everyone who comes in. The bar is cozy yet spacious, and the decor is on point.

Then there’s the menu. Be sure to ask for the English version. Each page is dedicated to its own drink, and everything has its own inspiration or story behind it. The menu describes what each drink is about and then lists what ingredients go into it as well as how it tastes (sweet, sour, fruity, strong, etc).

The average price is roughly 200 NTD. It may feel like a lot especially compared to some local meal prices, but that’s still a good deal compared to bar cocktail prices in the US.

As you can see, I stopped in every night for a couple of rounds and made it an unofficial goal to try as much of the menu as I could! The flavors of each beverage were unique, such as a gin made with a locally produced tea, or a rose-infused vodka cocktail.

30M Bar opens at 8:00 p.m. and they’re closed on Tuesday. Be sure to check them out if you are in Hengchun!

New Cut Warehouse
鈕扣倉庫

This is the other place you should check out if you’re craving a drink. Located in what used to be an old factory building on the edge of town, this complex of bars feels like it came straight out of a hipster metropolis like Portland or Austin.

As you turn in from the main road, it might look like you’re entering an abandoned parking lot. Keep going and you should see the front entrance and some lights on inside. There’s not a lot of clear signage to guide your way, which makes it feel very much like a best-kept local secret.

The building (which has concrete walls but no roof in the first room) houses a couple of different bartending stations well as an area for skateboarding and a small stage area for musicians. I only tried drinks from the first one, which was a rum bar that had a surprising number of options featuring white and dark rum and fruity flavors that will transport your taste buds to a beach somewhere in Jamaica. 

New Cut Warehouse is perfect for groups because it’s so big and there’s ample space to sit and relax. However, solo travelers should also go check it out because it’s a really cool place that isn’t like other bars. New Cut is located here and you enter from Hengxi Road across from the Christian hospital.

Coffee

If you know me, then you know I’m constantly on the lookout for cafes, especially if they’re a good place to sit and use WiFi for a bit. Here are the two I found.

Cafe Cinema
金像咖啡

Mentioned above for their great atmosphere and delicious food, Cafe Cinema gets a second mention here as a great cafe. The black coffee is good and the lattes are clearly made by an experienced barista. They were also never overly crowded and have free WiFi, so I felt comfortable staying a while and getting a bit done online there.

Small Room Coffee
小間珈琲

This was the other cafe I liked in Hengchun. I didn’t see an English menu, but they might have one or be able to help translate. They offer quite a few single-origin brews as well as other standards. Despite being pretty small, it was so relaxing and quiet inside and their counter seats next to the window are the perfect place to sit down and catch up on email (or scroll through social media).

The menu at Small Room Coffee

Kenting is a beautiful part of Taiwan that’s about as far as you can get from the tourist hotspot of Taipei. If you’re already there, try one of the places on my list and let me know what you think! Still not sure whether you want to visit Kenting National Park? Click on over to my post about it and let me convince you! Thanks for reading!

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This post was published on May 22, 2019

Hi, I’m Kevin! I’m a coffee addict from Seattle, and my life revolves around traveling! Caffeinated Excursions is a record of my trips over the past seven years. Since I started blogging, I’ve lived in Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, and the US. I just moved to Australia and plan to be here a full year. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Upcoming Trips

  1. Bangkok (Sept)
  2. Istanbul (Sept)

Support the Blog!

The post Where to Eat and Drink in Hengchun (Kenting), Taiwan appeared first on Caffeinated Excursions.

]]> https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/where-to-eat-and-drink-in-hengchun-kenting-taiwan/feed/ 14 6717 Kenting National Park, Taiwan’s Blue and Green Paradise https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/kenting-national-park-taiwans-blue-and-green-paradise/ https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/kenting-national-park-taiwans-blue-and-green-paradise/#comments Mon, 20 May 2019 17:00:54 +0000 https://caffeinatedexcursions.com/?p=6662 Kenting National Park in Taiwan is the most lush place I’ve been in recent memory. The park is filled with bright green fields, forests of unique tropical pine trees, the bluest ocean waters, and billowing white clouds overhead. After spending a few days in Kaohsiung, I boarded a bus and fell in love with Kenting...

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Kenting National Park, Taiwan’s Blue and Green Paradise

Published May 21, 2019

Kenting National Park in Taiwan is the most lush place I’ve been in recent memory. The park is filled with bright green fields, forests of unique tropical pine trees, the bluest ocean waters, and billowing white clouds overhead. After spending a few days in the nearest major city, Kaohsiung, I boarded a bus and fell in love with Kenting almost immediately.

The national park is situated on the southernmost peninsula in Taiwan, and offers everything that an outdoorsman or outdoorswoman could want in a destination. There’s lots of hiking opportunities and a number of white sand beaches to choose from.

In addition to all the outdoor attractions, Kenting is a great place to soak up some authentic Taiwanese culture. The area is admittedly touristy, but most visitors to the area are regional tourists. Therefore, you’ll undoubtedly come in contact with “the real Taiwan” on your visit to Kenting. If you’re especially interested in the cultural side of things, you can stay in the nearby town of Hengchun, which has a very traditional vibe as well as a surprisingly poppin’ restaurant and bar scene that’s worth checking out.

Since there’s not a ton of infrastructure set up for international tourists who aren’t fluent in Mandarin, getting around Kenting may be slightly harder than navigating big cities and more famous beach destinations in Asia. That’s why I’ve written this guide: to give some basic information about the park and its vicinity. Read on to find out why Kenting should be your next beach destination!

Skip to one of the sections below:

  1. Beach Guide
    1. White Sand Bay
    2. South Bay Recreation Area
  2. Other Attractions
    1. The Parks at Sheding
    2. Guanshan During Sunset
    3. The Southernmost Point in Taiwan
  3. The Case for Staying in Hengchun
    1. Restaurant, Cafe, and Bar Guide
  4. Things to Consider
    1. Renting a Scooter
    2. Language Barriers
    3. Getting to and from Kenting

Beach Guide

Kenting and the surrounding townships are home to a number of sandy beaches. Here are the two that I liked the most.

White Sand Bay
白沙灣海灘

White Sand Bay is beautiful. There’s not much more to it than that. Despite being sandy and great for swimming, there are some rocky portions right past the shoreline which give the water there a full spectrum from light, pearly blue to the darkest navy.

Since White Sand Bay is about a twenty minute drive from the Kenting hotels, it’s a little less crowded than most of the other beaches in the area. If you only visit one beach in Kenting, this should be it.

South Bay Recreation Area
樂活南灣遊憩區

This is the other beach that I recommend. If the sun is shining, the waters here are also incredibly pretty. It’s right off the main road, so there are more beachgoers as well as people who will approach you to ask if you want a jet ski ride or a surfing lesson. Traffic also zooms by, so you have to be careful when crossing the street or getting back onto the road.

In addition to these beaches, there is also a large public beach located right along the hotel strip. If you have a favorite beach in Kenting that I didn’t mention, let me know in the comments section!

Other Attractions

Kenting is home to more than just picturesque beaches. Most of the area’s nature trails are located in wooded areas further away from shore. Here are some of the best places to visit for short hikes.

The Parks at Sheding
社頂

Getting to Sheding requires driving for about twenty minutes uphill from the beach. Therefore, the area offers some of the best panoramic views of the surrounding mountains and beaches. A couple of specific spots are mentioned below.

Longzipu Grassland
籠仔埔草原

This was my favorite attraction in Sheding! It’s not a park (officially) and there’s no entrance fee to see it, although the grass in the fields looked much too tall to walk through. However, the views from the road are still so stunning. You have to turn off the main road, and there was literally no one else there when I drove by.

Views of 大尖石山, A Striking Rocky Cliff

Dà jiān shíshān (大尖石山) is a massive stone mountaintop towering over the beachfront roads and hotels of Kenting. I didn’t visit the summit, but if you want the best views of it from below, drive down Daxi Lane.

Ocean Views from Shexing Road

There isn’t a park here, but Shexing Road (社興路), especially from this point down to beach level, offers some of the best views of the water below.

Sheding Natural Park
社頂自然公園

This free park offers a main trail loop that is worth a visit mainly because it overlooks the ocean to the east, which most of the Kenting area does not. There are two main lookout towers: one located here and the other here. I preferred this park to the National Forest Recreation Area mentioned below.

Kenting National Forest Recreation Area
國家森林遊樂區

I recommend this park least enthusiastically of all the attractions in Sheding because it’s not free. The main trail going through it felt like any old hike through a nondescript forest. There is a seven-story viewing tower, which probably is the highest viewpoint around, but it’s far enough away from the ocean that it’s almost hard to see anything clearly. The park is also home to some small caves, greenhouses, and gardens. In all honesty, many of the free views from the road were more impressive than what this recreation area had to offer.

Guanshan for Sunset
關山

This little hill overlooks the ocean to the west, which makes it a phenomenal place to watch the sunset. Guanshan is one of the few places that actually draws a crowd in the area, but you’ll understand why after you experience a sunset there. If you want to get in, you’ll have to pay a small fee of 60 NTD to get in, but it’s worth it.

The Southernmost Point in Taiwan

I imagine most travelers to the area will want to check out Taiwan’s southernmost point. However, once you arrive, it’s a little anticlimactic. There’s just a single statue on a wooden deck, and you can’t actually walk out to the beach because it’s so rocky. I’m not saying don’t go, but don’t expect anything too jaw-dropping.

The little sculpture located at the southernmost point

Nearby is a tiny village called Eluanbi. It looked like it might be worth exploring because it’s got a few parks and a lighthouse. Unfortunately, I visited the area right at sundown so I didn’t have time to check anything else out.

Eluanbi Lighthouse in the background

Now that you know what to see, you might be wondering where to stay. Read on to see why it’s worth it to stay a little further out in the next town over.

The Case for Staying in Hengchun

Visitors to the Kenting area will basically have two different areas they can choose to “set up camp.” The first is the small town of Hengchun, which is located a few miles north of the beaches. The other option is to stay in the touristy area located here with resorts aplenty and a beach across the street.

A street in Hengchun with festive decorations

I chose to stay in Hengchun mostly because I found a guesthouse there that cost about 15 dollars a night for a private room. At first, Hengchun felt very quiet and honestly a bit boring. However, by the end of my trip, I had come to really love this small town that’s a little more out of the way. I recommend that you stay in Hengchun too, and here’s why.

The 南門+緣 SouthGate Guesthouse where I stayed

First and foremost, I think Hengchun is probably cheaper. Since the town of Kenting is basically a road filled with resorts, I’m guessing everything from lodging to food is more expensive there. But perhaps more importantly, Hengchun offers what felt like an authentic experience. It’s a small town where people live and work, and it still has a distinct traditional vibe. It’s quiet and relaxing but still close enough to the beaches via electric scooter.

South Gate in Hengchun

Restaurants, Cafes, and Bars

The one other thing about Hengchun is that it has a pretty cool bar and restaurant scene, although the best places were hidden in plain sight. To read a mini-post on food options, click here!

Things to Consider

Here are a few other pieces of information to note about Kenting.

It's Free

As far as I can tell, Kenting National Park doesn’t have strictly defined boundaries. I never passed any signs welcoming visitors into the park. As such, you won’t have to pay for admission into the park, although some attractions require a small entrance fee, such as Guan Mountain.

Scooter Rental

Even if you decide to stay next to the beach, the only real way to get around the area is on electric scooter. Unfortunately, beaches in Kenting are just too spread out to walk between them. There is a bus system, but I think if you used it to get around, you’d spend most of your time and energy figuring it out instead of enjoying the sites.

Scooter rental places are everywhere, but this is one situation where English might not be well understood (the rental agreement was only in Chinese). I rented one a block away from my guesthouse and paid 600 NTD per day. I saw other places advertising for as low as 400 NTD per day, but if someone tries to charge you significantly more than this ballpark, turn them down because they’re ripping you off.

Electric scooters have a relatively low speed limit and do not require presentation of a license, international or otherwise (gas-fueled motorbikes do, however). In fact, I didn’t even have to present a passport or put down a deposit (which admittedly was very strange and unexpected). The scooter is easy enough to ride even if you’ve never driven one before. Keep in mind that they are powered by battery, not gas, so you have a limited range. The shop I rented from offered as many battery exchanges as I needed without charging extra, which was nice.

It goes without saying that you need to wear the helmet which should be provided with the rental. You’ll be sharing the road with cars and other motorbikes (the gas-powered ones go way faster), so drive defensively and stay focused.

Language Barriers

Language barriers can be real in this part of Taiwan and anyone who doesn’t speak or read Chinese needs to be prepared for that. Compared to the other places I’ve been to in Asia since I moved here in March, Kenting probably had the least English signage. Since I can speak a bit of Mandarin, I never really got to see how well local people spoke English, but the fact that most locals spoke to me in Chinese suggests that ESL proficiency might overall be low.

A dumpling restaurant that doesn't have a bilingual menu (the red banner)

The two areas where I think tourists would encounter the most challenges are while driving (street signs) and menus. In particular, lanes are marked as forbidden for motorcycles with only the following: “禁行機車.” They tend to be the left lanes on the major road connecting Hengchun to the coast, but that might be one string of characters to try to learn to recognize. That’s probably the most critical, but even signs for directions tend not to be bilingual.

A menu at a local cafe in Hengchun

Menus also tend not to be translated into English, and some don’t have pictures. Luckily, there’s less at stake when it comes to ordering a food at a restaurant than riding a scooter on a busy road. Language barriers are a thing that all serious travelers will eventually have to learn how to deal with. Alternatively, learning some basic spoken phrases in Mandarin before visiting can potentially go a long way.

Getting to Kenting

The closest major city to Kenting is Kaohsiung, which is about two hours away from the park by bus. I went to this bus station in Kaohsiung, which only allowed ticket purchases for the day of travel. The drop-off point in Hengchun is located here, but I believe there are a number of other stops throughout Kenting.

Tickets cost a little more than 300 NTD for a one-way journey. The bus I took was comfortable but had no bathroom (a trend I’m noticing in Asia). They leave fairly frequently so you shouldn’t have to worry about booking in advance, and as far as I could tell, they don’t sell round-trip tickets.

Now that you’ve read about it and seen how beautiful it is, has Kenting made it onto your bucket list? After visiting Kaohsiung and the national park, Taiwan has skyrocketed to the top of my list of most highly recommended destinations. It’s beautiful, relatively affordable, the people are so welcoming, and it has such an interesting culture and history that are worth reading up on.

Have any thoughts or questions about Kenting? Leave a comment below! I for one cannot wait to go back and experience Taipei and other parts of Taiwan at the earliest opportunity! Until next time, fellow caffeinoholics!

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This post was published on May 21, 2019

Hi, I’m Kevin! I’m a coffee addict from Seattle, and my life revolves around traveling! Caffeinated Excursions is a record of my trips over the past seven years. Since I started blogging, I’ve lived in Mexico, Vietnam, Brazil, and the US. I just moved to Australia and plan to be here a full year. Thanks for checking out my blog!

Upcoming Trips

  1. Bangkok (Sept)
  2. Istanbul (Sept)

Support the Blog!

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