On our way to Cingjing, our driver recommended we stop by A Dong Roast Chicken for dinner. This restaurant got famous mainly through word-of-mouth so I was pretty looking forward to it.
We haven’t even ordered, and I already gave it full marks for ambience – it was cooling since we were halfway up the mountains; just look at the view of tea plantations and cute guesthouses!
There’s an indoor and outdoor seating area. The decor is mainly bamboo and looks pretty homely. They also run a guest house below the restaurant (香彬小木屋).
Look at their cute house cat! There were two of them, both as fluffy. And comes with an attitude haha.
These custom-made kilns are part of the secret to A Dong’s famous roast chickens. Fired up at 200 degrees celsius, they nicely roast 10 chickens at a time. And – the design has also been patented. Roasting chickens is serious business. A Dong took 5 years to get the recipe right.
Quality lychee wood is used, adding to the fragrance of the roast chicken.
I like it when a chef shows pride in his cooking
A Dong only uses chickens reared by themselves, and they are marinated with lots of ingredients such as herbs and garlic 1 day before being roasted.
This secret ingredient is constantly sprinkled into the kiln while roasting to enhance the flavour
Look at the crispy-looking chicken (TWD 500)! So yummy-looking!
Oil dripping from the chicken during the roasting process is collected into the bowl below; slather your bowl of rice with a spoonful and you’re in heaven. Totally worth the carbs.
The restaurant supplies plastic and knit gloves with your roast chicken – one to keep you from burning yourself as it is very hot fresh out of the kiln (think 200 degrees celsius) and the other from getting your hands oily. Even better – the kind uncle helped to peel the chicken for us, awwww
The flesh was tender and flavourful, and the skin was crispy – very good indeed! Dip it with some pepper salt or the chicken oil for an even more indulgent experience.
高山高麗菜 Fried Cabbage (TWD 100)
Vegetables offered at A Dong are all mountain vegetables so it’s worth to try them
丁香山蘇 Fried Mountain Vegetables (TWD 100)
The mountain vegetables are all picked on the day itself too, what a treat!
野味山豬肉 Wild Boar Meat (TWD 200)
Not my cup of tea since I do not really eat meat, and wild boar meat was a tad tough for me (or what they would say ‘Q’)
香酥溪蝦 Fried River Prawns (TWD 150)
Mushroom Soup (TWD 100)
The mushroom smell was quite strong and the soup was lighter in taste
Time to tuck in! Cockadoodledool!
I was glad we stopped by A Dong, the people there were really nice and hospitable, we felt like we were eating from someone’s home. Do visit A Dong if you are visiting Cingjing :)
A Dong Roast Chicken 阿東窯仔雞
Address: No. 52 Renai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan 546
南投縣 仁愛鄉 大同村信義路52號 (仁愛國中對面)
Branch: 南投縣鹿谷鄉 中正路三段708-8號 (151線4公里處)
Tel: +886 4 9275 0068
Reservations 訂餐專線：＋886 92077 1888
Opening Hours: Mon – Sun: 11:00AM – 9:00PM
Website: http://www.adong.tw/
Menu: http://lugu.adong.tw/menu04.php