Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
If you head east on Minzu Rd for 1km to 2km past the boundaries of our Chiayi map
(the road turns into Daya Rd), you'll hit the new business area of town. Many nice cafes
and restaurants have opened up here recently.
Pen Shui Turkey Rice
TAIWANESE $
(Pēnshuǐ Huǒjīfàn; 325 Jhongshan Rd; bowl NT$40; 8.30am-9.30pm)
Everyone in Taiwan
knows that Chiayi is famous for its turkey rice dish (
huǒ jī ròu fàn)
. This is the place that
started it all 60-odd years ago.
Yushan Inn Cafe
CAFE $
(Yùshān Lǚshè Kāfēi; 410 Gonghe Rd; dishes from NT$150; 10am-7pm)
Housed in a charming
Japanese-era wooden building in front of the historical Beimen train station, Yushan Inn
Cafe serves decent sandwiches, pastries and coffee. The tatami common space on the up-
per floor provides very basic lodgings should you want to stay here.
Gongbing Vegetarian Restaurant
VEGETARIAN $
(Gōngbīn Sùshí Guǎn; 457 Renai Rd; average meal NT$150;
6.15am-7.30pm;
)
Long-run-
ning, buffet-style vegetarian restaurant.
Night Market
MARKET $
(Wenhua Rd)
Good for cheap food. Located between Mincyuan and Chuei Yang Rds.
WORTH A TRIP
A TALE OF TWO TEMPLES
It's well worth taking a day out to visit the two impressive temples around Chiayi:
Fengtian Temple and Chaotian Temple. The oldest Matsu temples in Taiwan, they
had rivalry going for six decades, with each temple claiming it best represented the
area's orthodox Matsu lineage. It wasn't until 2009 that worshippers at Fengtian
Temple took their Matsu statue on an 'ice-breaking' visit to Chaotian Temple to
burn incense together, and a reconciliation finally took place.
Both are beautiful structures filled with elaborate relief in wood and stone, as
well as many historical relics. Of course, both see riots of parading, prostrating,
