Dou Sang

Hualien


Seemingly unchanged for decades, timber-walled Dou Sang is an unrestored time warp of a place full of old pop pin-ups, fading collages of business cards and bench-seats perched at vinyl-covered wooden tables. Food is old-school Taiwanese, with local families coming to savour the nostalgic flavours their grandparents grew up with, but it's not set up for single diners or couples.

English translations of the very extensive menu items can be bewilderingly cryptic. Dishes to try include barbecued pork (烤鹹豬肉; kǎoxián zhūròu), ginger intestine (薑絲大腸; jiāng sī dàcháng), minced pork (蒼蠅頭; cāngyíng tóu) and beef with scallion (蔥爆牛肉; cōngbào niúròu).

The restaurant is beside the traffic lights opposite the turning to Pine Garden.