What We Ate In Taiwan, Part 14 - Farewell Luncheon In Taichung City

The last meal of our Supera/Signet (www.superatours.com) tour of Taiwan was in Taichung City, which I didn't realize we visited in our 1980 visit to Taiwan until after we got back home.  The lunch employed a cooking method which I had never seen.  In the center of every table was a deep built-in vessel with water filled in on the bottom.  There was a flat steaming plate inserted near the top of the vessel, and a dish of raw seafood placed on top of the plate.  One of the diners noticed that as they were setting the equipment up, there was rice in the water at the bottom of the vessel.  The vessel was covered and a digital control on the edge of the table was set to the proper cooking time.

Then the parade of seafood started.  First the squid.

Scallops on the shell.

Grouper.

Shrimp in the shell.

Abalone (!!!)

Crab.

When the crab was finished, the steaming plate was removed to reveal a large, delicious portion of seafood congee on the bottom from the rice that had been placed there in the beginning.  What an unexpected surprise treat.

As an extra bonus, there were some non seafood eaters at our table so there were dishes made especially for them in addition to the seafood dishes, which everybody shared.  This included marinated tofu.

Fried mushrooms.

And chicken with cabbage.

One issue with the meal was that you ended up with steamed seafood, which because of its blandness, you have to rely on dipping sauces for flavoring.  However many Chinese like this method of preparation as it permits you to experience the true flavor of the seafood, and most of the guests thought this was a superior meal.