Is Sinasera 24 the toughest restaurant to book in Taiwan? How French fine-dining destination draws visitors to quiet aboriginal town in Taitung

Four hours from Taipei, French fine-dining restaurant Sinasera 24 is drawing foodies to Changbin, an aboriginal town in Taitung county on Taiwan’s east coast

There, a French-trained chef serves a menu honouring aboriginal traditions. Visitors can go on traditional hunts and try artisanal coffee, breads and gelato too

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Foodies who want to eat at Sinasera 24 must book a table at least a month in advance. It is, some say, the toughest restaurant to book in Taiwan. Photo: Mavis Teo

Mavis Teo

Published: 11:37am, 13 Nov 2023Updated: 3:11pm, 13 Nov 2023

It is a moonless night and, if not for the headlamps worn by those accompanying me, it would be pitch dark.

Nevertheless, the three hunters have no problem identifying animals when they shine their lights into the foliage on Mount Jingang, at the northernmost tip of Taitung county, on Taiwan’s east coast. The glow and outline of the eyes they spot tell them all they need to know.

Home to a number of aboriginal tribes, wild, fertile Taitung has the island’s longest stretch of craggy coastline, punctuated by steep cliffs.

The hunters belong to the Amis tribe, one of 16 recognised in Taiwan. They know the woods like the backs of their hands, their forefathers having hunted, fished and eaten according to the seasons some 5,500 years before the Chinese came to the island.

A view of a village along the Taitung coast. Photo: Facebook/Nga’ayho

Many aboriginals in these parts are still schooled in the traditions of their ancestors, and want to pass them on to the next generation. They also want to let non-aboriginals know about their culture. The Three Men, as the trio I am with call themselves, take guests along on hunting trips on mild winter nights for NT$1,000 (US$31) per person.

We keep going for nearly an hour while the leader, Yan “Xiao Yan” Jilu, a 41-year-old who runs a homestay, points out which plants are edible and which are highly toxic, the differences too subtle to the inexperienced eye. He also tells me about the rituals and taboos of the aboriginals.