Fisherman's wharf

Almost every coastal and port city in Asia now has a fisherman's wharf these days, as a major tourist attraction, as well as a local favorite spot to bring the family for some delicious and succulent locally fresh fruits of the sea. Well, Hualien is no exeption, and it has taken us a while to find it because it is literally hidden away. There is no advertising, no directions how to get there, just an old fashioned kind of fishing village nobody seems to notice. For generations, fishing is a way of life and life simply carries on....

Being a port city with the Pacific ocean at her doorstep, Hualien is blessed with abundance of clean air, clean water, and no sewage problems, and therefore, very high quality of seafood and fish.

What is different about Hualien's fisherman's wharf from most others, is that this one is very rustic and has very little developement around it. No high rise condos, no chintzy fake fountains, no tourists rip off mega stores, and definitely no "Hualien fisherman's wharf" T shirts. Just an old port with hundreds of old wooden fishing boats which appeared to be passed down from previous generations.

There are no fancy seafood restaurants here. In fact, there is only one indoor restaurant and it does not seat more than fifty people. But the seafood is very good and very fresh. The highlight is a local fish served sashimi style. It is very buttery similar to tuna belly but has a firm texture and very little fishy taste. Its heaven. There are also tuna, sword fish, and salmon sashimi filets you can buy and take home. Also fish balls made at the spot and they are DELICIOUS! A big bowl of rice noodles with fish balls and cilantro in a fish broth, right by the ocean, what more can I ask for???

And the price for the seafood feast? The eight of us, $100Cdn. In Hong Kong, three of us ate at Tun Mun and it was nearly $300Cdn. Why such a huge difference? Supply and demand I guess. In HK, you have eight million people eating seafood. Here in Hualien, there are 400,000 people. Bon appetit!