Jin Du Restaurant

Review

Jin Du Restaurant is at No. 236 Xinyi Road in Puli. Supertaste notes that it opened in 1994 and describes it as a Taiwanese restaurant blending local produce with creative touches. Locals use it for banquets and family meals, and many tour coaches stop here too. Puli is famous for its water and Shaoxing wine, and this restaurant works both the wine and local crops into its cooking, making it an easy introduction to Puli flavours.

Dishes often mentioned include red yeast braised pork, Shaoxing drunken chicken, duck dishes and black truffle fragrant rice, plus local touches such as Puli pumpkin rice noodles and double-cured fragrant rice cakes, along with themed banquet menus such as the Shaoxing banquet, the Puli country banquet and a flower banquet. Diners often mention dishes made with Puli water bamboo and sugarcane; some especially like the vegetable soup sweetened naturally with sugarcane, and others recommend the fried rice noodles and the passion fruit starter.

Fans praise the local character of the food, efficient service and how well it suits groups with elders and children, saying set meals are sized so nothing goes to waste; some mention booking a cooking class. Critics feel some set portions are small, a few dishes lack surprise and the vegetable soup is bland, and some say the banquet-hall setting feels more like a function room than a refined restaurant.

Online listings show hours of about 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with no fixed closing day noted. Because tour groups are common, booking ahead for weekend meals is wise, and larger groups do best with a set menu. None of the sources list à la carte prices, and spending varies a lot by party size and dishes, so ask the restaurant for the latest menu and prices before you go.

Good for families, company dinners and tour groups who want Puli's Shaoxing wine cooking and local vegetables in one meal, or for taking older relatives to a proper Taiwanese dinner. Small parties can order the drunken chicken, red yeast pork, a water bamboo dish and fried rice noodles; larger groups should go straight for a themed banquet menu to taste the house specialities.