Tianxia Qi Ji

Review

Tianxia Qi Ji is at No. 352 Junfu 9th Road in Beitun District, at the corner with Hexiang 5th Street, near the Dakeng Lovers' Bridge and hiking trails, so it is handy before or after a hike. Supertaste has written a dedicated article on its golden roast chicken and also lists it in its Beitun food map, highlighting the wood-fired stove; online maps label it the Dakeng branch, so ask the shop if you want details on other locations.

The signature clay-oven golden roast chicken is NT$850 a bird, roasted in a large outdoor stove with lychee and longan wood, and guests can watch the process. The media say the breed is a cross between French Bresse and Taiwanese pearl chicken, grain-fed and freshly slaughtered; staff take the bird apart before serving, revealing golden, crisp skin and juicy meat. The clay-oven corn with chicken juices, NT$220, uses milk corn that is half roasted, half simmered to soak up the juices, and the chicken-juice rice, NT$25 a bowl, is dressed with chicken juices, fried shallots and soy sauce, very good with everything else.

Other dishes include salt-roasted tilapia at NT$450, spicy intestines and blood tofu at NT$450, handmade golden tofu at NT$300, and a small assorted mushroom soup at NT$390 with six or seven kinds of mushroom in roast chicken stock; on holidays there are fresh oysters from Lukang. Fans praise the big portions, the savoury flavour and friendly staff. Critics say it is out of the way and easiest by car, and some find it merely average and not cheap when ordering à la carte.

The media list closing at 10 p.m., while online maps show 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays and moved if a holiday falls then, so call before you go. The interior has antique wood carvings, with plenty of space and seats, and set menus for four to ten people. There are many parking spaces around, so driving is easy; book ahead on holidays or for large groups.

Good for family gatherings or friends ending a day in Dakeng with a lively dinner. Three or four people can share a whole chicken, a corn, a bowl of chicken-juice rice each, plus the mushroom soup and greens; for bigger groups, a set menu is simpler.