Savor the Field Banquet – Wild Feast
Let the aroma of charcoal guide you into the heart of the rice fields, where each bite unveils the true flavors of tribal cuisine.
Smoke rises slowly, carrying the message of wild herbs and seasonal harvests.
In the middle of the summer fields stands a pure white canopy—
beneath it, travelers gather to witness the birth of each dish alongside the chefs.
The smoky savor of fire-roasted meats, the tang of fermented greens—
these are poems written by time, inscribed in the soil and passed down through generations.
They are the ancestral wisdom of preservation, reimagining the gifts of the forest and the sea.
Watch as the chefs wield fire and pan, skillfully transforming time-honored preservation methods into vibrant new flavors.
Each dish extends the essence of its season, blooming on the tongues of its guests—
a ritual of preservation, celebrated through taste and the senses.
Field Banquet – Wild Feast
Bunun Forest FeastBuzzing Private Kitchen
Nestled in Zhuoxi, Hualien, Buzzing Private Kitchen is led by Chef Weng Weng, who specializes in blending traditional Bunun ingredients with modern creativity. To this day, he continues to hunt in the mountains—not only to source ingredients, but to preserve the ancestral knowledge of the forest.
From foraged seasonal greens to inherited smoking techniques, each dish is a response to the land, a continuation of cultural memory.
For this occasion, Weng Weng has crafted a feast rooted in Bunun terroir. Using fresh bamboo shoots and cherry duck from Yuli, he prepares a crisp salad with rice lees–pickled wild greens. Sweet potatoes from the local 193 Farmers’ Network are steamed and blended with peanut sauce for a rich, velvety bite. His imaginative Bunun Beans with Century Egg Stir-fry brings savory delight, as fermented tribal soybeans and century eggs bloom with flavor. To finish, a refreshing herbal tea brewed with shell ginger and fragrant marigold cleanses the palate.
Every dish—from its ingredients to preparation—is Weng Weng’s tribute to the land he loves. Known for telling stories through food, he invites guests to sit down and feel the call of the mountains and the ancestors. Here, flavor becomes a language, and as Weng Weng says, “This land has its own unique taste.”
The Flavor of Abundance / Writing Taste from the Forest
Smoked Pork Ribs with Mountain Pepper & Salted Watermelon Rind
This year’s theme dish highlights Yuli’s seasonal bounty: watermelon. Weng Weng selects undersized early-harvest melons—typically thinned from the vines—and preserves them with salt to create a textured salted rind, reflecting both classic ingredients and a spirit of zero-waste. The ribs, thick-cut and preserved using traditional Bunun smoking methods, are presented with a live carving ritual at the table—offering travelers a taste of forest memory and the communal spirit of sharing.
Granary Harvest FeastPayang Amis Cuisine
Inside a rustic granary in Chishang Township, Payang—a sixth-generation Amis woman whose family migrated from Hengchun to Taitung—has turned her memories of home-cooked meals into something extraordinary. Under her Amis name, she founded Payang Amis Cuisine to tell stories of daily tribal life, one dish at a time. For this year’s feast, she presents a refreshing take on lutu—the traditional hunter’s basket meal (named for the Amis word for “carrying basket”). This version features sweet potato, cucumber, salted egg and diced tomato, paired with an herbaceous tribal-style pesto, capturing the bright flavors of the mountains. The main dish, spice-marinated roasted pork shoulder with mashed pigeon peas, is fragrant and satisfying. For dessert, a crystal fruit jelly served with a spoonful of rice wine lees evokes the natural sweetness hidden within the land. The drink—a fizzy ginger beverage infused with honeyed shell ginger and candied ginger slices—is warming, earthy, and deeply restorative. “When wild greens are woven into everyday life, we never forget them.” These simple words express Payang’s philosophy, and through her cooking, open the door for travelers to begin understanding Amis culture.
The Flavor of Abundance / A Cool Taste of Summer Fields
Chilled Sour Bamboo Soup
In many Amis homes, there’s no need for electric refrigerators. Instead, generations have relied on jars of preserved ingredients—a “micro-fridge” packed with treasures from the land and sea. For this dish, pickled bamboo shoots are used to create a sour-and-spicy soup, reimagining Spain’s chilled gazpacho with a tribal twist.
Served cold, the broth carries the tartness of bamboo shoots with a gentle heat. Refreshing and bold, it tastes like spring water flowing from the mountains—cooling the heat of summer and reflecting the time-honored wisdom of preservation in tribal communities.
Millet Swing FeastKayana Workshop
Not far from Guanshan Railway Station, a quiet path leads into the hills—where golden millet hangs from the ceiling like strands of sunlight. This is Kayana Workshop, located in the Kanting tribal community.
For over a decade, “Papa Heaven,” “Mama Golden Banana,” and their daughter Ibu have been dedicated to reviving millet farming. More than just replanting, they have restored Kayana’s seasonal calendar, allowing ancestral rhythms and stories to live on.
“In the Bunun culture, if you’ve never tasted millet, you’ve never truly sat at our table.”
At this feast, millet takes center stage—from starter to dessert.
Charcoal-grilled pork marinated in millet carries both smoke and subtle sweetness. Millet rice is patiently stirred over an open fire until it reaches the perfect chewy consistency. The finale: a chilled millet porridge simmered to creamy smoothness, infused with osmanthus syrup and Bunun beans, offering a layered, fragrant finish. The drink—a honeysuckle infusion—brings gentle herbal sweetness that cools and refreshes the body from within.
The Flavor of Abundance / Earth-Ripened Aromas
Millet Bran–Fermented Vegetables
Inspired by Japan’s traditional nukazuke pickling, Ibu created a millet-based fermentation bed using millet bran, rice koji, and salt. Into this she places local vegetables, allowing them to slowly ferment into something tangy, savory, and deeply aromatic.
This natural fermentation preserves the vegetables’ crisp texture while infusing them with the warm scent of millet. Each bite is a taste of Bunun knowledge—where time, earth, and tradition come together in a shared language of flavor and renewal.