The Five Dime Driftwood House Restaurant (Taiwan)

    Out of all the extreme restaurants I have eaten at, the Five Dime Driftwood House Restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan is by far the most original and beautiful I have ever been to. For those foreign culture-curious people, the Chinese name for the restaurant is 伍角船板 (Wu Jiao Chuan Ban). The restaurant is characterized for its beautiful architecture, as you can see from the pictures above, but the catch? The entire building is constructed from driftwood (http://www.flickr.com/photos/advcity/4293811910/ , http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/6RzpD2hmcxEy9cJbpsMwNA) that the artist, Hsieh Li-Shiang, personally collected on the beach. The building itself took about US $6 million to construct, but the end result is something beyond belief, and is an example of how anything can be used to create art and build something truly glorious and transcendent of the horrible things man is capable of doing. The restaurant provides a cool, stress-free environment to escape to, especially during the hot, humid summer days Taiwan experiences. The driftwood provides a comfortable climate for people to sit in and enjoy their meal.The beauty and peacefulness one experiences as soon as one steps into the building is astounding; tranquil music plays from hidden speakers dotted throughout the restaurant and a piano sits in the middle of a pond situated in the exact center of the restaurant. A man plays piano soulfully as you dine, adding to the atmosphere of mystery and wonder at the magnificence of the building. (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ReviewPhotos-g293913-d807530-r89036485-Five_Dime-Taipei.html#28925067) **The links posted above are pictures of the interior of the restaurant.
    The greatness definitely does not stop there. The food is amazing, traditional Taiwanese food is served, and Li-Shiang has made it clear that not only does her restaurant provide an awe-inspiring structure, the food served must be scrumptious and delectable. No matter what you order from the menu, expect it to fit your taste buds exactly and leave you aching for more. I myself am a fan of food (I LOVE FOOD), and from personal experience, I can say that the food is, like the restaurant, beyond belief.
   
    Artist Hsieh Li-Shiang says her inspiration grew from her childhood. Li-Shiang grew up on a small farm in small town Hsikang in Taiwan's Tainan county (known for its gorgeous natural views) and was always close to nature. Her childhood was surrounded by the beautiful, tropical environment Taiwan so carefully maintains, and thus inspired her to work with products of nature, in this case driftwood. Thank goodness she was inspired, so that we now have magnificent works of art to admire (Li-Shiang has established a chain of these restaurants throughout the small island of Taiwan).
    The Five Dime Driftwood House Restaurant is one I most definitely recommend for you to experience, and is just one of the many places in Taiwan I will be blogging about in the future. Here's to another piece of driftwood added to my Framework for Life.