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2016 Hakka Capital Certified Restaurant Signature Dishes: Lotus-Leaf Steamed Fish, Lotus-Leaf Eight-Treasure Rice Speaking of the story behind the Datian Lotus Restaurant, it was a beautiful accident. In 1998, after retiring from his career as a banquet chef, Grandpa Zhuang had planned to spend his days enjoying the countryside with his grandchildren. At the time, he was serving as the executive director of the Dajuxi Ecological Conservation Association. Upon discovering a hidden water-pollution crisis near his home, he and several friends converted his family’s rice paddies into a lotus pond as a means of testing the water quality. The strategy worked; the blooming lotus flowers soon drew tourists from north and south. Using lotus in cuisine adds a new Hakka flavor. Smitten with the lotus, Grandpa Zhuang’s family opened the Datian Lotus Restaurant and began studying the plant’s ecology. Through guided tours, DIY activities, and recipe development, they hoped to deepen visitors’ appreciation of the land. Worth noting: Grandpa Zhuang, who had helped his father cater banquets since childhood, is a celebrated chef in Taoyuan and has overseen year-end feasts for major tech companies, as well as serving two terms as village head. From a cup of fragrant lotus tea to stir-fried shelled lotus seeds that taste like pistachios, lotus-petal rolls filled with fruit salad, whole lotus flowers simmered into black-bone chicken soup, large lotus leaves wrapped around eight-treasure rice and steamed fish—every dish has become…