Storytime at Eirakucho Drum Tea House 永樂町鼓茶樓-答嘴鼓

Although known as a “tea house”, Eirakucho Drum Tea House 永樂町鼓茶樓-答嘴鼓 surely offers more than a mere cuppa.

A visit to Eirakucho Drum Tea House is an opportunity to learn about Tainan at a deeper level, from its many generation-long exhibits during a guided tour, and especially from its 40-minute cultural show, performed during weekends.

One of the exhibits that attracted my attention was a map of Tainan business establishments in the old days. The hand-drawn map only featured businesses that had paid to be included. It was sort of an advertisement back then.

The 3-storey Eirakucho Drum Tea House is a 141-year-old building that is also steeped in history. Although the main entrance of Eirakucho is hidden from sight from the main road, it is worth the effort getting to this tea house.

An interesting fact is that this premises is located along the shortest street in Taiwan, that’s Gong-Hou Street, and its name has remained unchanged since the Qing Dynasty (1636 – 1912).

The ‘Gong’ in Gong-Hou Street stands for ‘temple’ in Mandarin, referring to Shui-Xian Temple, that is over 300 years old. Its resident deity is Da Yu, God of Water, therefore, the temple is also known as Da Yu Temple.

Meanwhile, the market located in front of the temple is the oldest in Taiwan, where a variety of traditional desserts is sold, such as rice cakes, smoked food and seafood noodles.

Much-looked forward to familiarise while at “Ten Drum Tea House in Yung-le Town” (old name), now “Ten Drum Tea House of Yung-le Town” is the two-person cultural theatre, with a storyline that focuses on Tainan and its history.

During the 40-minute presentation, guests learn about Tainan’s best street food, from danzai noodles to coffin bread, milkfish, oyster omelettes, and mackerel (fish), as well as the city’s most prominent war hero, Zheng Chenggong, or better known as Koxinga.

Whether you opt to watch the show or not, Eirakucho Drum Tea House is an awesome place to lepak with friends over a cup of tea and to take photos, while enjoying its soothing ambience.

Eirakucho Drum Tea House 永樂町鼓茶樓-答嘴鼓
Add: 15, Gonghou Street, West Central District, Tainan City, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Tel: +886 6 223 6722

Note: View larger images by clicking on an image once this page has completely loaded. Then navigate by clicking on the right or left side of image.