Mahi-Mahi Today: The First Mahi-mahi Rest Area in Taiwan

BY SHAWN TENG JANUARY 26, 2019

Instead of operating a restaurant in Taitung, Mr. Liao, the founder/owner of Mahi-Mahi Today, has another ideal. “We defined our place as a ‘rest area’ which specializes in cooking cuisine that is related to Mahi-mahi only,” said Mr. Liao. “Plus, we aim to serve our cuisine to travelers and tourists in a short amount of time.”

(Photo by Shawn-Teng)

Mahi-Mahi Today is a 10 to 15-minute drive from downtown Taitung (2 to 3 minutes from Hou's Pig's Blood Soup in Beinan). It is located at No. 993, Gengsheng Rd.

On the menu of Mahi-Mahi Today are a Mahi-mahi fish hamburger, Mahi-mahi burrito, Mahi-mahi fish soup, and other options that all include Mahi-mahi.

(Photo by Shawn-Teng)

Before opening Mahi-Mahi Today, Liao and his staff offered Italian cuisine to customers at a restaurant called Fall in Love with Taitung. Later, they discovered an ingredient that could be used in order to stand out from the current market.

“Two years ago, my staff and I went to Chenggong Fishing Port for sightseeing, and we saw so many piles of Mahi-mahi at the port,” said Liao. “That’s when I decided to design and to cook Mahi-mahi cuisine; it is part of Taitung.”

(Photo by Shawn-Teng)

Apart from the cooking aspect of Mahi-Mahi Today, Liao also mentioned some challenges they faced. Firstly, the number of tourists has decreased, and the lifestyles of young people have changed. Furthermore, Liao said that today, restaurants that offer brunches to customers are more popular. It is also difficult to compete with chain stores.