Address: No.40-1, Xinghua Street, Xinghua Village, Lukang Township, Changhua County
Tel. no.: 04-7771822
Business hours: 11:30-20:30 on weekdays, 10:00-20:30 on holidays (Tuesday and Wednesday off)
Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/leelistw/
Upon entering the spacious industrial-style restaurant, the first sight is of Assistant Manager Lee Chin-Tsai (bringing fortune), a Shiba Inu, sitting in the aisle with bright, alert eyes. Slowly approaching is the Manager and Head Chef Lee Yuan-Hao, a young man who returned to Lukang from Australia.
“No matter how good the working environment and salary are in Australia, it’s not my place,” explained Lee as he described his reason for returning to Lukang. After spending eight years away from home—from studying culinary arts in Kaohsiung during his university days to working as a Western chef in Australia—he longed for a sense of belonging. His experiences abroad, where he felt the deep connection between food, culture, and life, inspired him to leverage his culinary expertise to contribute to his hometown. Upon returning, he and two friends, both surnamed Lee/Li, founded LeeLi’s together.
As a pioneering home-returning youth to start a business, Lee didn’t expect the preparation to last nine months. The stress of balancing costs, finding a location, and planning operations was already overwhelming, not to mention the skepticism he faced from relatives and friends who thought he was aimless, asserting that a Western restaurant selling brunch and dinner wouldn’t succeed in Lukang. In reality, many home-returning youths face similar doubts, having to continually negotiate and communicate with family and people around them, despite their professionalism and plans. It wasn’t until more than a year after the restaurant was launched, when they received praise from locals and media coverage, that his family started to feel reassured about this “half-decorated restaurant.”
While it is a restaurant Lee founded, he has a platform in mind. One aim is to infuse Lukang’s culture into the dishes, allowing people to learn more about Lukang. Another aim is to use locally sourced ingredients from Changhua, further showcasing to customers the excellent local produce. For instance, their signature creative dish “Three Burgers of Lukang” is a manifestation of the essence of three Lukang snacks: thickened thin noodles, taro balls, and buns. The noodle burger’s crust is made by boiling and molding noodles, then frying them, with sesame oil mayo spread on top. It is then filled with fried chicken and arugula, capturing the flavor of sesame oil chicken noodles. The taro ball burger uses steamed then fried taro shreds as the crust, filled with pork. It’s essentially a taro burger. The veggie bun burger features a mini bun from a famous local shop, Chiaowaichen, filled with stir-fried tofu skin, potato, carrot, and black fungus strips. It is a vegetarian burger taking inspiration from the taste of bean curd soup.
During his breaks, Lee often visits smallholders to explore local ingredients. For example, one can enjoy hydroponic vegetables known to be delivered to Michelin restaurants straight from Fangyuan Township in Leeli’s. Fresh milk from Fengle Farm is heated and processed in-house to present a distinct flavor. They also use jasmine flowers from Huatan Township to make desserts. Moreover, the waitstaff of Leeli’s are required to learn and share the stories behind these ingredients and dishes in their own way, breaking free from stereotypical service models and providing customers with a touch of genuineness and warmth.
There’s a story behind every dish at Leeli’s. When you dine here, don’t forget to enjoy the stories as well!
This article is from the Lukang Chronicle II: Lukang Renaissance.
Lukang Chronicle II: Lukang Renaissance is a local magazine from Lukang, documenting the growth and transformation of the Kids from Lukang and their local business partners over the past six years. Stemming from the concept of environmentally friendly festivals, the initiative has crossed paths with many young people who have returned or moved to Lukang to live and start businesses. This collective effort has enriched contemporary life in Lukang. On the foundation of the town’s nostalgia and traditions, a lifestyle unique to the new generation has flourished
