Taiwan’s Scenic Haifeng Train Is a Dessert Lover’s Dream

"A curated, dessert-focused scenic train that debuted in December 2024, designed as a slow, indulgent way to see Taiwan’s western coast. The three-hour journey seats just 60 passengers in Tiffany-blue cars with sofa-style seats facing oversized windows, gold trim and a retro-luxe aesthetic; soft piano music and a deliberately slow pace (about 20 mph at times) encourage lingering over the view. Food is central: passengers receive a two-tiered, Tiffany-blue box with a pop-up souvenir menu offering upscale, locally inspired savory bites (including a sweet potato ball stuffed with duck, a mustard-seed seafood salad sandwich, and a taro-and-scallion scone made with locally grown taro served with lemon–kumquat jam and creamy salty butter) and a rotating selection of sweets (a macaron topped with a strawberry from nearby Dahu and yuzu cream cheese; a rice-whiskey canelé with a puffed-rice crisp flavored with lei cha; a chiffon-cake parfait layered with thin grape and cantaloupe slices, custard and Chantilly). The final course is a petite ice cream from a Michelin-starred Taichung shop, presented with a souvenir seashell-shaped spoon. The itinerary includes short, guided stops—such as a pause in a seaside town to admire a 1922 cedar station house and a visit to a 250-year-old temple—and leans toward domestic travelers (minimal English signage and booking often requires the operator’s U.S. site or extra translation). Priced around NT$3,600 (about $110), the experience trades speed for atmosphere and seasonal menu/route changes, aiming to showcase local ingredients, history and off-the-beaten-path towns in an intimate, highly curated way." - Naomi Tomky