Two Nights at The Lalu

I recently returned from my two-week trip on January 10th and have spend the past few of weeks adjusting to “real life”. Now that reality has finally set in, I thought I’d kick myself in the butt a few times and get myself back into the “blogging” mode.

The Lalu, the first stop of my 13-day trip to Asia, is a resort located at the Sun Moon Lake in Yuchih, Nantou (which is about one hour east of Taichung). Due to the altitude, rolling fog/clouds can be seen blanketing the mountains surrounding the lake at any given time, providing the visitor an ever-changing view of the scenery. Simply breathtaking!

View from the Lalu

Just to let you know, this post is going to be pretty long and it’s going to have a decent amount of pictures. Hope you have fun browsing through it!

Poolside, Taiwan’s longest warm-water pool

We arrived at the Lalu at around 3-4pm in the afternoon and were immediately greeted by the hotel’s staff. During the check-in process, we were ushered to their seating area near the lobby and provided warm towels, a few bowls of roasted almonds and plum tea. Our luggage were into carts and promptly delivered into our rooms. I thought that was a very nice touch since we had been on the road for about 2 and half hours and were pretty exhausted from the drive.

Here’s are some random pictures of the resort, the view and our rooms.

Twin bedroom

(left) Lalu’s private dock (right) Suite bathroom

(left) Our room keys on top of the Suite’s dining table (right) fresh fruit delivered daily

(left) day 1 snacks, cake (right) day 2 snacks, curry creme puff

The Library

View of Sun Moon Lake from the Lalu

Later that evening, the concierge made reservations for us at the ‘Lake View’ Chinese Restaurant, which was located in their second building (where the Spa, Gym, Karaoke and Mahjong lounge were located). We still had a few hours to kill that evening so the family decided to hit the Karaoke lounge until dinnertime.

yummy pastries during our karaoke session

After some snacks, tea and signing, we made our way upstairs for dinner.

If you are a VIP member, your tables are reserved with your personalized name tag. Sweet!

pan-fried mushrooms with lots of parsley and garlic

tea leaf shrimp

(left) veggies, forget the name (right) eggplant with garlic

pork! super-tender! melt in your mouth!!

Chicken…or is it duck? Hmmm I think it’s chicken.

yellow kiwi, rambutan, grapes and honeydew

On a side note, the service was pretty bad this evening. The dishes did not come at a timely manner so we found ourselves staring at empty plates for a good part of the evening. Making matters worse, the waiter failed to take down one of the dishes he recommended, so we ended up waiting over ONE HOUR for it show up. My mom had some choice words for them that evening. What amazes me most is how she was able to tell them how disappointed she is, have a smile on her face and still make staff blush in embarrasment.

That pretty much concluded our first night at the Lalu.

Day-Two was rather interesting. I spent the better part of the morning sitting on the balcony taking pictures and checking my email. Very relaxing. As we approached noon, we had brunch buffet down stairs at The Oriental Brasserie, which is located downstairs from the lobby. The buffet was probably the most gratifying of all the meals so far since I got to eat whatever I wanted and there is enough variety to satisfy a wide range of tastes.

(left) salad bar (right) baked goodies

(round 1) turnip cake, sausages, hash browns, soba, smoked turkey…

(round 2) sushi rolls, veggies, more turnip cake…

(round 3) mixed berry yogurt, dragon fruit, honeydew, blue cheese, brie, bread, watermelon

After brunch, we rented some bikes and literally rode around in circles because no one wanted to ride down to town. There was a reason for this, since the Lalu is up on a hill, no one wanted to have to ride uphill on our way back. Plus, we had an 1:00pm appointed over at the Spa, so I no one wanted to miss that. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the Spa, but I can tell you that place was NICE! You get the mountain and lake views in your massage room and also in the lockeroom! Oh and if you are a guy, you will enjoy the fact that most of the massage therapists are women.

Once we emerged from our massages, my sister and I hit up the Tea House for some Pearl Flower Tea and some Lavender Cookies. That was quite an relaxing afternoon.

the teahouse

tea and cookies

Soon after, my mom wanted to round up the family for “Karaoke Night Part 2″. I think we were there for a good hour or two. Afterwards, we headed off to the Oriental Brasserie (again) for dinner.

some bread for starters

seafood roll…didn’t like it all that much

creme of pumpkin. loved it! and I don’t like pumpkin

seared tuna wrapped in bacon and basil. to die for…omg…simply amazing

Wow..pretty and tasty! raspberry cake? or ice cream? not sure, tasted like a mix of the two.

Towards the end of our meal, the Master Chef came to greet us personally, which made it an interesting dining experience. The food started off lukewarm, but finished with a bang. Unfortunately, the overall waiting time was a bit too much for a four-course meal.

On Day-Three, my dad and I took a 2 hour boat tour around Sun Moon Lake and visited the surrounding areas. Once we returned from our tour, we packed our bags and made our way to the Hot Springs!!!

Overall, I really enjoyed my time at the Lalu and I highly recommend it. I’ve never experienced the “VIP” treatment, so that was certainly a special treat. This is definitely a great honeymoon or romantic spot if you are thinking of taking a significant other out for a nice weekend getaway (assuming you live in Taiwan). Now, if you are wondering how much it costs per night, here’s an idea. I am told the double twin rooms cost around $400-something a night, while the suites are around $700-something or so. That, of course, is  member pricing…not sure what non-members pay. Now, the food wasn’t overly expensive (by U.S. standards anyway), but it wasn’t exactly cheap either. For the most part, the food was good and probably cost no more than the usual “fine dining” type restaurant ($20-$30 per person range). Anyway, you if you are interested in learning more, head over to their website. I believe you will have to email them or call them for reservations though, since they don’t take reservations over the web.

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