Notice to passengers, posted on the wall at Yuli Station.
Whoever searches “Yuli bars” reads these seven rules first. Each of the four bars on file falls under one of them, and by the end you know how to take your seat tonight. The last run, a night ticket with four stops, followed the timetable; this notice follows the rules.
Rule one: four on file, no fifth
Datong Rd 60-1, 臣佳立業餐酒館 CHEN & JIA BISTRO, 4.9 stars, 326 reviews, phone 03 888 0025. Nearest TRA Yuli Station, a few minutes along Datong Rd from the exit.
Sec. 2 of Ren’ai Rd 32, 深夜故事餐酒館, 4.7 stars, 165 reviews. A little farther from the core, and the most bar-like of the three.
Zhonghua Rd 382, 娟姐廚房J.J.Bistro, 4.5 stars, 129 reviews. Home cooking outweighs the alcohol; for quiet conversation, this one.
Outside town at 270-13, 綠點酒莊TheGreenFarm, 4.8 stars, 41 reviews, the address stops there, car required.
That is all. The full list is at Yuli bars and bistros.
Rule two: seated before twenty hundred
The old Yuli noodle shops sell out and close before seven or eight, and after nine the whole town is quiet enough to hear the creek. Bistro hours per the posted notice, but this town’s clock runs an hour ahead of yours.
Sit down before eight. Seven is better.
Rule three: one bar to the end, no switching
The three bistros are ten-odd minutes apart on foot, switchable in theory; in practice, whoever switches after half past nine mostly walks up to a shutter.
So pick one by who is with you and stay until closing: a group eating with drinks, Chen & Jia, comfortable at NT$500 to 800 a head; one or two people wanting to sit late, Late Night Story; with elders or wanting to talk, Juanjie’s Kitchen. Menu prices per the venue.
Rule four: the second round is a convenience store or the liquor shop
Wanting more is not another bar, it is a bottle back to the guesthouse.
Guangfu Rd 150, 全鴻菸酒行-花蓮玉里葡萄酒 葡萄氣泡酒 紀念酒 人氣洋酒 進口啤酒 平價酒推薦, 4.9 stars, 32 reviews, a very long registered name for a very simple job. The guesthouse balcony is Yuli’s second round.
For singing, Sec. 2 of Zhongshan Rd 113, 好樂迪玉里店, the town’s only KTV, 4 stars, 116 reviews; for a massage finish, Zhongzheng Rd 138, 玉享足體按摩 /越式洗髮, a perfect score and 156 reviews. Both are “not another bar, something else” options.
Rule five: August to mid-September, seats limited
The Chike Mountain daylily season. Mountain guesthouses are scarce and town bistros fill on weekends; book a week ahead.
After the sunrise you are down the mountain by day, so put dinner and that drink in Yuli and sleep in Yuli. The mountain road is steep and winding; never drive it after dark for a drink. Outside the season, a weeknight walk-in usually finds a table.
Rule six: an hour north, an hour south
For anything livelier, do not stay in Yuli. North to Hualien City is about an hour, with the bar belt in the old railway district, covered in Hualien City’s bar belt; south to Taitung City is also about an hour. Most express trains stop at TRA Yuli Station; check the last local train.
Ruisui and Fuli have nothing registered at bar level, so do not look either way.
Rule seven: drink and do not drive
Short taxi rides in Yuli are possible but capacity is limited; allow time for the return and save the cab company number before going out. Anyone sleeping on the Chike Mountain or Antong side cannot get a taxi at night, so do not come down to drink.
A designated driver, or a sober driver at the wheel. Highway 9 and the mountain stretches are barely lit, and this rule has no discussion.
Seven rules read. Punch the ticket, take your seat.