A familiar taste of preserved radish offers a new way to discover Hengchun
From a radish grown in Hengchun’s seasonal winds to a jar left to mature for ten years, time is at the heart of this journey.
Over three days and two nights, follow preserved radish artisan Liu Mei-hsia into the places where the radishes are grown and prepared, and discover how salting, sun-drying, aging and patience transform a familiar Taiwanese ingredient.
Along the way, preserved radish becomes a way to understand Hengchun—its land, its people, and the flavors shaped slowly over time.
October 23–25, 2026 | Limited 3-Day, 2-Night Journey
Three Days, Beginning with Preserved Radish
01 | Taste the Difference Between Three and Ten Years
What happens to the same radish after three years—or ten?
The journey begins with a tasting.
Guided by Volando Kenting Executive Chef Chang Chia-cheng, guests will taste preserved radishes of different ages, origins and preparation methods, noticing how aroma, texture and flavor evolve over time.
A specially prepared preserved radish tea accompanies the tasting, setting the first note for the journey ahead.
02 | Step Inside the Place Where Preserved Radish Is Made
Leave the hotel behind and see how a familiar flavor takes shape
Follow Liu Mei-hsia into her preserved radish production site and trace the process from harvesting and sun-drying to salting and long aging in earthenware jars.
It is a chance to see how an everyday flavor is slowly shaped by the seasons, careful preparation and years of waiting.
03 | Witness the Opening of an Aged Preserved Radish Jar
Some flavors can only come with time
During the journey, guests will join Liu Mei-hsia as an aged jar of preserved radish is opened.
As the lid is lifted, its deepened color and distinctive aroma reveal what years of aging have done.
“Three years” and “ten years” are no longer simply measures of time. In that moment, they become something you can see, smell and eventually taste.
04 | Bring the Flavors of Hengchun Back to the Table
When aged preserved radish becomes part of a Volando Kenting dinner
After spending the day learning about Hengchun’s land, preserved radish making and the long aging process, the journey returns to the table.
Volando Kenting Executive Chef Chang Chia-cheng and preserved radish artisan Liu Mei-hsia will jointly create a limited dinner for this journey, presenting preserved radish beyond its familiar place in everyday cooking and exploring new ways for its flavors to unfold.
To Understand the Flavor, First Step Into the Land
This journey begins where the artisan works.
Guests will hear Liu Mei-hsia share the stories behind preserved radish and see how freshly harvested radishes move through sun-drying, salting, earthenware jars and years of aging.
When an aged jar is finally opened, the difference between one year and another is no longer abstract. Time has left visible, fragrant and flavorful traces on the ingredient itself.
Only after understanding the land, the radish and the process do we return to the table at Volando Kenting.
Dinner then takes on another meaning. A dish is no longer simply what is placed before you—it carries a sense of where its ingredients came from, what they have been through, and why this particular flavor belongs to Hengchun.
Liu Mei-hsia — Giving Time to a Jar of Preserved Radish
Preserved radish has long been made as a way of keeping seasonal produce and bringing flavor to everyday meals.
Liu Mei-hsia’s aged black preserved radish, however, is something that must be entrusted to time.
She works with Niu-yi-zai radish, a local Hengchun variety, preserving it with salt before a sugar-curing fermentation stage and sun-drying. The radishes are then returned to earthenware jars for long aging.
As the years pass, their color gradually deepens. The bright, direct saltiness of the younger radish softens into a rounder, more mellow character, developing the aroma and depth associated with long-aged preserved radish.
Before devoting herself to traditional preserved foods, Liu Mei-hsia spent more than thirty years working in printing and bookbinding.
A personal health-related turning point led her to reconsider the food she ate each day and, in time, to pay closer attention to ingredients, their origins and traditional methods of preservation.
She later came to Hengchun, where she encountered Niu-yi-zai radishes grown in the region’s strong seasonal winds and red soil, and began working with local farmers.
Jar after jar, year after year, what has accumulated is more than the age of the preserved radish. It is also her evolving understanding of land, ingredients and time.
How Much Time Does One Jar Require?
From a radish grown in Hengchun’s seasonal winds to a dark, lustrous piece of long-aged preserved radish, the transformation involves more than a series of steps. It requires years.
˙From Hengchun’s Winds, a Radish Grows
- ▲ Hengchun’s strong winter winds and red soil produce relatively slender Niu-yi-zai radishes, known for their delicate, crisp texture and natural sweetness.
˙Preserving the Season with Salt
- ▲Freshly harvested radishes are salted in stages with coarse salt. The amount is adjusted as the radishes soften, allowing moisture to leave them gradually.
˙Eight Months for the Flavor to Begin Changing
- ▲ After salting comes a sugar-curing fermentation stage. Over approximately eight months, the radish begins to develop a different character—an important part of Liu Mei-hsia’s method.
˙Three Days in the Sun, Two Days Brought Back In
- ▲ Around August or September of the following year, the preserved radishes are taken out of their jars and dried in the sun again.
The timing of drying and bringing them back in must be carefully adjusted according to the weather, protecting the radishes from excessive exposure.
˙After the Sun, Back to Time
- ▲ Once sun-drying is complete, the preserved radish is returned to sealed earthenware jars, where it continues to mature.
˙Three Years to Darken, Ten Years and Beyond to Deepen
- ▲ After more than three years of aging, the radishes gradually turn black. Beyond ten years, their surface becomes a deep, glossy black.
The once-white Hengchun radish has by then become long-aged preserved radish with a character entirely its own.
Some flavors have no shortcut.
By this point, a single radish has spent more than a decade on its journey.
Years that once existed only as numbers become tangible when the jar is opened—through aroma, color and taste.
Three Days and Two Nights, Following One Flavor Into Hengchun
DAY 1 | Arrive at Volando Kenting · Preserved Radish Tasting
Begin with flavor, and discover what time can do
The journey begins at Zuoying, travelling south through the landscapes of southern Taiwan to Volando Kenting.
After check-in, settle into the afternoon with views of the sea and an unhurried pace.
Toward evening, begin with a cup of preserved radish tea, followed by a guided tasting of preserved radishes from different years, places and preparation methods.
Before stepping into the artisan’s work and everyday life, first meet this familiar yet little-understood ingredient through taste.
Journey:
Zuoying transfer → Check-in at Volando Kenting → In-room afternoon tea → Preserved radish tasting → Dinner → Late-night light bites
DAY 2 | Home-Style Cooking Session · Production Site Visit · Opening an Aged Jar · Collaborative Dinner
The morning begins in Liu Mei-hsia’s everyday world of cooking.
Through the ingredients she uses and the dishes she prepares, guests will hear the memories and food stories woven into daily life.
At noon, enjoy a Hengchun-inspired lunch designed by Liu Mei-hsia, featuring seasonal local flavors.
In the afternoon, visit the preserved radish production site to see how the radishes move through sun-drying, salting, jar aging and years of maturation, before witnessing the opening of an aged preserved radish jar.
In the evening, return to Volando Kenting for a limited dinner jointly created by Executive Chef Chang Chia-cheng and Liu Mei-hsia.
The land, ingredients and craft encountered during the day return once more—this time as flavors on the table.
Journey:
Breakfast → Home-style cooking session with Liu Mei-hsia → Hengchun-inspired lunch → Preserved radish production site → Opening of an aged jar → Collaborative dinner → Late-night light bites
DAY 3 | Bring a Taste of Hengchun Home
Wake to a quiet morning and take your time over breakfast.
Before leaving, each guest will receive a jarred gift set of Liu Mei-hsia’s ten-year-aged preserved radish.
The journey may end here, but this taste of Hengchun—shaped by years of waiting—can travel home with you.
Journey:
Breakfast → Ten-year-aged preserved radish gift set → Transfer back to Zuoying
Flavors Aged by Time | Preserved Radish Artisan Journey
Dates: October 23 (Fri) – October 25 (Sun), 2026
Room Options & Package Rates
Ocean View Loft SuiteOcean View Loft Suite
2 guests per room | NT$37,000 per room
Seashore Honeymoon Suite
2 guests per room | NT$39,000 per room
Ocean View Loft SuiteOcean View Loft Suite
4 guests per room | NT$62,000 per room
The Package Includes
- Day 1: In-room afternoon tea, dinner, late-night light bites
- Day 2: Breakfast, Hengchun-inspired lunch by Liu Mei-hsia, collaborative dinner by Executive Chef Chang Chia-cheng and Liu Mei-hsia, late-night light bites
- Day 3: Breakfast
- Two non-alcoholic beverage services
- Preserved radish tasting experience
- Home-style cooking session with Liu Mei-hsia
- Guided visit to the preserved radish production site
- Round-trip transfer between Zuoying HSR Station and Volando Kenting
- Liu Mei-hsia ten-year-aged preserved radish gift set
A minimum of 8 participants is required for the journey to operate. Capacity is limited to 20 guests.
Bookings close on October 15, 2026, or earlier once all 20 places have been filled.
Reservations | 02-2577-1589
Book Now | Discover a Decade in the Making
Online Service | Official LINE @973szffs
