The Sea Breeze blends scenic rail travel, upscale service and inventive onboard dining into a premium experience designed for dates, celebrations and solo indulgence alike
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By Tyler Cottenie / Contributing reporter
If a leisurely afternoon of high-end dining and watching the scenery roll by from the comfort of a plush armchair sounds like a good time to you, consider a trip on the Sea Breeze (海風號). This culinary, cultural and scenic experience is the perfect setting for a date, a celebratory outing with a small group of friends or a relaxing solo ride.
The price tag is steep, especially if you consider the short distance the train actually covers over the 3.5-hour journey. But what you’re paying for on the Sea Breeze isn’t transportation; it’s the comfort, the service, the exclusivity, the atmosphere and, most importantly, the high-end cuisine on board.
THE TRAIN
Photo by Tyler Cottenie
The carriages that make up the Sea Breeze contrast sharply with other Taiwan Railway trains on the platform. Their exteriors are painted in a soothing sea-green gradient that makes it unmistakable from afar.
Boarding the train feels like being transported to another world. Nearly every square inch of the interior has been carefully designed with aesthetics in mind, from the soft, turquoise upholstered seats, to the textured floor and walls that soften the light, to the lighting itself. No light bulbs are visible: lights are recessed into the ceiling, under the seats and inside the tabletops, bathing the interior in a soft glow. Natural light also pours in through the large panoramic windows in front of every seat. When ambient light is low, lights in the ceiling turn on to create a starry-night effect.
Essential oil diffusers are also used to imbue the passenger spaces with a pleasant fragrance.
Photo by Tyler Cottenie
The seats on Sea Breeze are even more luxurious than Taiwan Railway’s business class. Every seat has wide, plush cushions with large armrests and a sturdy standalone table large enough to hold snacks, a drink, a book and a phone, with room to spare. In addition, the seats do not face forward, but rather toward the outside, so that passengers can enjoy the scenery without turning their heads.
Finally, each passenger car only carries about 20 passengers, making them far less crowded and much quieter than ordinary trains.
THE FOOD
Photo by Tyler Cottenie
About 20 minutes into the journey, once everyone has been comfortably seated and had a chance to soak in the Sea Breeze’s beautiful decor, the main attraction unfolds. Like some of the other themed tourist trains in Taiwan, food service is an integral part of the experience. On the Sea Breeze, however, instead of a meal, passengers are treated to a variety of sweet and savory snacks, along with a beverage.
Much like the interior of the train itself, the presentation of the snacks was designed to create a visually stunning first impression. Servers in smart uniforms move through the train, placing a transparent green box that blends harmoniously with the train’s overall color scheme on each passenger’s table while introducing some of the special features of the day’s food.
The snacks inside are arranged in two layers, each of which can be pulled out like a drawer and rested on the table. The abundant natural light inside the train and transparency of the container provides even lighting on all sides of the snacks, further enhancing their visual appeal. The hardest part of this trip may just be deciding which of these carefully crafted snacks to indulge in first.
Photo by Tyler Cottenie
The menu is rather cosmopolitan, inspired by international cuisine while including touches of local flavors and ingredients. On last winter’s menu, there was a cornflower tart topped with blue curacao jelly, blueberry, flowers and edible gold, a fanciful take on the ocean theme of the train. The French macaron, specially labeled with the train’s logo, was given a local twist with a taro and salted egg yolk filling; surprisingly, the flavors didn’t clash. The macarons came from a bakery in Hsinchu and boxes of both the exclusive Sea Breeze flavor and more traditional sweet flavors were available for sale on the train, a great souvenir to take home to friends or family.
There was also a salad with local persimmon, a squid dish, a focaccia sandwich and a strawberry dessert on last winter’s menu, paired with a classic Taiwanese oolong tea. The menu for each season changes, but the quality, creativity and flavor are always top-notch.
THE JOURNEY
Photo by Tyler Cottenie
While the snacks set Sea Breeze apart from other tourist trains, the itinerary is actually quite similar to the other trains run by Lion Travel, as it features stops along the way for cultural experiences and to take in the scenery. Again, a journey on this train should not be booked just to get from Point A to Point B but rather for the experience itself.
Rail enthusiasts will appreciate the fact that the winter route takes the short Chengzhui Line, which none of the regular north-south trains ever touch. Northbound trains take either the Mountain Line or Ocean Line after Changhua Station when the tracks split, whereas this train starts at Taichung Station on the Mountain Line, then takes a shortcut over to the Ocean Line via the Chengzhui Line before continuing north.
Snacks are served at this time and passengers have nearly an hour to enjoy views of rice paddies and coastal Taichung on the way to Dajia (大甲區), where the main guided tour of the trip takes place during the winter months. After disembarking, passengers can follow the local guide on an interpretative walk down the busy street in front of the station, or opt out of the tour and go exploring on their own, returning to the train at the designated time. For those exploring on their own, consider walking five minutes down the road to the Dajia Jenn Lann Temple (大甲鎮瀾宮), the starting point of Taiwan’s largest Matsu pilgrimage.
Once back on the train, there is a quick beverage service and then the train makes its second stop, at Xinpu Station. From here, it’s a five-minute walk down to the coast, where Sea Breeze passengers have a few minutes to actually take in the sea breeze. The station building itself also has historical significance as it’s one of the few wooden stations from the Japanese era that are still in use. Unfortunately, it is in desperate need of replacement lumber and a new paint job; but if you’re looking for an authentic “weathered” look in a photo, Xinpu Station fits the bill.
On the final leg of the journey, each passenger is given a cup of ice cream from MINIMAL, the world’s only Michelin-starred ice cream shop, right here in Taiwan. The sweet taste of this dessert lingers on the palate nearly as long as the sweet memories of the culinary, cultural and aesthetic experience that is Sea Breeze.
BOOKING A TRIP
The trip described above runs from November to April between Taichung and Hsinchu. From May to October, the train runs on a similar schedule between Taipei’s Nangang District and Yilan, with the shorter scenic stop to take in the sea breeze at Dali Station, and the longer stop with a guided cultural tour at either Houtong Station (when heading toward Nangang) or at Toucheng Station (on the way to Yilan). From November to April, it is back on the west coast again.
Bookings cannot be made through Taiwan Railway and must be done through Lion Travel at: event.liontravel.com/zh-tw/railtour/haifeng, or in person at a Lion Travel office. Seats usually sell out well in advance so book early. Tickets cost NT$3,600 a person (one-way).
