Greatwall Coffee with the best lunch

The first time I came to Great Wall coffee was because it had opened not long ago and had already got a lot of good reveiws. Quite a few of the reviews raved about their chicken lunch and I was curious to find out about that.

Before I jump onto the chicken, not literally, let's explore the coffee first as this is about a coffee break. First impression, it's a very professional cofffee place, the first thing I saw was the barista, which actually is the owner himself behind the counter. An open counter I have to add. If you're into learning about your beans and how your coffee is made, you are welcome to site and watch and chat.

He roasts his own beans and they are on sale in the shop. All the packaging have artists drawings on them to reflect the different type of beans. For me this is a person who cares about the overall product, from the inside to outside.

There's a very unusual world map on the main wall. Can you see why? Despite it's uniqueness, I think it's a very well made artistic map, something that I wouldn't mind havng on my study wall at home.

Seating wise, you get a choice of high table and bar stools by the map, armchairs looking out the front window, and round tables with ratten chairs in the center of the cafe. No matter where yor sit, the host dog will be playing near you. Although there is a mixture of seating, it all blended in very well to create a harrmonious atmosphere.

I know little about coffee, and the owner was great in understanding what I liked and didn't like before suggesting a particular bean to suit my palate. His suggestion was pretty much spot on for me.

He was a really friendly guy, and told us a bit about his business, and how he's been roasting his own beans for over 20 years. He used to run a cafe inside a university canteen, serviing quality coffee at affordable prices to students. He didn't say why he had to close it down, but since he ran it for about over ten years (I think?) I don't think it was due to lack of business. I didn't probe futher.

Remember that chicken lunch I mentioned earlier on? I time me visit just after noon to so I could have lunch here and then hang around in the afternoon for my coffee break. That's what I normally do. I orderd the chicken for lunch, that's what every raves about, no way was I not going to check it out myseslf. You know what, it was a smasher!!! The chicken was succulent juicy inside, and had a lovely light hint of rosemary. The best thing about it was the pan fried skin that was very crispy. Honestly I don't know how they did it, but it was one of the best lunch I've had in a while.

Restaurant Information

Greatwall Coffee

No. 55, Section 1, Shanxi Road, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan 404