Oyster Ichi

Profile
Oyster Ichi is an oyster bar and izakaya hybrid located at the Civic Blvd and Yanji street intersection. They are an offshoot from the Ichi Izakaya located on the An He road, but incorporated an oyster bar with their delectable grilled item repertoire. The oysters are fresh and flown in from various parts of the world twice per week. You can have the choice of their minerally and substantial Belon oysters from France, or try their lighter Kumamoto oysters from Japan. They also make a pretty good sirloin steak. Their items are a lot more Japanese as they recommended adding a bit on Ponzu sauce on the Belon oysters, but still delicious. This place is a lot more affordable than the Oyster bar at Bellavita, so if you have a craving for oysters but want to save a couple hundred, stop by Oyster Ichi.

Address: 台北市延吉街58號
                No. 58, Yanji St, Daan District

Phone #: 02-2731-8887

Business Hours: 17:30-01:00
Website: Oyster Ichi Facebook Page

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range: $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: no
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating: no
Alcohol: yes

Rating
Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Side Note: Rare affordable oyster bar in Taipei

Review

Mitsui 明水三井

Picture Borrowed From This Blog

Profile
Mitsui is a reknown high-class Japanese Restaurant chain with many locations around Taipei. Each location has a bit of its own flair. The Ming Shui Mitsui seems like a Japanese Supermarket-Restaurant hybrid. They sport a sushi bar on the first floor and have a normal grouped seating restaurant on the second. The freshness of their ingredients are on display on the first floor sushi bar area. The upstairs area serves course meals that are a very good value considering the amount and quality of the food with resect to its price. If you come during lunch, you can enjoy a nine course meal for only 1200 NT. Of course, if you rather eat better items you can order up. Their most expensive course meal is priced at 3200 NT. However, you can even grab their bento boxes for around 450 NT, there is something for everybody here at Ming Shui Mitsui.

Address: 台北市明水路602號2F
                No. 604, Míngshuǐ Rd, Jhongshan District

Phone #: 02-2533-8802

Business Hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-22:30
Website: http://www.mitsuitaipei.com.tw/

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range: $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating: no
Alcohol: yes

Rating
Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4.5 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5

Overall: 4 out of 5

Side Note: Go for straight nigiri or sashimi at bartop at this location.

Review

Ishizen 石膳日本料理

Profile

Ishizen is a surprising little Japanese hot pot restaurant located in the fringe of the Sin Yi District. The chef is an actually Japanese and a direct descendant of a famous chef family line. The chef's grandfather was the founder of sumo wrestler hot pots and his father was a famous french chef lauded by the Japanese royal family. By some twist of fate, the owner married a Taiwanese woman and ended up bringing his family recipes to Taiwan and serves authentic Japanese food to the people here. The standard hot pot set consists of many types of seafood, slices of red meat, and plenty of vegetables. They use the most high quality ingredients, their salmon and scallops are sashimi grade, so the high price is warranted. The soup base is also very special. They use white beans fermented for a year as the base of the broth, and they also place a few secret spices including red peppers. However, the meal will be rather light in flavor in comparison to spicy Taiwanese hotpots, but you can defintitely taste the freshness and the raw unadulterated flavors of their ingredients with their style of soup base and condiments. Ishizen is worth a visit for a unique Japanese hot pot experience in Taipei.

Address:  台北市基隆路一段428號

                 Section 1, Jīlóng Rd, Sinyi District Taipei City

Phone #:  02-8780-2836

Business Hours: 11:30-14:00, 17:30-21:30

Website: http://www.ishizen.com.tw/
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: some items
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Final Thought: Authentic Japanese Sumo Wrestler Hot Pot

Review

Pork Bone House 豚骨家

Profile

Pork Bone House offers authentic Kyushu Ramen, made by real Japanese people, to the vast number of hungry patrons around the Xihu MRT station. They are located in a very small traditional market food court, so the process of getting a table and your food is very hectic, and you may expect a 40 minute wait for your bowl of ramen because there are only 2 people working at the stall. The prices are extremely fair with 130 NT for a normal bowl of their ramen. You can add additional sides for a small cost. You are able to choose the way you want your ramen to be prepared, and this place serve very chewy al dente ramen. If you live in the area this is probably the best ramen around, but I would not travel a long distance and suffer the long wait again because the Ramen is just ok and substitutable by Rakumenya.

Address: 捷運文湖線西湖市場站二樓美食街101攤位

                 No. 283-5, Section 1, Nèihú Rd, Neihu District (Xihu Market Building 2F #101)

Phone #:  N/A

Business Hours: 12:00-14:00, 17:00-20:00

Website: N/A
Accepts Credit Cards: no

Price Range:   $$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: idk
Waiter Service: no
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: no

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  2 out of 5
Service: 2 out of 5

Overall: 2.5 out of 5

Final Thought: Alright Ramen at hectic food court

Review

Bamboo Fish Trap 筌壽司

Profile
Bamboo Fish Trap is a Japanese restaurant located on the fringe of the East district hidden in an alley way off the Fuxing and Shi Ming Blvd intersection. Bamboo Fish Trap is a type of restaurant where there aren't any traditional menus, but they serve whatever is fresh and will provide a full-course meal  for you. Their full course meals cost around 2000 NT. Pay this restaurant a visit if you would like to try fresh local fishes in a Traditional-esque Japanese style sushi bar.

Address: 台北市大安區安東街29-1號

                No. 29-1, Āndōng St, Daan District Taipei City

Phone #: 02-2771-1856

Business Hours: 11:30-14:30 , 17:30-21:30

Website: N/A

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: no
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Good place for regional and fresh sushi.

Review

Round Sushi 丸壽司

Profile

Round Sushi is a chain Kaiten Sushi restaurant at the Breeze Center that rivals Hi Sushi in quality and expedient Japanese cuisine. Their prices vary just like Hi Sushi, and the quality of the items reflect the reasonable hike in price. The decor is simple and bright.  Expect to spend at least 500 NT per person to have a full experience at this place. They more types of miso soups here, which is one reason to visit here over Hi Sushi. In terms of sashimi quality, they are quite similar. Both restaurants are more satisfying than Sushi Express.

Address:  台北市大安區忠孝東路四段219號
                 No. 219, Section 4, Zhōngxiào East Road, Daan District

Phone #: 02-6639-6999 (Breeze Center #)
Business Hours: 11:30-22:30

Website: N/A

Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Price Range:   $$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 2.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Come for Uni and Miso Soups, but beware of service.

Review

Gin Curry 銀咖哩

Profile
Gin Curry is a Japanese Style Pork Cutlet Curry restaurant situated in the NTU front entrance area in Gong Guan. They sell economical curry sets of varying fried entrees. Most of the set meals are priced around 125 NT, and the most expensive item is their monstrous Mt Fuji Curry Set that goes for 290 NT.  This location can get really packed and the food is not really worth the wait. This would be a nice place for a quick Japanese style curry excursion off peak hours.

Address:   台北市羅斯福路3段276號

                  No. 276, Section 3, LuóSīFú Rd, Jhongjheng District Taipei City 

Phone #: 02-2364-6459
Business Hours: 11:00-22:00

Website: N/A
Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: idk

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Cheap and fast Japanese Curry

Review

Rakumenya 樂麵屋

Profile

Rakumenya is a Ramen Shop located near the Zhong Xiao Fuxing MRT. They are unique in how they let the customers customize the strength of the soup base and the hardness of the Ramen noodles. These type of Ramen shops are hard to come by in Taiwan, and it is very reminiscient of Shin Sen Gumi or Orochan in Los Angeles. The two popular soup bases served here are the pork broth and their specialty chicken-vegetable broth. For under 250 NT, you can select a soup base variation that you desire. Each bowl comes with a few basic slices of cha siu, egg, and vegetables, but you can add other ingredients for a nominal fee. They have the best tasting noodles that I have had so far in Taiwan: al dente, very snappy, and Q-licious. If you find yourself hankering for a bowl of Ramen, try this popular restaurant in the East District.

Address:  台北市大安路1段83巷10號1樓
                 No. 10, Lane 83, Section 1, DàĀn Rd, Daan District
Phone #: 02-8772-8159
Business Hours: 11:00-22:00 (guesstimation)
Website: N/A
Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Best Ramen Noodles in Taipei

Review

Hi Sushi 海壽司

Profile

Address: 台北市忠孝東路四段120號2樓
                 No. 120, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Daan District
Phone #: 02-2781-8989
Business Hours: 11:30-14:00, 17:30-21:00
Website: http://www.hisushi.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: no
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Classy Kaiten Sushi

Review

Hi Sushi is a classy kaiten sushi chain that offers good quality sushi, sashimi, and grilled items at a upper-mid level price range. Many items rotate around the track at varying prices, and you can either pick them up from the track or you can order some items directly from the chef. The food quality, decor, and service at Hi Sushi is much higher than the popular low-price kaiten sushi chain Sushi Express. If Sushi Express is the Mcdonalds of kaiten sushi, then Hi Sushi can be considered as The Counter. Since the items range in price, it is not easy to gauge the spending. However, I don't think you can be full without spending around 500 NT here. Visit Hi Sushi for a fast, quality, and comfortable kaiten sushi experience.

Beautiful Garden 美觀園

Profile

Address: 台北市萬華區峨嵋街36號
　　　　No. 36, ÉMéi St, Wanhua District Taipei City
Phone #:  02-2331-7000

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$$
Accepts Credit Cards: idk

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.16 out of 5
Recommendation: Old-school Taiwanese-Japanese Fare
Review
Beautiful Garden is an old school Japanese restaurant located in the heart of Xi Men Ding. They have been open since 1946, which is when the first generation owner learned his craft from a Japanese chef who was around during the time Taiwan was a Japanese colony. Although the restaurant has passed hands to the new generation, their menu items are made in the spirit of their ancestors. Their sashimi is cut very thick and meaty. It is not a good entry level place for sashimi virgins, because their cuts make each bite undeniably fishy. The menu items can be very cheap with set meals for under 300, but if you want to splurge and get sashimi or rare nigiri like sea urchin, then your bill can rack up to the size of your belly. I think an average person can be satiated for under 1000 NT. This is the right place to try traditional Taiwanese-Japanese Fusion. I would not recommend this place for delicate Japanese food, but would guide hearty eaters towards this place. The decor and service are subpar, since they are super busy and don't have the time to remodel. However, bring your non-picky tourists here to get a feel of old-school fare and enjoy the bustling Xi Men Ding while you are at it.

Ninja 忍者

Profile

Address:   台北市松山區市民大道四段129號
　　　　  No. 129, Section 4, ShìMín Blvd, Songshan District, Taipei                  

Phone #:  02-2577-3300
Website: http://www.ninja-tw.com/
Price Range:   $$$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  5 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.67 out of 5
Recommendation: Entertaining Ninja Themed Japanese Restaurant
Review
Tired of the same old boring Japanese food places with similar food and uninspiring ambience? Go to Ninja! This ninja-themed Japanese Restaurant will revolutionize your Japanese Cuisine experience. Is the food great? No, but its actually pretty good. The price per person and presentation sure makes up for the fact that Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto isn't preparing your monkfish tableside. For about 600 NT per person, you can have a unique dining experience in Taipei with all the smoke and mirrors alongside your sashimi. Each plate is sure to inspire awe and WTFness. Tourists should give this place a gander, and locals could seriously use some time relaxing at this joint. Even though they say the meal is 600 NT per person, ration in some alcohol and service fee for about 1000 NT per person. You are truly eating the decor, service, and atmosphere when you enter. Click "read more" to see how amazing this place is!

Tokyo Curry Espresso

Profile

Address:   台北市忠孝東路五段8號
                 No. 8, Section 5, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Sinyi District
Phone #:  

Website:
Price Range:   $$

Accepts Credit Cards: no

Take out: yes

Waiter Service: no

Outdoor seating:  no

Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5

Decor:  3.5 out of 5

Service: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Recommendation: Flavorful Curry at "Cafe"teria-esque Restaurant.

Review

At the Hankyu Department store foodcourt, there is a cafe looking restaurant called Tokyo Curry Espresso. I am not sure why they don't just call themselves Tokyo Curry, since most people don't seem to be there for the coffee. They serve a basic beef curry or chicken curry for around 110 NT, and you can add side items for around 50 NT or toppings for 10 NT. They have a wide assortment of drinks available from sodas to beer. This is a nice spot for a quick curry meal.

DOZO

Profile

Address:    台北市大安區光復南路102號1樓
                   No. 102, GuāngFù South Rd, Da-an District

       
Phone #:    02-2778-1135
Website: http://www.dozoizakaya.com/

Price Range:   $$$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5
Overall: 4 out of 5
Recommendation: Good place for drinks, pricey array of Japanese Cuisine.

Review

Near the Sun Yat Sen Memorial MRT station, there is a trendy Izakaya called Dozo. They serve an assortment of Japanese cuisine from sushi to yakiniku. A lot of their items do not seem very traditional, but a modernized twist of Japanese fare. It will also take a couple dollars to fill yourself up, since their menu items are quite pricey as the quantity of each dish is quite small. Three pieces of nigiri will run you around 300 NT. And six skewers of meat will run you 340. Yet, if you can afford the cost, Dozo offers a sleek modern space to enjoy intriguing cocktails over some snack-type foods. They also offer a small selection of original desserts that are delicious and well-presented.

Tsujiri

Profile

Address:   台北市忠孝東路五段8號
                 No. 8, Section 5, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Sinyi District
Phone #:  02-2729-9699

Website: http://www.tsujiri.com.tw/
Price Range:   $$

Accepts Credit Cards: no

Take out: yes

Waiter Service: no

Outdoor seating:  no

Alcohol: no

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5

Decor:  3 out of 5

Service: 3.5 out of 5

Overall: 3.7 out of 5

Recommendation: Strong matcha flavored icecream and desserts.

Review

At the Hankyu Department store B2 food court lies Taiwan's first Tsujuri Tea House. The line is a good 15 minute wait, but the products are definitely the best in class. While the prices are a bit high, they do not exceed 200 NT for a single item/combo. Tsujiri is a 150 year old traditional tea house that became famous for their tea leaves and matcha. Most of their items are worth trying, and I will be returning to taste more of their non-icecream items.

Kanpai 小乾杯

Profile

Address:    台北市忠孝東路四段201號2樓
                   No. 201, Section 4, ZhōngXiào East Rd, Da-an District

        
Phone #:    02-2776-3435
Website: http://www.kanpai.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  4 out of 5
Service: 5 out of 5
Overall: 4.3 out of 5
Recommendation: Place to drink with meat.

Review

Kanpai is a Japanese Barbeque restaurant located in the Luxy plaza in the east side of Taipei. It is like Gyu Kyaku in L.A. The food is good, but is a little overpriced for the small amounts offered in each dish. The food will not wow you as much as Manpuku, nor do they have an impressive sake collection. However, what they do have is an awesome rock and roll vibe with a great service staff keeping the energy up at all times. If you got some change in your pocket, then go to Kanpai and experience Japanese-style barbeque with a Taiwanese rocker twist.

Arashi Ramen 花月嵐

Profile

Address:    台北市松壽路20號2樓(信義威秀店)

                  No. 20, SōngShòu Rd, Sinyi District
Phone #:    02-2729-2128

Website: N/A

Price Range:   $$

Accepts Credit Cards: idk

Attire: casual

Good for kids: no

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  3.5 out of 5
Service: 3.5 out of 5
Overall: 3.7 out of 5
Recommendation: Flavorful noodles at average market price.

Review

Arashi Ramen is another chain that originiated from Japan that claims to be a TV Champion. I guess there are multiple TV Champions out there. However, I liked their bowl of ramen a lot better than Akasaka Ramen. The most popular Ramen is a garlic knuckle bone Ramen. The soup base is very salty, garlicky, and fatty. The noodles were cooked just right, it was not too soft, nor was it too hard. The Q factor of the noodles made you feel that you weren't eating a bowl of glorified instant noodles. The popular Ramen bowl includes two slices of chasiu, a sheet of seaweed, beansprouts, and half an egg. The beansprouts still had its crunchiness too it, which gave it a pleasing texture. I think my next Ramen binges will take place at one of their chain stores on this island. The prices of each bowl does not exceed 200, and they have plenty of side dishes to enjoy as well: like gyoza, pork cutlet, and potato wedges.

Akasaka Ramen 赤坂拉麵

Profile

Address:    台北市忠孝東路四段94號2樓 (New Address Starting 11/2/2010)
                   94 Chung Hsiao E. Road Section 4, 2nd Floor Taipei

Phone #:    02-2752-0786
Website: http://www.akasakaramen.com/
Price Range:   $$
Accepts Credit Cards: yes
Attire: casual
Good for kids: yes
Take out: idk
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: no

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5
Overall: 3.2 out of 5
Recommendation: Akasuka Ramen

Review

Akasaka was voted the best ramen in Taiwan on the HungryInTaipei 2009 Reader's Choice poll, so I thought I'd give the Chung Hsiao East Road store a try. I sincerely hope this is not the best ramen Taipei has to offer. I'm not sure if the ramen quality is better in Japan, but I was not impressed with the ramen presented to me at this store. This is due to my own preference of ramen soup bases that are slightly saltier, and ramen soup noodles that are slighty harder. And, the noodles make or break a bowl of ramen for me. When I have cravings for ramen in LA, I get it satisfied at Shin Sen Gumi or at Orochan. You can choose your own soup base, ingredients, and noodle hardness. I am not a big fan of what I consider overcooked noodles, like the ones you get at Daikokuya. So if you like Daikokuya, you will probably enjoy a big bowl of Akasaka Ramen.