Tasting Journey #194 - 永福樓

永福樓
台北市大安區忠孝東路4段59號2-3樓
02.2752.8232
http://www.yunfulou.com.tw/


A long standing restaurant located on the 2F of one of the main street of downtown Taipei, that serves authentic Chinese dishes and dim sum.

The serving speed is quite fast, granted that there were only one other table there at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon.  Don't expect full on service as the waitress are much older in the sense that they have been with the restaurant for a long time.

The presentation of the dishes are all quite well. Taste is appealing too.  Well, this is all reflected in the pricing, as two can easily dine for over TWD$1,500.

Tasting Journey #193 - Zakkushi

Zakkushi
various locations
823 Denman St, Vancouver, B.C.
604.685.1136
http://www.zakkushi.com/

 

Japanese grill on skewers in Vancouver.
I've always considered it to be tasty until I've compared to the izakaya's in Taiwan.
Nonetheless, it is still one of the better/few ones in Vancouver.

Wooden interior, hyper atmosphere, perfect location for a friday pre-weekend celebration.
Dishes are small, so you can try a lot of varieties.

 

Tasting Journey #192 - 大腕燒肉

大腕燒肉
台北市敦化南路一段177巷22號
02.2711.0179

High-end, VIP-service izakaya.

High quality ingredient.
Personalized service where each griller serves only 2 sets of customers.
Well-prepared dishes.
All reflectetd in the price.
Spent NTD$1,600/person for a full meal.

Worthy mention dishes are:
- yam in cheese dish - cheese and yam goes so well together. Very generous amount of mozarella cheese that blends super well with the yam.  You probably need to run 10 lapse to burn all that calories off though, but it's ok to splurge because it's sooooo tasty
- all the meat are well grilled - juicy and crispy at the perfect ratio
- 天梯(?) - apparently the vocal cord of pigs....? crispy like a cartlidge
- garlic butter dipping sauce - goes well with any dish

Tasting Journey #191 - 雞匠餐廳

雞匠餐廳
台北市大安路一段52巷8號
02.8773.8885

Another izakaya place in Taipei. What's unique about this izakaya is that it is actually in a "restaurant-style" setting.  No wooden tables/interior deco that portrays Japanese culture, this place leans more towards fine dining.  The portion is also much larger for sharing instead of the typical bite-size in izakaya's that are meant for beer drinking.
Food quality is decent, but of course also reflected in the price.
A safe choice to take foreigners to.