Taipei | Hamamatsuya 濱松屋

Hamamatsuya 濱松屋
No. 12, Lane 119, Linsen North Road, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市林森北路119巷22號 (七條通)
(02) 2567-5705

Price: $$
Recommendation: 4.5 Stars

Taipei's infamous "Linsen North Road" is known for its "fun" and scandalous entertainment establishments as well as many of the most traditional Japanese restaurants in Taiwan. Situated in the historical Seventh Lane Alley 七條通, Hamamatsuya is one of Taipei's "Big 4 Eel Houses"! Their acclaimed made-to-order (or kill-to-order) Unagi (Eel) Rice Three Way 現殺鰻魚三吃 never fails to charm and satisfy Taipei-ers's picky taste!

Hamamatsuya's dark wood exterior and mini standalone shop sign complements with other Japanese homestyle restaurants in the area. Strolling along Seventh Lane Alley 七條通, I felt as if I was in an old shopping street in Japan.

Hamamatsuya's unagi rice differentiates from others by offering live and grill-to-order eels. While it may be a bit pricier, the money is totally worth it. Since our eels are freshly prepared, the wait can be up to 45 minutes, so we ordered a couple small dishes to eat while we patiently waited!

Tamago 玉子燒

When our waitress brought us the visually appetizing Tamago (Japanese omelette), I could still see hot steams coming off the glowing golden tamago. With a tiny dip of soy sauce and ground radish, the simple and comfortable taste of egg will make you wanting for more.

Fried Chicken 唐揚炸雞

You can't really go wrong with Japanese fried chicken! The seasoned chicken cutlets were both juicy and tender.

Fried Tofu 炸豆腐

Salad 和風沙拉

Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way 現殺鰻魚三吃

Finally, the highlight of the meal was the Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way, which came with a bowl of fresh unagi rice, hot spring egg, a plate of seasonings, seaweed soup stock, and a side of pickles and kimchi. The waitress carefully explained the three (or actually four) different ways of chowing down the ungai rice. I wasn't really listening, because I was really hungry by then and can't wait to devour the entire ungai bowl!

Fresh Eel Three Way

Covered by a thin layer of natural eel fat, the grilled unagi was literally glowing. At the same time, the excellent smell of unagi sauce mesmerized everyone at the table.

close up!

Followed what the waitress had told us, I split my unagi bowl equally into four sections. Each portion will be eaten in a slightly different way.

1. Original: First, obviously, I want to try the original taste of the eel without any decorations or seasonings - a way to really enjoy the freshness of the unagi.

original 原味

2. With Garnishes: Sprinkle a generous amount of sesame seeds, green scallion, and dried seaweed to add multiple textures and flavors to the simple dish.

with garnishes of Seaweed, Sesame, and Scallion 海苔, 芝麻, 青蔥

3. Chazuke Style: Chazuke is a traditional Japanese home cooking dish by pouring green tea, soup stock, or hot water over cooked rice with savory toppings. For the Unagi Rice Three Way, Hamamatsuya prepared a fragrant seaweed soup stock as the base. I also mixed a pinch of wasabi into the small bowl. Surprisingly, I was absolutely blown away by this plain-looking dish! The smooth seaweed soup and the strong sensation of wasabi brought a complex and hypnotizing taste that I had never experience before.

Chazuke: seaweed soup stock, wasabi 鰻魚芥末茶泡飯

4. With Hot Spring Egg: At last, I place the watery hot spring egg (half cooked egg) on top of my last piece of unagi and stirred them together. It was divine. I really can't decide whether this or the chazuke style was my favorite.

with hot spring egg 溫泉蛋

nom nom!

Hamamatsuya introduced new ways of enjoying the simple and popular eel bowl and allowed my palate to experience different sensations. The restaurant's Fresh Unagi Rice Three Way was both amusingly fun and absolutely delicious. One order might not completely satisfy my cravings; next time I will order two!

Taipei | Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理

Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理
No. 13, Lane 199, Section 4, Xinyi Road, Taipei, Taiwan
台北市信義路四段199巷13號
(02) 2707-4323

Price: NT$ 1,200+
Recommendation: 4 Stars

Because of Jon Chiu's short stay in Taiwan, we planned an insane food marathon in hope to have a taste of the many new and awesome restaurants in Taipei. As the first stop of our journey, we find it appropriate to begin at Yu Dow Son Aesthetics Japanese Cuisine 魚道生美學日本料理, one of the hottest additions to Taipei's competitive sushi scene. Owner and Chef Liu Ji-an was a senior sushi chef at No Sushi 野壽司, a premier Edomae 江戶前 sushi house in Taipei.

Yu Dow Son 魚道生 (Japanese: Gyodouike) represents a technique of Japanese "flower-do" (the way of flower) that stresses the harmony of ying and yang. The combination of exquisite Japanese cuisine and elegant flower-do is the immediate theme of the restaurant. In addition to the hearty wood furnitures and spacious dining atmosphere, state-of-the-art flower decors can be seen at every corner of the restaurant!

Owner and Chef Liu Ji-an 劉濟安師傅

Jon and I ordered the NT$ 1,800 omakase - the chef decides what to serve us based on the freshest available ingredients. We also made a reservation a couple days in advance, so we can sit at the sushi bar and see Chef Ji-an in action.

Appetizer Platter

Flatfish & Torched Yellowtail Sashimi 比目魚 & 黃鰭鮪魚

In addition to the usual ginger and radish garnishes, the chef offered us to try some sea grapes. The radish was particularly delicious!

Sea Grapes 海葡萄, Ginger 薑, Radish 醃蘿蔔

For many Asians, Cod milt is considered a delicacy (I am not sure if I agree with that). However, if you don't think about what you are actually eating, it really doesn't taste that bad.

Cod Milt 鱈魚白子

Slightly Torched Scallop Sashimi 干貝

Blended with exotic spices from abroad, the bonito carpaccio was flavorful and whetted my appetite.

Bonito Carpaccio 醃製鰹魚

Black Cod Saikyo Yaki 圓鱈西京燒

Steak with Taro Sauce 牛肉佐芋頭醬汁

Fried Tofu 炸豆腐 (on the house!)

Unlike traditional sushi masters, chefs at Yu Dao Son dress in stylishly black - bringing some swag.

chopping up a piece of tuna

The fresh and tasty nigiris demonstrated the masterful skills of Chef Ji-an. Before serving, he beautifully flavored and garnished each nigiri with the most complementary seasonings. Quite interestingly, Yu Dow Son's sushi rice is warm instead of the typical dead-cold state. The temperatured rice escalated the tastiness of the fish and made the sushi more smoothing to take. Chef Ji-an jokingly asked, "Don't you think it tasted better?"

Cuttlefish Nigiri 軟絲握壽司

Chef Ji-an proudly presented his cuttlefish nigiri and told me that he carefully scored it 60 times!

Sweet Shrimp Nigiri 甜蝦握壽司

The ruby-like tuna as well as the sharp cuts made it the most awesome tuna nigiri.

Tuna Nigiri 鮪魚握壽司

nigiri

nigiri

Mackerel Nigiri 白昆布青花魚握壽司

topped with marinated white seaweed

White Miso Soup with Clams 蛤蜊白味增湯

Red Bean Soup with Mochi 紅豆湯麻薯

Macha Green Tea 抹茶

Yu Dao Son 魚道生

Yu Dow Son stands out as one of the finest and most traditional sushi houses in the city. I will definitely come back for more!

Miami | BOND ST Lounge

We all know that South Beach, Miami is not known for its affordable food and restaurants. Not only does fancy restaurants cost a fortune, some plain cafes can be pretty pricey as well. Anyways, because of an incredibly terrible food experience the day before (don't even want to think about it...sigh), we wanted to spoil ourselves to ease the painful encounter. Nobu and BOND ST came up to my mind, but since I've been to Nobu twice in LA and New York, I decided to try something new!

BOND ST Lounge, the Miami outpost of the famous Mahanttan sushi restaurant, occupies the lower level of the Town House Hotel in South Beach. Instead of traditional dining tables, BOND ST uses high tables and chairs to create a hip lounge setting. The minimal and simple decor made me feel relaxed and cozy, while I enjoy my green tea martini and have a good time with my friends.

The chef designs dishes that serve traditional Japanese cuisine with a classical French twist. One thing I absolutely love about Japanese fusion restaurants is their to-die-for appetizers - sashimi tartare, carpaccio, beef tataki, asian salads, tempura, grilled small bites......and the list goes on.

I don't know why, but many Japanese chefs seem to like their glasses hanging near the tip of their noses. Looks so pro!

buddies

Cold Appetizers: I normally like seaweed salad, but the one we had was very dry and grassy, even though they used both green and pink seaweeds, which is quite unique in the U.S. The mouth-watering blue fin toro tartare was prepared from very high quality fatty tuna and gave a strong umami and creamy taste.

Seaweed Salad with Ginger Dressing

Blue Fin Toro Tartare Seasoned with Sansho Pepper

Hot Appetizers & Skewers: In addition to hot appetizers, the BOND ST dedicates a section for skewers on their menu. One of their specialties is the Chilean sea bass skewers, which was lightly grilled with sweet miso sauce. When I had a bite of this diced delicacy, it literally melted in my mouth, and a savory aroma followed immediately. I would say the sea bass was the best dish of the night, and I am pretty sure my friends will agree, too! The skewers also came with a side salad, which was great for balancing off the strong and heavy aftertaste of the sauce.

Chilean Sea Bass Skewers with Sweet Miso

Shrimp Skewers with Teriyaki & Grilled Squid with Ginger Soy and Yuzu Mayonnaise

The goat cheese crab cakes tasted nothing like the traditional crab cakes I had before. The crispy crust of the surface layer was chunky and contrasted with the smooth and rich fillings. The chef mixed the right amount of goat cheese with crab meat, which allowed the scents of both to co-exist. Even Jennifer, who hated the smell of goat cheese, had some of the crab cakes. It was a fun and tasty dish to try.

Goat Cheese Crab Cakes with Carrot Lemon Coulis

The last but not least, we ordered the lobster tempura for our hot appetizers. As lavish as it sounded, the golden tempura actually had a pretty humble taste. The lobster meat, as usual, was divine and delicious, but it came with the very American mustard mayonnaise. I personally would call this plate "Popcorn Lobster."

Lobster Tempura with Mustard Mayonnaise

Sushi & Rolls: 

Growing up in Taiwan, I have a very high standard for sashimi, especially for the freshness of the fish. I haven't been to a Japanese restaurant in the States that is on par with those in Taiwan and Japan. However, the creative rolls and sushi, such as the popular rainbow roll, caterpillar roll, and the spider roll, are simply unheard of in Taiwan. It is always fun to order some crazy and interesting rolls.

We ordered 5 different rolls to share (Sorry I can't remember the names of them!). The aesthetic presentation made the rolls looked so tantalizing and appetizing; the tuna sushi was even decorated with real gold leaves. We finished the plate almost immediately!

6 Bond Nigiri: 6 Pieces of Exotic Nigiri Sushi

&

Hot Eel Dice with Sansho Pepper and Sliced Almond

&

???

Chocolate Lava Cake

Banana Crepes

I really enjoyed the atmosphere, lounge music, and the service at BOND ST. The chefs of the restaurant prepared many playful and mouth-watering appetizers, skewers, as well as rolls. The exquisite fusion dishes, along with some great friends, made an awesome night.

The dinner reached its height when Pat decided to pay all amount in excess of $250. I should've ordered more...

BOND ST Lounge

150 20th Street

Miami Beach, FL 33139

ttp://www.bondstrestaurant.com/

Recommendation: 4 Star

Great lounge restaurant for eclectic fusion bites and cocktails.

The South Beach location of BOND ST also offers some Miami specialities that you can't find in Manhattan!

also in other location: New York City