James Kitchen is just one of those places where you’re going to get honest, simple, but deliciously tasty Taiwanese food, right in the heart of the city. Nestled at the top of the ever popular Yongkang Street in Taipei, James Kitchen brings together simple Taiwanese ingredients in a humble way that allows them to stand out and be applauded for.
They offer the classics such as 3 cup chicken, braised pork over rice, and Hakka stir fry. But, more than that, they also offer dishes you may have never thought about before, showing that they’re not afraid to showcase some of the unsung classics of Taiwanese cuisine. Such dishes can include slipper egg shrimp, pork tendon and sea cucumber, and basil flavoured snail.
Whatever Taiwanese classic dish you’re looking for, James Kitchen is likely to have it, and it’s likely to be delicious.
If you are planning for a trip to Taipei, the following article is helpful:
7 unforgettable Taipei Places to visit in 2023 if you only have 48 hours!
Table of Contents
If you're in the market for a 'homemade flavour of Taiwan' experience, then James Kitchen is certainly worth checking out. Character spills out of the restaurant, and if you have ever watched any of Anthony Bourdain in Taipei, you'll be very familiar with the outside of this wonderful establishment.
Humble on the inside with pictures and decorations on the walls, but very little else.
They have a sister restaurant about 100 paces down the road, so they even manage to cook some things here and walk them down there. It's quite amazing that they can do this all from this tiny kitchen nestled behind the counter here at James Kitchen.
The menu at James Kitchen
This post includes my recent and previous visits at James Kitchen, some of the dishes are not seen on the menu now, but worth asking if they do them as specials now.
Thank you to this great place to be so tourist friendly and showcase their multi-lingual menu for everyone out there! I really respect that restaurants are moving towards this as a standard now. I mean, yes, we are always going to have some that don't go that way because they don't necessarily want to attract tourists. But, a place as good as this will benefit greatly from this approach.
Whilst the normal Taiwan Beer (金牌) is palatable, the 18 days beer is much nicer, in my opinion. There's something just smoother and deeper in flavour that the Gold Label Taiwanese beer, for my liking. Grab a few glasses, send me an invite, and I will be there to help you eat your food from James Kitchen, and also wash it down with a few beers.
Lotus root with a pomelo sauce
柚香甜酸蓮藕
yòu xiān gtián suān lián ǒu
Good to get the taste buds zinging right from the off. The pomelo sauce is thick and citrusy, but both in a good ways. It's a very refreshing starter. The lotus root is used more for the crunchy texture, than for flavour. Expensive for what it is, as it's mostly down to the sauce, here. However, lotus root is pretty much expensive year-round, so I am not putting that blame on James Kitchen.
Chayote Leaves Salad
涼拌龍鬚菜
liáng bàn lóng xū cài
$180
A Chayote salad according to the menu, served cold and presented to you. The flavour of the salad itself is quite neutral. It is inoffensive with a crunchy and slightly rough texture on the leaves. The peanut sauce is basically like smothering peanut butter all over a salad - plus points in my book!
I do tend to get it each time I come here. It's a weird guilty pleasure of mine to smear peanut butter over anything and everything that I eat...
Scallop and pork gravy over rice
干貝肉燥飯
Gān bèi ròu zào fàn
One more bowl, please!
Absolutely no negatives on this dish at all. The pork and scallop gravy is on point, the rice is brilliant, and mixed together it just works very well. I don't quite know how much scallop gets thrown in here, but the fish taste is very delicately in the background. It's not heavy, even though it may look that way.
Shallots with pork fat over rice
葱香豬油飯
Cōng xiāng zhū yóu fàn
$40
All flavours are great. The fragrance of the fried shallots shines through and lifts this dish to another level. A simple bowl of rice can really be transformed with a spoonful of deep fried shallots and some delicious shallot oil like this one. I would eat this every day if I could. I mean, I can, but I would probably regret it in the long-term... Anyway, this dish is worth ordering, so you should go get it!
Braised pork rice
香菇滷肉飯
Xiāng gū lǔ ròu fàn
$60
Shock, I ordered pork braised rice. Of course, you all know just how much I live for this kind of dish. Simple, rich, deep flavours radiate around this bowl as I sit beaming in one of my favourite restaurants in the city - James Kitchen Taipei. This place just seems to get it right every time. Now, is this the most mesmerizing braised pork over rice that I have ever had? Possibly not. But, it's still pretty damn good for a place that doesn't ever claim to specialise in a dish like this.
For my money, these 2 rice dishes + this salad are worth coming here for, alone. The rest of the dishes help to amplify that very bold claim, though, so make sure to check out what else I recommend when coming to James Kitchen.
Mushrooms wrapped in tofu skin
素燒香菇腐皮卷
Sù shāo xiāng gū fǔ pí juǎn
This photographs beautifully. The tofu skin was bursting with flavour, and the mushrooms were cooked really well at James Kitchen. The sauce a little salty, but it works really well. Expect delicate tofu skin that gives way through the layers to soft cooked mushrooms.
There's an almost smoky flavour that comes out of this tofu skin, which is balanced out so nicely with the mushrooms and that rice that you have inevitably ordered from the above options, too.
De-skinned chilli chicken
剝皮辣椒雞
bo pí là jiāo jī
$380
Definitely make sure this is ordered at James Kitchen. The Thai basil gives the fish a great freshness, as does the chilli. The heat is there, but it isn't overpowering. The chicken is cooked really well and isn't dry in any way. These kinds of de-skinned chilli can range a lot in their heat intensity and their flavour. Some of the more popular ones you'll find are from Hualien, and I would strongly recommend this place for a nicely spicy one if you head over to the East coast at any point.
Sweet & Sour Pork
糖醋肉
Táng sū ròu
$380
We have all got this at the buffet numerous times, and we all love it, too! But, what happens when you go to a restaurant that takes just that little bit more care and attention to put together a delicious variation of sweet & sour pork? This, this is what happens! This is a firm favourite of mine, and wins all the awards. Crispy skin that is sticky with the sweet and sour sauce that coats it, gives way to chewy yet delicate meat inside. The skin is thick enough to retain a good bite, without it being too thick. A really solid dish.
Cold cut pork with kumquat sauce
金桔白切肉
Jīn jí bái qiē ròu
The pork is succulent, flavourful, and fresh. Mixed with the ginger and combined with the sweet kumquat sauce, and now you're talking! It goes really well paired with one of those rice dishes from above. Served cold, the fatty belly pork has layer upon layer of fat, meat, and is crowned with an extra chewy layer of skin and fat at the top. Make sure to take it all with a good pinch of those shredded ginger slivers, and dab it in the sauce. You'll be happy by the end of your mouthful.
Shrimp & Crab meat ball
清燉蝦蟹獅子頭
Qīng dùn xiā xiè shī zi tóu
$340
I didn't really know what to expect when we ordered the dish. I love the lion head meatballs (獅子頭) and often order them when I see them (especially when it's on a BREAKFAST menu! Click here for more incredibleness on that topic). When the dish arrived it was a mass of Napa cabbage, mushrooms, and soup.
But when I fished underneath, there lay 2 of the biggest meat balls I have had the pleasure of chomping down on. If you are thinking that 2 meatballs for the price you pay seems quite steep, I would tend to agree with you. However, what I can say is that James Kitchen does a delicious meatball! Taipei is one of those places that you have to walk around and really search out some of the better meat balls, in my opinion, but I think James Kitchen really hit the brief when it comes to that. Just come here for yours!
The shrimp and crab meat were subtle, yet noticeable. What I really liked about these meatballs, though, was their juiciness. It seems weird to me that something can be in soup and still remain juicy. These did, and I love them for it. In fact, no, I love James Kitchen for it.
Three cup style mushrooms
三杯杏鮑菇
sān bēi xìng bào gū
$280
James's Kitchen nailed this dish. This is perhaps my favourite dish of the meal: salty sweetness, fresh spice from the chilli, fragrance from the thai basil, all combined with the meaty mushrooms.
Deep fried chicken roll
炸雞卷
zhà jī juǎn
$220
The notion of a chicken 'roll' is pretty weird to me, especially when it is made of pork... Either way, the salty pork with crunchy skin that dips into the chilli sauce definitely wins. Another high recommendation for your next order.
The bottom line
Is it worth it? Yes. I bring family and friends here when they visit for a reason. I genuinely think that if I were Taiwanese, that this would be the nod to my grandma's cooking that I would be proud to share at a restaurant. They are unpretentious, they are generous in their portion sizes, and the food is always on point.
What is the best dish? Tough call. For the rice, it's their Shallots with pork fat over rice. There's just something about the fragrance of that dish that gets me every time. In terms of the other dish it would be their sweet & sour pork. I am an absolute sucker for this dish, and James Kitchen does one of my favourite version of it right here.
If you're looking for legit Taiwanese cuisine, I also highly recommend you Fong Sheng restaurant, which is also located on YongKang Street.