Pin Dou Kushiyaki is one of those sneaky little barbecue places that specializes in skewers, dotted over Taipei and New Taipei City. What draws people in here is the ease at which you can access all of the delicious skewers on offer by the restaurant with very little fuss.
The casual atmosphere adds to the attraction, making it a great destination if you’re looking for a relaxing eating experience. The aroma of cooking skewers fills the streets around, luring passers-by in. Pin Dou Kushiyaki could be your go-to destination for a comfortable evening filled with inexpensive indulgence in BBQ skewers paired with a few drinks.
Below is my write-up for our trip to the Yonghe branch of Pin Dou Kushiyaki right outside DingXi MRT station, but you can also find branches right near Dr Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall MRT station, Banqiao, XinZhuang, and Keelung.
Table of Contents
Sometimes you don’t want to navigate your way around a complicated menu, or ordering system, or you simply don’t want to interact with people. Maybe you’ve had a tough day and all you want to do is go nuts on some tasty food and sink a couple of drinks with it. This is for you.
If you aren’t sure how to order or what to do when you arrive at Pin Dou Kushiyaki, then this is the post for you. See below for How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
The Menu at Pin Dou Kushiyaki
The menu is overwhelmingly long and requires a pretty good level of Chinese to fully access. I will break it down into sections for you, and focus on some recommended orders:
- 經典 jīng diǎn - Classics
- 豬血糕 zhū xiě gāo - Pig blood cake
- 甜不辣 tián bù là - Tempura fish cake
- 豆皮 dòu pí - Tofu skin
- 雞皮 jī pí - Chicken skin
- 雞屁股 jī pì gǔ- Chicken butt
- 高粱香腸 gāo liáng xiāng cháng - Kaoliang liquor-flavoured sausage
- 脆皮肥腸 cuì pí féi cháng - Crispy skinned intestine
- 肉品 ròu pǐn - Meat options
- 梅花豬肉串 méi huā zhū ròu chuàn - Fatty pork skewer
- 剝皮辣椒豬 bō pí là jiāo zhū - Spicy chilli and pork
- 麻糬豬五花 má shǔ zhū wǔ huā - Mochi and pork
- 特選牛肉串 tè xuǎn niú ròu chuàn - Special beef skewer
- 番茄豬五花 fān qié zhū wǔ huā - Tomato and pork
- 蔬菜 shū cài - Vegetable options
- 杏鮑菇 xìng bào gū - King oyster mushrooms
- 綠櫛瓜 lǜ jié guā - Courgettes/Zucchini
- 玉米筍 yù mǐ sǔn - Baby corn
- 海鮮 hǎi xiān - Seafood options
- 澎湖生蠔 pēng hú shēng háo - Oysters from Penghu island
- 鯛魚下巴 diāo yú xià ba - Tilapia chin
- 白蝦 bái xiā - White shrimp
- 酒/飲料 jiǔ/yǐn liào - Alcohol/Drinks
- 生啤酒 shēng pí jiǔ - Draft beer
- 日本清酒 rì běn qīng jiǔ - Japanese Sake
- 韓國燒酒 hán guó shāo jiǔ - Korean Shoju
- 梅子酒 méi zi jiǔ - Plum wine/liquor
What Did We Order?
When faced with a huge selection such as this one, I found it difficult to restrain myself. The really good thing about this selection at Pin Dou Kushiyaki is that you can pretty much guess what is what just by seeing it. My recommendation would be to just pick whatever you think looks good, then get a few more to make sure you've tried just about everything barbecue-skewer-related that you can.
To give some context to this, we had just been around the corner at Yonghe World Soy Milk King to get some breakfast for dinner, so we couldn't go too wild here. Having said that, we probably picked up a little bit more than what we should have done...
From left to right you will see:
- Tofu skin - crispy and really quite good. It's easy to burn this, so it's quite a skill to get it this crispy without either drying out or being burnt. As you bite down you get an idea of just how many layers go into the tofu-skin-making process. This is certainly more for texture than a strong flavour, but the flavour of soy does still come through nicely, albeit understated.
- Chicken hearts - I like eating chicken hearts for their heavier chicken flavour. They are often very delicate while also being quite chewy. Here they were barbecued nicely, and seasoned well with a sticky barbecue sauce. I enjoyed these quite a bit.
- Pig blood cake - Pin Dou Kushiyaki does their pig blood cake on a skewer in a slightly different way than other barbecue skewer places that I have come across. They cut theirs into triangles so it looks like some sort of black Christmas tree. Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, they were good.
- Chicken - A barbecue skewer of chicken is what I want. A barbecue skewer of juicy chicken is what I really want. Lashed with their house special sauce, this was a winner.
- Intestine - There's something about a crunchy-skinned large intestine on a barbecue skewer that I just can't get enough of. There's a strong pork flavour to these, with a combination of really interesting crunchy, soft, silky, and chewy textures running throughout each mouthful. You should definitely give this a go.
- Sausage - I like sausages, but I hate Kaoliang with quite a passion. Therefore, it should stand to reason that a sausage flavoured with Kaoliang on a barbecue skewer should not be my thing, right? Wrong. The juicy pork is fragranced with the Kaoliang, which manages to impart a sweet earthiness to the whole thing. It's fascinating and really flavourful.
- Pork - A barbecue skewer of fatty pork should always be ordered when you see it. What is essentially a thin slice of belly pork is your every mouthful on this barbecue skewer, and it's pretty tasty. It's not mind-blowing, but you know exactly what you're getting, and there's a porky comfort in that.
- Mochi with pork - Pin Dou Kushiyaki has really gone left field with this bizarre barbecue skewer of mochi wrapped in pork. It's like their version of Pigs in a Blanket, maybe? Anyway, little balls of mochi are wrapped in bacon that is then put onto a barbecue skewer and toasted up nicely. The result is a soft and almost runny mochi (not like a marshmallow, much chewier than that) that brings that sweet Vs savoury debate to the fore once again. I liked it, but I didn't love it.
- Courgette/Zucchini - I invariably get this from the supermarket (whenever it is reasonably priced, at least) or my local veg vendor. I also invariably get it when I see it on the menu. I really like the texture of the courgette, and I like the watery green flavour it carries, too. However, I was disappointed by this one, as there was far too much oil on it. The flavour was good, but too much oil is not what a courgette wants, as it soaks it all up and then squirts it everywhere when you bite down. I don't want that.
The tempura fish cakes at Pin Dou Kushiyaki were really good. Never have I had such a crunchy yet chewy fish cake as this one. The bits that had caught on the flames added character and flavour, and the fish cake itself was solid. It's not like those incredible market fish cakes you'll find in Keelung, but it's a pretty good barbecue skewer offering here at Pin Dou Kushiyaki.
I had to give you guys a close-up of that mochi with pork. It's so intriguing to me. Will you try it? Leave your answer in the comments below.
The Bottom Line
Is it worth it? Pin Dou Kushiyaki is a friendly, comfortable barbecue skewer restaurant with a few chains dotted around. You know what you're getting here, and it isn't flashy. But I think that's the good thing about it. Wash it down with a draft beer or a glass or two of sake, and you've got a good dinner.
What is the best dish? The most intriguing is the mochi with pork. But the best is probably the tofu skin. I will order a few of those the next time I go. The texture is right on the money.
Are there other places like this? There are so many places like this, but I would recommend this place if you want a slightly more refined barbecue skewer.