A seafood restaurant in Taipei is not difficult to stumble across, with many boasting an impressive array of cooked fish and sushi littered across the city. But what this Seafood restaurant in Taipei does is way more modest and humble with its fish. Old-school little back room restaurants often pump out some of the best Taiwanese food, and this space is just as good as the rest, especially for seafood! Small plates of deliciously prepared dishes are what is on the menu here, with some incredibly reasonable dishes ready and waiting for you just off Yongkang Street near Dongmen MRT.
Table of Contents
A short walk from Dongmen MRT up Yongkang Street and then to the right, you will find a hidden gem of a seafood restaurant in Taipei. From the outside, this restaurant is unassuming, humble, and barely recognizable as a restaurant. However, it’s most certainly worth looking past the outside to get access to the food on the inside.
Pick up a menu from here (one of the white-to eat in or yellow-to take out pieces of paper next to the alcohol spray) and take it to your table.
If you’re an advanced Chinese reader, then this blackboard could also be looking good to you, too. However, something to keep in mind is that if you do like the look of something on the blackboard, then you’re either going to have to communicate that to the waiter/waitress, or write it down on your menu.
The Menu
The menu is split into a few sections. I will start top left, work down and then go from top right down.
- 招牌飯 – zhāo pái fàn
- House specials with rice
- 粥品 – zhōu pǐn
- Congee
- 麵食 – miàn shí
- Noodles
- 湯 – tāng
- Soups
- 精緻特餐 – jīng zhì tè cān
- Special combos
- 精選小點 – jīng xuǎn xiǎo diǎn
- Smaller bites
If you’re ever having trouble reading a menu, then you should make sure to check out my post entitled 3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
3 Fast Tips on How to Order in Taipei Restaurants like a definitive pro!
Shrimp rice special set
蝦仁飯 特餐 - xiā rén fàn tè cān
With all of the sets (特餐 tè cān) you get 4 sides chosen for you and a soup. I imagine that they will change on a relatively regular basis, so if you go then you might not have the same. But, I really hope that you do because it's all delicious. Pumpkin, tofu, cabbage fried with carrot, and water spinach. All were nicely cooked without many additional ingredients added to them.
The shrimp!
This was the main part of the meal, rice with shrimp. It looks flavourless and a bit meh, but trust me when I say that there was lots of flavour and I wouldn't hesitate to order it at another seafood restaurant in Taipei if I see it on a menu.
The rice itself was plump with the soup in which it had been cooked in, and served slightly more wet than other rice is often served, as the soup oozed out of it. The depth of flavour shocked me. The shrimp were cooked nicely and tasted really fresh. My own gluttony screamed out for more shrimp, but I remained calm.
Deep-fried pork roll
古早味鷄捲 - gǔ zǎo wèi jī juǎn
Crispy, fragrant, well-seasoned, popping with flavour, and served up with a nice pickled cucumber. What is there not to love here? Well, if it's greasy, then it's not worth it at all. But, is it greasy? No! Honestly, I have never seen this on any other seafood restaurant in Taipei, either. It feels like a double win, really.
Oftentimes, the meat in these little deep-fried rolls can be dry and tough, but not in this one. It was deliciously succulent and juicy, packing bundles of flavour.
Sailfish belly
旗魚腹 - qí yú fù
Sailfish is always exciting to see at a seafood restaurant in Taipei. Especially at a seafood restaurant as mysterious as this one. When it arrived at the table, we were shocked at how good it smelled. Cooked with lots of ginger, green onion, and celery, it was fragrant, juicy, and tasted like it had just been caught and prepared a mere 10 minutes before. The freshness was great!
Fish cakes from Keelung
基隆天婦羅 - Jī lóng tiān fù luó
I guess the reason that they specifically state that this is from Keelung, is probably because Keelung is one of the best places to get fish from in the North of Taipei. See my article below for more on the amazing city just North of Taipei, where they could probably rival any seafood restaurant in Taipei!
Anyway, these fish cakes are deep fried to crispy perfection, while retaining a delicious flavour of fish on the inside that is slightly sweet. The skin is delicately crispy, it isn't greasy in any way, and it is yet another reason why this is a seafood restaurant in Taipei that you must keep in your back pocket for when you're in the Dongmen area of Taipei.
Keelung City – A fast 24hr foodie tour of surprising keelung, Part 1
Bluefin Tuna Special
黑鮪魚 - hēi wěi yú
Without a doubt, one of the nicest bits of fish you can put in your mouth is some amazing bluefin tuna. I have had the luxury of eating it at some incredible sushi restaurants around Taiwan, and I can safely say that it is amazing and you should absolutely search it out.
In fact, just go to this place, as it is good enough right here! Prepared differently to how I have had it before (sushi), this bluefin tuna was stir fried with some ginger and green onions, and very little else. It didn't need anything else to release the incredible aromas of the ocean with the nice fresh hits of ginger and green onion. This was a blackboard order, and it was absolutely worth it.
The layers of fat interspersed with the layers of meat allowed each mouthful to melt in your mouth with punchy flavours of the aromatics that it was fried with. Get this.
Deep-Fried Marinated Pork
紅糟肉飯 - hóng zāo ròu fàn
The crispy element to this pork was stunning. The red sugar marinate is subtle enough to not overpower the dish, and the meat is in absolutely no way dry at all. Deliciously succulent pork like this cooked at a seafood restaurant in Taipei is something quite special. Served atop fragrant and delicately cooked white rice, this is a dish not to miss right here off Yongkang Street in the Dongmen area of Taipei.
The bottom line
Is it worth it? I seriously think that this could become a regular restaurant for me, and I don't say that lightly.
What was the best dish? All were great, but the Shrimp Rice Special shocked me on so many levels. Firstly, I just didn't have much of a point of reference, only ever having had this once before a long time ago in Tainan, and not having much recollection of it. But clearly a seafood restaurant in Taipei like this goes the extra mile. The depth of flavour in a seemingly standard bowl of rice with some shrimp on top will surprise and impress you, I am sure of that.
What would I get next time? I would be interested to get the House Special Seafood Congee next time (招牌海產粥). A restaurant that takes its seafood so seriously is one that should absolutely crush a congee. And, when you look at the congee section of the menu, there are 7 possible options to choose from, so surely they must be good?