You are browsing the Blog for restaurant.

← Previous Entries

Kobe Steak at Royal Mouriya (Kobe)

April 9, 2013 in Food, Japan, Reviews, Travel

136

Royal Mouriya in Kobe

Mention  “Kobe” and the first words that pops into my mind are “steak” (followed by “yummy”) and “Bryant” (followed by “dickhead”). So when I had a chance to take a brief detour to Kobe during my recent trip to Kyoto (about an hour on the JR), I did not miss the opportunity to sample some fine Kobe steak.

You can have Kobe steak all over Japan (and the world), but there’s nothing quite like trying the beef at the place after which it is named. There are loads of Kobe steak restaurants in Kobe, and few are as famous as the legendary teppanyaki restaurant Mouriya, which has a history of more than 120 years.

Mouriya has three restaurants along one street near Sannomiya station, and we chose to go to the Royal Mouriya. They are all pretty similar, and according to the waitress, have only slight menu variations.

At Royal Mouriya, we sat along a teppanyaki bench where the chef would cook the meal fresh, right in front of you. Don’t worry about getting your clothes smelly though — they have some magical machine that seems to suck all the smoke away.

128

A little dark, but the ambiance is great

The menu offers a range of set meals that offers salad, soup, cooked vegetables, rice, a beverage and dessert around your choice of steak. You can go with a cheaper lunch special that includes a lower quality steak that costs around 4,000 yen to 5,000 yen, or you can choose something more spectacular that will set you back more than 10,000 yen. As I understand it, dinner costs more and can go as high as 16,000 yen or more per person.

We ended up going with two mid-range sets between about 7,000 yen and 9,000 yen. One was a sirloin and the other was a rib roast, the two types with the most fat (and hence tenderness). The fillet and the rump tend to be a little tougher to chew, but still much softer and juicier than your regular steak.

I will let the photos do the talking from here. As the chef cooked the steak in three batches (to ensure they were fresh and hot when served), the plate doesn’t look quite as appetizing as it should be. But trust me, it’s awesome.

We started off with some corn potage

We started off with some corn potage

109

Each meal comes with a range of condiments, from simple salt and pepper to roasted garlic and wasabi

Chef dude working his magic

Chef dude working his magic

This is the beef we ordered -- before it is cooked, of course

This is the beef we ordered — before it is cooked, of course

The first set of beef

The first set of Kobe steak

The full set, including rice and salad

The full set, including rice, salad and two dipping sauces

Here's the second set of steak

Here’s the second set of steak

Chef dude prepares some bean sprouts and vegies

Chef dude prepares some bean sprouts and vegies

Voila!

Voila!

Last but not least, dessert -- mango sorbet

Last but not least, dessert — mango sorbet

Now for the verdict. As a teppanyaki joint, Royal Mouriya is not extraordinary, as the things offered as part of the set meal are pretty much standard for teppanyaki restaurants these days. While the salad was big and fresh and the soup was very good, neither were really exceptional. The dessert was also quite underwhelming.

That said, the restaurant is famous because of its Kobe steak, and that’s what ultimately makes Royal Mouriya a standout. Their beef is every bit as good as advertised — soft, juicy, succulent, and full of flavour even without any condiments. Sliced into many thin pieces and served in batches, it feels like you are getting your money’s worth; plus you can sample the beef in many different ways.

For instance, the chef recommended first eating a slice plain, then another with just salt, before trying the sauces. In the end, I was dipping the beef all over the place, but my favourite was probably the miso-type sauce plus a dash of wasabi and a piece of roasted garlic. It was insanely good.

So on the whole, I’d still recommend Royal Mouriya (or any of the Mouriya restaurants for that matter) because you are guaranteed a quality meal and some of the best beef you are likely to ever have. The next time I go to Kobe, however, I will definitely try a different joint so I could compare.

9/10

Details

Royal Mouriya (ロイヤル モーリヤ)

Website (with English; all Mouriya restaurants): http://www.mouriya.co.jp/indexp.html

Address: 1-9-9 Kitanagasadori, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture (short walk from Sannomiya Hankyu/JR/Hanshin station; map and directions available on website)

Phone: +81 78-321-1328

Hours: 11:30am-9pm

Booking is recommended (can be done online through official website)

Note: the Mouriya Head Restaurant and the Sannomiya Restaurant are both on the same street.

Tags: , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

L’Idiot Restaurant (Taipei)

May 19, 2012 in Food, Reviews, Taiwan, Travel

It’s quite astonishing that there are so many “fine dining” restaurants in Taipei considering how painfully low average salaries are.

One of the more well-known fine dining restaurants in L’Idiot, which offers a fairly wide range of modern western-style dishes. We went for lunch on a rainy day a few months ago because we heard they served good main courses and brunch.

The restaurant is situated on the ground floor of a commercial building on section 3 of Minsheng East Road. The interior is huge and very stylish, dominated by this massive tile-laden artwork in the middle. The waiters are obviously well-trained and friendly, and offered some nice suggestions.

In the end, we went with one brunch dish: the Homemade Gravlax Benedict, which also comes with salmon roe, potato hash, greens and cherry tomatoes; and one main course: the Grilled Pork Chop with brown butter apple, pumpkin, salty caramel sauce and aligot.

Of course, the courses also came with free house bread, which was just okay, nothing special.

The first to arrive was the Benedict. The salmon was supposed to come with it but we asked for it to be placed on a separate dish as my wife was still pregnant at the time and wanted to avoid anything that wasn’t fully cooked.

I have had many a Benedict in my time, and this one was neither one of the best nor one of the worst. The strength lies in its hollandaise sauce, which is flavoursome but not too creamy or salty, and the salmon and salmon roe went well with it. However, the English muffin didn’t taste particularly fresh and kind of crumbled too easily. The accompanying potato was good, and the salad was fresh but that’s about it.

Next came the pork chop. The pork chop itself was not bad, but not great either. It wasn’t too hard, but I’ve had others that were much more succulent and juicy. More sauce also would have helped. The highlight turned out to be the mashed potato (the aligot, if you will), probably because it had a lot of oil and cheese in it!

So that’s that. L’Idiot turned out to be a tiny bit disappointing because of all the good things we heard about it. Put it this way: the pictures looked better than the food actually tasted.  It certainly wasn’t bad or anything, but considering the price (it was around NT$500 per person, inclusive of the 10% surcharge — though we only got two dishes in total) I had expected a little more. Mind you, we only sampled a tiny portion of the menu, so perhaps we missed out on the best they had to offer. While I’m glad to have tried it I’m not sure if I will go back again.

7 out of 10

Details

L’Idiot Restaurant

Address: No. 156, MinSheng E Rd, Sec 3 (nearest MRT: Zhongshan Jr High School, brown line)
Phone: (02) 2545-6966
Opening hours: 11:30 AM – 2:30 PM, 5:30 PM – 10:30 PM (Fri/Sat until 12 AM)

Website: http://www.lidiotrestaurant.com/

Tags: , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Shengyuan Shigua Steamed Dumplings

March 11, 2012 in Food, Reviews, Taiwan, Travel

 

Hard to get a clear shot at night

My food posts are back, baby!  I’m a little backed up, so hopefully I can catch up in the next couple of months.

Anyway, here’s a place I visited a few months ago.  If you like steamed dumplings (ala Din Tai Fung) like me, then a street near Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall might be your thing.  Hangzhou South Road, which borders one of the sides of the memorial, has several steamed dumpling (xialongbao) joints. But most of them are street vendors, so that may turn a lot of tourists off.

There is one proper restaurant, however, that is both clean and has awesome food. It’s called Shengyuan Shigua Steamed Dumpling and it’s on one of the side lanes off Section 2 of Hangzhou South Road (lane 25, to be exact).

The restaurant isn't spectacular, but at least it's a restaurant

On most nights, expect to line up, so it doesn’t hurt to book ahead.  The restaurant itself is quite big, with wooden tables and chairs like what you would see in those kung fu movies.  The kitchen is out near the front behind glass, so you can kind of see the cooks working away. A lot of the stuff is self-serve, like the mini cold side dishes on the display shelf, hot tea, napkins and utensils, as well as my favourite — the sauces.  In the corner of the restaurant there is a sauce stand where you can add your own soy and vinegar, shredded ginger, garlic paste, chilli and even a special thick pot-sticker sauce. Awesome.

Awesome self serve dishes

Self serve sauces

The variety is pretty good too, with an assortment of steamed dumplings, pot-stickers, wontons, meats, vegetables, soups, noodles and savoury snacks. You can also order traditional dishes but only large groups tend to order those. You would think the “must order” is the shigua (luffa) steamed dumplings (after all, that’s what the restaurant has in its name), but for us it was the beef pancake roll. My god it was the best I’ve ever had, so crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside…

Let me allow the photos to do most of the talking.

Hot and sour soup -- pretty good, but not super

Shigua steamed dumplings, the signature dish -- not quite as good as Din Tai Fung's but it's still very good and just a fraction of the price

Wontons with chilli oil -- a little different to what I am ordinarily used to but it was very nice

The beef pancake roll -- sliced beef with cucumber and shallots rolled up in a pan fried pastry topped off with hoisin sauce -- the best I've ever had

Pan fried pastry with pork filling -- mmmmmm.....

On the whole, the prices are extremely reasonable. You’re looking at about NT$100 for 8 steamed dumplings, NT$70 for the wontons and 30 for each mini cold side dish. Incredible value.

The service is virtually non-existent, but for the price and quality of the food, not to mention the sensational beef rolled pancake, I’d definitely recommend giving Shengyuan Shigua Steamed Dumplings a try.

8 out of 10!

Directions: Take the MRT to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The nearest Exit is no. 3 but if you want to walk through the memorial you can take no. 5.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
1 Comment »

Pin Tian Japanese Style Katsu and Curry (Taipei)

December 1, 2011 in Food, Reviews, Taiwan, Travel

Nothing gets me going like a plate of crunchy Japanese katsu (fried meat covered with bread crumb batter) and some fat, fluffy Japanese rice.

There are plenty of Japanese style katsu and curry places in Taiwan, but you never really know what you’re going to get because they all look the same from the outside.  Having tried a fair share of katsu over the years, including in Japan (where it’s just heavenly), I feel like I am in a position to determine what is good katsu and what isn’t.

Recently we tried a popular chain called Pin Tian (品田牧場), which is part of the same group as Yuan Shao, Ju Hokkaido Help Hotpot and Tasty (click on the names for my reviews).  All of these are quality restaurants (though I’d rate some higher than others), which naturally raised my expectation of Pin Tian.

In the tradition of those other restaurants, Pin Tian is nicely fitted, clean and dimly lit, with overly-polite, well-trained waiters and menu sets that offer several courses, guaranteed to make you feel absolutely stuffed by the time you finish your dessert.

Pin Tian has two types of sets.  The discount ‘Koofuku’ set is NT$239 (+10% service charge) and is only available for lunch on weekdays.  It includes an appetiser and the choice of a main (tonkatsu or chicken katsu or curries, as well as some more ‘creative choices’, such as takoyaki (octopus) katsu, katsu rolls with egg, bacon, tomato, etc, ginger pork, tempura prawn and salted fish).  Each set also comes with unlimited shredded cabbage, unlimited rice, miso soup, chawan mushi (egg custard), pickles and apple vinegar (to ‘cleanse the palette’).

The regular ‘Genki’ set is NT$299 (+10% service charge), and is essentially the same except you also get a dessert (sesame ice cream, mousse and milk pudding) and a beverage (tea, coffee or special Japanese drinks).

Perhaps to imitate Japanese katsu restaurants, Pin Tian also starts off by giving everyone a bowl with some sesame seeds which you crush yourself and mix with the special katsu sauce (Japanese Worcestershire) on your table.  I don’t know why but I always like it.  Maybe it’s because the sesame smells so good.

The other thing I love about Pin Tian is their sesame sauce which goes with the cabbage, also readily available on your table.  It’s freaking awesome and I had about four refills of the cabbage because of it.

On this day, we ordered three sets (one Genki set).  The appetiser was two small rice paper rolls with a vinegary dressing.  Light, tangy and fresh.

The mains were the pork waist fillet tonkatsu (less fatty), the tonkatsu curry and the crispy chicken curry.  Check them out below.

The Tonkatsu Set

The Curry Tonkatsu Set

Here's a close up of the Chicken Curry Set

For the dessert from the Genki set, we got the black sesame ice cream, and for the beverage, a Japanese genmai black bean green tea.

Now for the evaluation.  Pin Tian is pretty good from an overall perspective.  For a very reasonable price you get an appetising appetiser, a katsu main course, unlimited cabbage (with that superb sesame dressing) and rice, soup and other stuff.  The katsu itself is decent — better than the average non-Japanese katsu joints but not in the same league as a ‘true’ tonkatsu restaurant.  The curry is better than expected and goes very well with the fried meats.  For the average meal seeker it is more than good enough, though if you are specifically after top notch katsu there should be better options available.

8 out of 10!

Details

Pian Tian: Japanese Style Katsu and Curry (品田牧場)

Website: http://www.pintian.com.tw/index.htm (Chinese)

Opening Hours: 11:30-14:30, 17:30-22:00, 7 days a week

Price: NT$239-299 (+10% service charge)

Stores: http://www.pintian.com.tw/about.htm (Chinese)

Taipei locations:

Nanjing East Store
Level 2, 146 Section 2 Nanjing East Road, Taipei (02 – 2507-7279)
Nearest MRT: Songjian Nanjing (Exit 4)

Mingshen East Store
Level B1, 45 Section 4 Mingshen East Road, Taipei (02-2718-6566)
Nearest MRT: Songshan Airport (Exit 3)

Banqiao Store
Level 2, 7 Section 1  Zhongshan Road, Banqiao (02-2964-2661)
Nearest MRT: Fuzhong (Exit 1)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

Teishoku 8 (Taipei)

November 22, 2011 in Food, Reviews, Taiwan, Travel

Typical menu from Teishoku 8

Meal sets (“teishoku” in Japanese).  Japanese cuisine.  What a combo.   That’s what’s offered by Teishoku 8 (定食8) in Taiwan — eight set meals, to be exact.

The menu changes on a regular basis, but true to its name, Teishoku 8 always offers eight sets to choose from (in addition to some a la carte dishes) and they all cost NT$200 each.  Each set comes with salad, rice, cabbage, soup and a few mini dishes such as pickles.  The rice, cabbage and miso soup are also unlimited refill.

Another interesting nugget is that Teishoku 8 prides itself on fast and efficient service — if they take longer than 15 minutes to serve your food, you get your next meal there free.  Don’t get your hopes up though — there is a reason why they have such an offer — because they are confident they’ll never have to pay up.

On this particular evening we went with the teriyaki beef set and the teriyaki chicken set.  I know, two teriyaki sets, but I like teriyaki and the other options were either deep fried (hard to avoid in Taiwan) or not as inspiring.  I heard they had really good eel (unagi) sets but it was out of season and they no longer served it.

Teriyaki Beef Set

Teriyaki Chicken Set

Other available meal sets included tempura prawn, pork cheese katsu, tempura prawn udon + sushi, grilled mackerel, sashimi donburi and fish + katsu.

When you order, the waiter gives you a receipt with the time of your order on it and their deadline for delivering the meal, and on the back wall is a digital clock.  I got a little excited after about 8 minutes, but sadly the meals arrived before the 10 minute mark.  Damn their efficiency.

NT$200 for a meal set is considered pretty decent in Taiwan.  It’s not as cheap as the roadside vendors or traditional cheap eats, but for Japanese cuisine in a restaurant where you get unlimited refills it’s a great deal.  No wonder why the place is jam packed during lunch hour.

However, considering the price and the speed with which the food is delivered, you can’t afford to be too picky about the quality of the meal.  The two meal sets we got at Teishoku 8 were okay.  The teriyaki beef, which was thick, rubbery and difficult to chew through, though the flavour was not bad.  The chicken was better, tender and juicy, about the same level as a regular Japanese joint in Sydney — except about a third of the price.

Ultimately, Teishoku 8 is the type of place you’d go for a fast, relatively economic meal where the food is least acceptable and occasionally pretty good.  Unfortunately, given that there are lots of fast, relatively economic places to eat in Taiwan out there, many of which offer better food, Teishoku 8 doesn’t stand out very much.  That said, it’ll be good enough for some people most of the time.

7 out of 10!

Details:

Teishoku 8 (定食8)

Website: http://sushiexpress.com.tw/teishoku8/index.php

Locations: 8 stores in Taipei — for contact details and addresses check the website.

Opening Hours: 11am-9:30pm

Price: NT$200 per person (no service charge)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
No Comments »

← Previous Entries