sushi/japanese: i recommend YUN SUSHI 允壽司

YUN SUSHI 允壽司
No. 9, Lane 160, Yanji St
台北市延吉街160巷9號
(02)2751-9828

MRT: SYS Memorial Hall

website:Yun Sushi's FB page

hours: Mon-Sat Lunch: 12PM- 2:30PM; Dinner 6PM- 10PM. Closed Sundays

$$$-$$$$

Kid friendliness: sushi bar seats only

Visit reviewed: 6/19/2014

Just opened a few months ago, Yun Sushi feels like one of those secret sushi spots that have been proliferating around Taipei. Hiding in plain sight in a busy alley in Dong Qu, with a steel door and understated sign with no windows to spy inside, Yun Sushi sits about 10 to 12 people at its sushi bar.

Set menus for lunch and dinner run NT$1380, NT$1800 and NT$2500, while dinner sets start at NT$2500, NT$3000, and NT$3500, so it's definitely a splurge. It's expensive for Taipei, where you can get great sushi omakase or chirashi for under NT$500 (a few of my favorite secret places), but comparable to prices in the US.  Yun Sushi could easily join the list of a handful of names that get mentioned on the English blogosphere for favorite sushi bar in Taipei- Sasa, Kitcho, Niu, Addiction Aquatic Development, Yuzu, Sumie, Mitsui (I have my own ranking for these spots, but I'll save that for another post). There's so many great sushi spots in Taipei, many I've yet to try, that the adventure of trying them all could be its own blog.

Yun Sushi's sets include both sushi, sashimi and cooked dishes like grilled fish or waygu beef, but friends who I told about Yun Sushi and visited later asked for less cooked items and more sushi, so depending on what you like you can request it, or you could leave it up to the chef. I did leave Yun Sushi with a strong impression of a lot of unique flavors and technique in preparation in the meal, like the bite of foie gras marinated in sake and sawara smoked with cherry blossom wood.  

I'd definitely go back to try out the omakase with just sushi. And of course uni! Haha. Thanks S for the special treat. 

loved the vinegar seaweed with ikura

clam

hirame, salmon (the chef said that this particular salmon "doesn't know the time" so swims upstream at the wrong season, and maguro tuna

hotaru ika (soy marinated baby squid)

organic tomato broth

chilled foie gras marinated with sake. luscious, fatty and creamy

crab, figs and tofu with sesame sauce

botan ebi (prawn)- so good!

sawara (spanish mackerel)- smoked with cherry blossom wood 

saba with a thin slice of glossy cucumber- still not a fan of the fishier saba

waygu beef two ways- the one with puffed rice with delicious and perfect with garlic chips. precious small bites so you wish there were more and have to chew slowly!

end of the meal- miso soup

mini chirashi with uni and otoro and ika

delicious white sesame ice cream

japanese/sashimi: i recommend CAFE DE RIZ

CAFE DE RIZ
No. 34 Lane 78, AnHe Road, Sec. 1
台北市大安區安和路一段78巷34號
(02) 2755-6587

MRT: Xinyi/Anhe

website: Cafe De Riz's FB

hours: 11:30AM- 10PM

$$$ (about NT$800-NT$1200/person)

Kid friendliness: mostly raw sashimi available, though spotted one grilled salmon consommé rice option. no high chairs spotted

Visit reviewed: 3/5/2014

I never had a chance to try Nomura, a Taipei sushi bar that garnered fame while it was open. When it closed in March 2013 due to Chef Nomura leaving, the partners reinvented the space into Cafe de Riz. Instead of a typical sushi bar, the specialty was seafood donburis and consommés. Donburi is Japanese for rice bowl and Riz is French for rice, so Cafe de Riz is a restaurant for serious sashimi donburi lovers as the limited menu presents only a few options.

You can opt to sit at the counter for a prime spot to watch the sushi chefs, or if you have a bigger group at one of the tables. 

A glance at the menu shows three options for those wanting something hot and four for those wanting  sashimi donburis. Prices are on the higher side, especially for lunch, compared to other chirashi spots in Taipei, but then again you are getting whole pieces of nigiri sized sashimi rather than chopped up bits in a bowl. 

Cabbage served with a speck of yuzu pepper paste, to share with six people. It's pretty potent, but for six people, might need more than that.

We quizzed the waiter on the differences between the various menu options and had no idea about the sizes. I had previously spied uni on instagram at Cafe de Riz, so of course I asked which don would have it. The server said that the Fabulous Seafood Don would have uni while the Seafood Don did not. I thought if I was gonna splurge, I might as well go for it for an extra NT$300. 

At NT$1200, the Fabulous Seafood Don rivals the price of an omakase lunch at a number of sushi bars.  But instead of waiting for the chef to delicately present each piece of nigiri, you get to choose your own pace as you dig into the huge wooden bucket for sashimi treasures. 

I think those of us who ordered the Fabulous Seafood Don yelped in excitement when we saw the huge wooden bucket and how much stuff was inside.

It's a pretty massive bowl, and honestly, you could probably split this with another person. There's 2-3 pieces of most of the fish and a layer of rice underneath. 

I loved the delicate soy sauce "teapot" and the presentation of everything. 

Let's go fishing...

beautiful piece of tuna

salmon

ebi shrimp

Seafood Don (NT$900) - my friend who ordered this was happy with it. I should have taken a photo of the seafood don and fabulous seafood don side by side to show the size difference, but hers came a lot later and I already started mine.  

Salmon and Roe Don (NT$800)

Bubbles of salty fishy goodness

Salmon and Roe Consomme (NT$600) is interesting- you get a pot of hot broth to pour into your bowl to essentially make your own soupy rice. Even though the consommé sets got extra side dishes (one cold one and one hot), I didn't feel like it was as good a value as the sashimi dons. Especially if you compare the salmon ikura bowls.

Genmatcha tea comes with the set and at the end of the meal. If you want to upgrade to a different drink, then you can add the price difference.

Maru Waffle (NT$220) looked different than I expected (not waffle shaped at all), but was tasty with red bean mochi and banana flavors.

All in all, Cafe de Riz is a lovely addition to the amazing Japanese eats in Taipei. It brings fresh sashimi to a relaxed cafe environment, great for a family meal or business lunch. Second location just opened featuring more desserts.