Addiction Aquatic Development
It only took three years since I first read about Addiction Aquatic Development from hungryintaipei to pay it place a visit. In retrospect, if I had done so, I would be here all the time. Not good for my wallet. But wonders for my belly. There’s just so much this place has to offer. As a meticulously run fish market slash grocery store slash restaurant options, I could come here for any occasion. Whether it’s a quick prepackaged bite at one of the seat yourself tables or a sit down meal at one of the put my name on the list restaurants, the Addiction Aquatic Development center offers it all. And if you’re thinking it’s just another fish market, you would be wrong, fear of missing out, then missing out, wrong. This place was fancy and well worth a visit, even if it were to only browse.
We went through the market and into the grocery store. It’s quite busy. Obviously with tourists like myself snapping pictures and looking through the super delicious looking bento boxes. But in the halls it’s pretty packed with people eating at the standing tables. It looked difficult to secure a spot. However, for us, we decided to try one of the restaurants.
It was late lunch so the wait wasn’t too long at Tresors de La Mar, a restaurant outside of the market. Inside the restaurant was modern and dimly lit. The blasting air conditioning was such a relief from the outside heat and humidity. I could have fallen asleep here if it weren’t for the anticipation of good food. Yeah, I’m going to be alert for that. The wait staff was very attentive and kept things going at a fast but unrushed pace. The meal was what I’d like to say, a Japanese-Taiwanese meal, a mix of traditional tastes from both cultures. We ordered a lot and unfortunately for this article, I didn’t get to pay for it. So I don’t know how much it all costs. I will say though that I’m am certainly coming back here.
Tresors de La Mer (上引煮海)
2F, No.20, Alley, Lane 410, Minzhu East Road
Taipei, Taiwan
+886 2 2508 1268
Verdict: A must see for seafood lovers.
Where was the shrimp? It’s in there. Look as those chunks! What a way to end this meal.
Like most asian meals, the final dish includes a rice dish. Sure it’s shrimp fried rice, but no, it’s not your run of the mill shrimp fried rice from your local Chinese fast food restaurant. Notice how you can see each individual grain without leaving of smidge of oil.
As far as miso soups go, this one was magnificent. With fresh lobster and clams how could we not love it.
The grilled shrimp was dusted with salt and white pepper. These were cooked just right to where the skin was very easy to peel.
You won’t see it from the sashimi plate picture but the shrimp had eggs. I thought I was in for a treat having never had this. Well, I can say this won’t be a delicacy. It’s had really no taste and didn’t add anything to the shrimp. And actually, I’d rather have them back in the ocean to keep the shrimp population going.
A light coating of soy sauce grilled without loosing the tenderness and moisture. And I loved the size these. So perfect!
I should have taken video or at least a picture. But in preparing our handroll, one of the chefs came to our table and prepared each one for us individually. All while we scarfed down our meal. Mmmm, what a wonderful interlude.
On more of the Taiwanese side, we had these greens (sorry I don’t have the name of it) cooked with garlic and black beans. The sauce wasn’t too overpowering and let the crunchiness of the stems come through.
What a beautiful plate full of a wide range of seafood, from the lobster sashimi to the fish. Then hit with the oysters and abalone. Oh I was a happy little ox with the changing tastes and textures. Yum!!
It’s not difficult at all. They give you a specialized bowl to grind up the wasabi root. Then you take what you want. And no folks, this isn’t as sinus clearing as that bright green paste. It’s more mild.
It’s a good sign when the waitress brought out the fresh wasabi. Of course, we could wait for the wait staff to prepare it for us, but where’s the fun in that?
Upstairs we sat down and waited as our meal was prepared.
After we looked over the selection, we worked with the host to develop our meal. Some items from the refrigerated section to the live catch, that included a lobster!
There’s also a refrigerated selection of seafood for us to choose from.
Outside the restaurant, the restaurant had their own display of live seafood. A bit more compact but still alive and kicking.
Here’s the section where they keep the live seafood. We took a strolled through to see the catch of the day.
They even have king crab here. And this one looks like it’s wandered off to say hi to the others.
When you think of the different types of clams you may have had, you’d be surprised by the types they have here. All live and available for you to take home and try.
They had a wide selection of live seafood. Even ones I’m very use to seeing in California. I wonder if these are locally caught or flown in.