Unagiuosho Brings a Specialty to Taipei
It’s a little known fact that the denizens of Taipei really love their unadon, eel and rice. However, if you look up where to have it, there are only a few places people would recommend. And since those places are now inundated with tourists and long wait times, we decided to try out a Unagiuosho. Expanding from their flagship restaurant in Saitama, a city just north of Tokyo, they bring the art of preparing these dishes to this city. They do this in the same traditions they do back home, with attention to service.
The price was relatively higher but it was inline with what you’d expect to pay in Japan. But let’s not get into that. You’re here to find out about the experience, and most of all, the food!
From the entrance, we were greeted by the host and led through a rock garden pathway. It was a bit underwhelming. Though it was a good contrast to the streets outside. I can imagine that entryway provided a great buffer to the scooter noise and exhaust sputtering by the place. It felt like a little oasis sitting inside.
Ordering would have been a problem because they only had Japanese and Chinese menus. Of course, my translator (jk!), my gf was with me. So that saved some time. After all, the staff did speak English.
The eel here was prepared fresh, reassured by our waitress. They pride themselves for serving only Japanese eel which account for two out of 18 types of eel found worldwide. Take what you will from that statement. They had me at the “fresh, not frozen” bit. See how American marketing is so ingrained in my psyche. I gotta travel to shake it off. Anyways, the main dish takes time so I would suggest getting some appetizers if you’re really hungry. Otherwise, it’s all worth the wait if you appreciate unadon. I sure did.
Unagiuosho
No. 24, Lane 83, Section 1, Zhongshan North Road
Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 10491
www.facebook.com/pg/unagiuoshoTW
Verdict: A solid unagi offering if you don’t mind the price and want a peaceful environment.
The box rice set comes in three different sizes and the size is relative only to the eel prepared. The lacquered box size, soup, and pickles are all the same size no matter which you choose. I was trying to offset yesterday’s meal by ordering the middle price. But lucky for me, they were running a special that night which upgraded me to a large. Wow, look at all that eel. You can barely see the rice. And yes, the eel was light, fluffy, and perfectly cooked. $900 NTD
The unadon came out in a cute red box along with a matching soup bowl. Now, let’s see what’s inside…
The tea rice eel bowl set was good. The amount of eel was less than the traditional rice box, yet the balance was perfect. This is what you want to get if you don’t want to stuff yourself like I did. $450 NTD
I forgot to get the price of this savory egg custard. But hate me more for not getting video of all the seafood hidden underneath this little bowl. I believe the custard ratio was very low in this offering. Not complaining!
Every table has seasoned fried eel bones, which are surprisingly tasty. But for the most part, I’d skip it unless you have a nice cold beer handy.