📍 A healing eatery hidden on Chifeng Street - Inamachi Family Restaurant ✨
Hello everyone! Today, I'm taking you to a super healing Japanese eatery! 💕 Hidden on Chifeng Street in Taipei, "Inamachi Family Restaurant" is not just a restaurant; it’s practically a warm harbor for urban dwellers! 🏠
💫 A dining space with great atmosphere
The moment you push the door open... surprise! 🎉 Although the space is small (only 12 seats), the owner has created a super authentic Japanese vibe! With wooden decor ✨ warm lighting 🌟 and Japanese fabric curtains 🎋, it will truly make you feel like you’ve instantly traveled to a corner of Japan. Even though there aren’t many seats, the cozy and compact feel adds to the homely atmosphere! 🥰
🍱 Must-try dishes revealed!
👑 Beef and Potato Stew Set Meal
This dish is the star of the restaurant! 💯 Tender beef paired with flavorful potatoes, each bite is full of happiness! 🥔 The sweet soy sauce broth with steaming hot white rice is just a perfect match! 😋 The side dishes are also carefully prepared:
⭐️ Nanban Fried Chicken Set Meal
Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside fried chicken, drizzled with special tartar sauce... OMG! This is so indulgent! 🍗 The sweet, sour, and savory flavors are just irresistible. The side dishes are equally abundant; you’ll definitely leave feeling full! 🤤
🍮 Japanese Custard Caramel Pudding
Attention dessert lovers! 💝 This pudding, made with rich Hokkaido Tokachi fresh cream, has a level of creaminess that is off the charts! The melt-in-your-mouth texture paired with intense caramel is the perfect ending to your meal! ✨
📌 Useful tips
💰 Very affordable prices!
With such high quality, the prices are super friendly; great value! 👍
🌟 Super attentive service
The staff are very friendly, making you feel warmly welcomed as if you have returned home! 🥰
🚇 Extremely convenient transportation
⏰ Business information
💝 Summary
Inamachi Family Restaurant truly is a warm little store that makes you want to visit again and again! 👍 Whether you're coming alone to relax or gathering a group for a meal, it’s perfect! Each dish exudes sincerity, making you feel as if you’re having a meal at grandma’s house! 🏠✨
If you enjoyed this article, remember to like and share! 🌟
Let’s work together to protect this delicious secret base tucked away in the alleys! 💕
#TaipeiFood #JapaneseCuisine #FoodRecommendation #ChifengStreet #HealingCuisine
✨ Little tip: It’s suggested to avoid peak dining times, or you might have to wait! It’s best to come before 12:00 or right when dinner opens at 5:30 PM!
On a weekday night, I hurried into the restaurant just before closing time 😂
I thought I might not be able to get in, but they kindly allowed me in, haha.
【Atmosphere inside the restaurant】
The interior had counter seating with the kitchen right in front, but it didn't bother me too much, and I was able to focus on the food! It was a Japanese-style place, and the restaurant was clean!
【Food evaluation】
From three main dishes like curry and mapo tofu, you can choose from various ingredients like pork, beef, and fish. The prices were surprisingly low for bowl dishes and there were many options, so I had high expectations, but the taste wasn't particularly exceptional; it felt like a typical meal for college students! 😂
I thought it tasted like something I could make at home, but since it’s cheap and there are plenty of choices, I might consider going back again if I don't have anything specific I want to eat!
The Nest of the Barred Owl is a chain Japanese pork cutlet restaurant that I have always felt has stable quality, especially their red curry pork cutlet, which is fragrant and spicy, and satisfying every time I eat it. However, this time when I visited their branch located in the Rende Teri House, I wanted to try something different, and ended up feeling a bit disappointed.
This time I ordered a baked dish, and to be honest, the taste was a bit ordinary. After baking, it lost the aromatic qualities that the red curry should have had, all covered up by the cheese. In fact, it wasn’t particularly delicious on its own, and the overall texture was a bit dry. I don’t know if it was because it was baked a bit longer, but the overall performance was not outstanding and didn't quite meet my expectations for "The Nest of the Barred Owl." However, the sweet potato balls I tried this time were a pleasant surprise. They had a crispy exterior and a soft, chewy interior, with a light sweetness - very delicious! Although the price is slightly higher, the taste is worth trying.
In terms of service, this restaurant performed well. The waitstaff were friendly, and they were very polite during checkout, making the experience comfortable. The dining environment is similar to other branches – clean and bright, and the convenient location in Teri House makes it a good option for a quick meal.
Overall, this time’s baked dish slightly lowered my rating, but the other classic dishes in the restaurant are still worth recommending. If I come again, I will likely obediently order the red curry pork cutlet.
The atmosphere is comfortable.
There are quite a few seats, and there's a second floor.
There are parking spaces at the entrance. 🅿️
The appetizer is decent; I like the sweet seaweed. 😋
#vegetarian
▶ Salmon Ishikari Nabe $1800 / for two ◀
➡️ Broth
They use miso from Hokkaido as the base, and there are three different ways to enjoy it. The first is to drink the broth on its own, which is very special, slightly sweet, and very rich! Next, you can add bonito flakes to enhance the flavor. The last way is to add butter blocks, which makes the broth even richer and adds a creamy aroma!
➡️ Vegetable Platter
The vegetable platter includes many types such as butterbur, cabbage, Shandong bok choy, enoki mushrooms, burdock root, shredded white radish, shredded carrot, shiitake mushrooms, green onions, and pan-fried tofu. The main staple is udon noodles! You can enjoy it with salmon roe together.
➡️ Salmon Platter
The salmon platter is quite generous, with the fish bones separated, allowing you to cook them in the broth first. The salmon fillets are very tender and completely boneless! You can enjoy it with peace of mind.
▶ Upgraded Couple Set $699 / 2 people ◀
➡️ Seasonal Appetizers: The appetizer consists of three dishes. The first is a cold dish of pea shoots + crab sticks + salmon roe, the crisp pea shoots are very appetizing! The second is cheese salmon, which pairs nicely, but the cheese flavor is quite pronounced overall. The third dish is very special, featuring abalone and abalone liver, paired with a sweet sauce!
➡️ Sashimi Platter: It includes bluefin tuna, sweet shrimp, and scallops. The bluefin tuna is very tender and fresh, sweet shrimp has a bouncy sweetness! The sashimi-grade scallops are smooth and chewy, incredibly delicious.
➡️ Red Bean Soup: The dessert is red bean soup and matcha ice cream. The red bean soup is very rich, with the beans cooked until very soft but still recognizable, very impressive! Additionally, there are two pieces of char-grilled mochi and a chestnut included. The mochi's exterior, being grilled, gives it a smoky aroma, which is fantastic when paired with the red bean soup!
▶ Seafood Platter $799 ◀
This seafood platter features scallops, shrimp, clams, salmon, and oysters. The shrimp are very large, with a total of four pieces, with a firm and bouncy texture! There are also four oysters, each very plump, tasting sweet and full. The scallops are incredibly fresh—this seafood platter is truly abundant!
【Foodholic Niko @ New Taipei】
I didn't expect to find such affordable, generous, and delicious Japanese set meals in the Greater Taipei area!
"Yaruyaki Izakaya He Ping Branch" is located near Nanshijiao Station, just about a 3-minute walk away, tucked away in a small alley but quite recognizable with its prominent sign.
The interior decor isn’t fancy; the tables and chairs look rather simple, and the staff is very friendly and offers suggestions when we place our orders.
This place was recommended by a friend who is a regular here. He said they are known for their "super large portions." The menu is very simple, just a single A4 sheet. Although it says "light meal set," trust me, it’s anything but light! Because the whole set includes appetizers, cooked dishes, fried items, sushi, main courses, soup, and desserts, and the portions of each item are quite shocking.
Even my friend, who has a good appetite, suggested we not order a full set for each person. There were seven of us, and we ordered six sets but didn’t finish everything.
The appetizer was a Japanese-style salad; the greens tasted very fresh and crunchy, and the dressing was quite appetizing.
The cooked dish was chawanmushi, which had a small piece of crabmeat topped with some fish roe, showing the chef's attention to detail, but the flavor was fairly average.
The fried item was fish fillets, but they were HUGE! The crust was crispy, though because the pieces were so large, the meat was a bit dry. However, pairing it with shredded cabbage and sesame sauce wasn’t bad.
The sushi came with two pieces of flower sushi and one piece of tofu skin sushi, and each piece was quite large... Personally, I thought they were all quite good! I felt pretty full after this!
We chose different main dishes to share, including assorted sashimi (6 pieces for $378), steamed fish ($388), shichimi fried chicken ($368), lightly salted grilled mackerel ($368), oversized pork cutlet ($368), and grilled beef ($498).
To be honest, everything was above average; nothing was bad! The sashimi was no longer just slices because each piece was super thick, resembling fish blocks, and it felt very fresh.
Both the steamed and grilled fish were good, but the mackerel had a larger portion, while the steamed fish was smaller. The shichimi chicken was large fried chicken pieces sprinkled with seven-spice powder, complemented by a house-made dipping sauce—it was very good! But I liked the fried pork cutlet even more, paired with mayonnaise and curry powder, which was quite special! The beef was cooked medium, tender, and delicious, but I recommend eating it while it's hot.
The soup of the day was clam miso soup, which had so many clams it was overwhelming—you could never finish it. The bowl was massive, and I couldn’t finish it all; the miso flavor was a bit sweet, which I personally didn’t prefer.
The dessert was something like mochi and bracken cake, hard to describe—it was a fried, chewy item sprinkled with wheat tea powder. It was okay, but felt like it was missing a flavor; I suggest not taking a big bite, as it’s easy to choke on it!
I came here a few times when the school just started and I really like their pork don, so I’ve been meaning to come back!
The boss is very nice; when I first went, he treated me to some black tea, and this time I got to try their homemade honey tea 😭 Truly a friendly shop!
When I finished my meal and was paying, he even mentioned I could bring friends along, and I couldn’t help but recommend it to more people saying they should come and try it...
It has already made it onto my lunch and dinner must-try list 🫡
🌻 Pork Don $160
It’s just delicious.
The portion is moderate; if you eat less, you might feel quite full. For an average eater, it should be just right. The saltiness is moderate, and I really like their sauce and flavor. Finishing the whole bowl is truly satisfying!
The price seems quite reasonable, a tasty meal that students can definitely afford ~
The soup served is a slightly mild miso soup, which can be refilled. The side dishes vary (I’ve had small pieces of tamagoyaki before), usually including edamame, fruits, and sweet potato, among other things.
Taichung has a pretty well-known Japanese rice ball shop located in an old watch store. Many people recommend it, so I decided to check it out during my visit to Taichung! Overall, the fish-flavored options are quite delicious, and the portions are more than I expected. It feels like a hearty and refreshing meal without weighing down the body!
This time, it was an impromptu decision, so I didn't make a reservation. The staff estimated a half-hour wait, but it ended up being about an hour and a half, which was longer than expected. Thankfully, there were many places nearby to stroll around...🤣
The set menu includes rice balls and a soup, where you can choose two flavors for the rice balls and one for the soup. The dessert and appetizer are fixed.
I ordered the tuna and the holiday special smoked salmon flavor. The smoked salmon was very tasty, and the charred salmon aroma combined with the perfectly cooked rice balls made it impossible to stop eating! However, the tuna flavor was a bit ordinary, and there was corn inside, which I don't really like, giving it a somewhat local feel!
The person I was with ordered the eel and pork floss. The eel was quite tasty, and pork floss is just that – you can't go wrong with it, but those who love it would probably really enjoy it.
Additionally, the grilled chicken skewers as an appetizer were commendable. They were really quite good, grilled perfectly, and the meat was very juicy and tender! The chicken soup tasted like it had quite a bit of effort put into it, reminiscent of what a grandmother would make!
I recommend making a reservation. Overall, the food was indeed quite delicious, but the longer wait this time made it not feel like a meal worth queuing for an hour and a half. However, given the price point and the level of care from the establishment, I think anyone visiting Taichung should give it a try!
After seeing over a thousand Google reviews with a rating close to five stars, I walked in without hesitation to give it a try. However, the actual dining experience did not meet my expectations. It turns out that it's still important to check Google reviews before entering a restaurant to understand why it has such high ratings.
I ordered the beef belly rice bowl, and the overall taste was average. The rice was slightly dry, and the side dishes were typical of a Japanese soy sauce flavor, but nothing particularly outstanding. The tonkatsu rice bowl was also mediocre, with the meat and batter being at an average level. I particularly added the fried sweet and spicy fish cakes, but they were also not impressive, comparable to the standard of fried items found elsewhere.
The restaurant has a promotion of "check-in for a small snack," but oh well, there's nothing that can be done! I can only blame myself for not reading carefully before entering. However, based on the quality of the food, it does not deserve such high ratings.
Located in Ueno, Tokyo, "Gyukatsu Moto mura Ueno" is a very well-known fried steak specialty restaurant that features fried beef served with a small grill. The steak is crispy on the outside while remaining tender and medium rare on the inside, allowing you to eat it directly or grill it to your preferred doneness at the table.
This time, I ordered a set meal with 1.5 times the meat portion. The beef was tender and particularly complemented by the yam puree and pickled vegetables. The smooth texture of the yam paired unexpectedly harmoniously with the rich flavor of the beef. The side dishes included miso soup and pickled vegetables, which, although simple, were a good match for the main star. The warabi mochi for dessert was a delightful surprise, served with soybean flour and brown sugar, sweet but not overwhelming—ideal for a finishing touch.
As for drawbacks, this restaurant is very popular, usually requiring a queue of over an hour to be seated. The space is small with only about 14 seats, which might be a challenge for those who dislike waiting in line. However, the taste truly justifies the wait, which is why it is recommended by many tourists and locals alike.
Overall, "Gyukatsu Moto mura" is a food experience worth trying, especially for those who are tasting fried beef for the first time, as they can truly feel the surprise. However, next time I might choose to visit on a weekday to avoid peak hours or try my luck at one of their other branches.