Ossu Handroll & Bar

【Foodholic Nako @ Taipei】

"Osuu Handroll & Bar" is located near Zhongxiao Dunhua Station, about a 2-minute walk from Exit 3. The exterior is quite unremarkable, and the sign is small, so you really have to pay attention to notice there is a restaurant there. You can't see inside from the outside, which gives it a sense of hidden mystery and sophistication.

"Osuu Handroll & Bar" doesn't have many seats; the seating is primarily around a sushi preparation area with a three-sided counter, and when full, it can accommodate fewer than 15 people.

We came for dinner at 7 PM on a Sunday and had made a reservation. In 1.5 hours, there were only 4 groups of customers, and the seats were arranged quite spaced out, which made for a comfortable dining experience without the crowd and noise.

"Osuu Handroll & Bar" resembles a typical sushi counter, but it primarily focuses on sushi and hand rolls, with some creative raw food options. There are very few hot dishes—just some fried chicken, fried shrimp, chawanmushi, etc.

There are three set menu options priced at 6 courses for $700, 7 courses for $900, and 8 courses for $1400. Since both of us thought sea urchin was just okay, we found it not worth the extra $500 for an additional sea urchin hand roll, so we ordered the 7 course B set for $900.

We also ordered 2 creative raw dishes and 2 sushi a la carte.

To sum up:
Our favorite was the creative raw dishes; both were delicious. Among the 8 courses in the set menu, we found 7 were pretty good, while they weren't stunning, they were definitely above average. The 2 sushi a la carte were also decent. Overall, we would each spend about $1500, which left us about 80% full. I think I would recommend this restaurant to friends!

Particularly liked items:

1. Creative raw dishes: Salmon creative raw (yuzu vinegar, truffle, garlic slices, Thai chili), and amberjack creative raw (rice wine vinegar, Thai chili, salmon roe). Both dishes featured 4 slices of sashimi, sliced to just the right thickness, tasting very fresh. The seasoning was especially commendable and appetizing—the Thai chili added a finishing touch.
2. Fin muscle sushi and salmon belly sushi: The reason I liked these two was the melt-in-your-mouth experience; the fish literally dissolves as soon as you put it in your mouth, especially the fin muscle sushi, which felt like royalty! The pairing with truffle was fragrant and harmonious.
3. Coconut fried shrimp hand roll: Perhaps because this was one of the few hot dishes today, the fried shrimp was just out of the fryer, very crispy, hot, and I particularly liked it paired with a sauce that had a bit of coconut milk flavor, making it delicious—one of my favorites of the day!

Disliked items:
There was actually just one dish, the blue crab hand roll, that didn't suit my taste. The seasoning seemed to have a bit of citrus flavor, which I didn't think paired well with the crab meat, and I personally didn't like it. However, my husband thought it was fine.