June 13, 2009
寶船日本料理
The father-in-law was back in town from China, and we wanted to take him to a Japanese restaurant since that's one cuisine that's definitely much better in Taiwan than on the mainland. Told the wife that she can splurge on a fancy place if they wanted to, but her dad didn't want to be too extravagant and formal, so they chose this spot, an old favorite of the family. You could tell the restaurant has some history behind it, with all the middle-aged oba-san ladies in the service staff. On the other hand,the restaurant itself has had some reasonably recent renovations for some nice lighting and faux-granite tabletops in the private rooms for a brighter, more lively atmosphere than the high-end places.
For a mid-line restaurant to survive in Taipei, it's all about delivering visible value for the buck. And nothing says "value" like a fat slice of sashimi. The combo platter itself was impressive as they delivered the raw fish family-style. Each piece was thick-cut such that each piece could've been sliced in two and still be a respectable portion of sashimi.
In addition to the sashimi we also got some hand-rolls. The others chose the prosaic asparagus-prawn rolls. But I couldn't resist splurging for the chopped tuna. The fat in the chopped tuna gave it a creamy mouth feel that melts in your mouth in combination with the sushi rice. It's a lot like a fish-flavored snow-cone, except it's actually much tastier than it sounds. The hana-sushi roll is pretty with orange fish roe coating on the outside and various pickled stuffing inside.
We also ordered combination tempura, salt-grilled fish, and finished the meal with miso soup. Not tremendously memorable, but everything was solidly above-average without breaking the bank. Perfect for a comfortable family meal where you're out for some good food without having to impress anybody.
寶船日本料理
台北市中正區仁愛路二段93號1樓
02-23949665