If you seek culinary refinement in a relaxing, homely dining environment, look no further. The sake bar Tanukikoji on Anhe Road has garnered a crowd of frequent customers with its top-rated delicacies and a wide range of sake sourced from across Japan.
A small joint seating around 20 people with a function room on the side, Tanukikoji presents an open dining space accommodating an elegant long wooden bench inlaid with glass. The menu is best described as Japanese fusion and features sets of sushi, sashimi, grilled meats and seafood with a creative twist.
The most popular on the sushi list is the sea urchin. According to one of the proprietors, Andy Luo (羅安得), the chef uses top-quality sea urchins imported from Hokkaido — they are small but sweet, which means they need little seasoning.
PHOTO: HO YI, TAIPEI TIMES
Another highlight on the menu is raw beef slices. The secret to the dish's divine taste is the sesame sauce, sweet onion and, of course, the fresh, tender beef.
“We are a bunch of gourmets who only go for the best ingredients and foods. Once you have the A-grade ingredients at hand, all you need to do is to bring out the original taste,” Luo said.
The strategy seems to work well. The must-tries such as grilled shrimps and silvery codfish jaw are simply flavored with lemon juice and salt to bring out the sweet freshness of the seafood.
The baked potato with cod roe and cheese dish is a creative fusion of East and West. To this reporter's surprise, the fish eggs go exceptionally well with creamy potato chunks.
Savory foods are not the restaurant's only specialty. The cheerful young wait staff is on hand to guide patrons through the world of sake. It can be served cold, hot or warm.
“Similar to red wine, there are numerous grades and tastes of sakes that can go with different meats and foods. We have about 20 kinds of sakes and the wait staff can tell the customers which kind of sake best matches the dishes they order,” Luo said.
Feb. 17 to Feb. 23 “Japanese city is bombed,” screamed the banner in bold capital letters spanning the front page of the US daily New Castle News on Feb. 24, 1938. This was big news across the globe, as Japan had not been bombarded since Western forces attacked Shimonoseki in 1864. “Numerous Japanese citizens were killed and injured today when eight Chinese planes bombed Taihoku, capital of Formosa, and other nearby cities in the first Chinese air raid anywhere in the Japanese empire,” the subhead clarified. The target was the Matsuyama Airfield (today’s Songshan Airport in Taipei), which
On Jan. 17, Beijing announced that it would allow residents of Shanghai and Fujian Province to visit Taiwan. The two sides are still working out the details. President William Lai (賴清德) has been promoting cross-strait tourism, perhaps to soften the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) attitudes, perhaps as a sop to international and local opinion leaders. Likely the latter, since many observers understand that the twin drivers of cross-strait tourism — the belief that Chinese tourists will bring money into Taiwan, and the belief that tourism will create better relations — are both false. CHINESE TOURISM PIPE DREAM Back in July
Could Taiwan’s democracy be at risk? There is a lot of apocalyptic commentary right now suggesting that this is the case, but it is always a conspiracy by the other guys — our side is firmly on the side of protecting democracy and always has been, unlike them! The situation is nowhere near that bleak — yet. The concern is that the power struggle between the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and their now effectively pan-blue allies the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) intensifies to the point where democratic functions start to break down. Both
This was not supposed to be an election year. The local media is billing it as the “2025 great recall era” (2025大罷免時代) or the “2025 great recall wave” (2025大罷免潮), with many now just shortening it to “great recall.” As of this writing the number of campaigns that have submitted the requisite one percent of eligible voters signatures in legislative districts is 51 — 35 targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus lawmakers and 16 targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The pan-green side has more as they started earlier. Many recall campaigns are billing themselves as “Winter Bluebirds” after the “Bluebird Action”
RSS