PUTIEN Taipei Zhongxiao Sogo Branch — Restaurant in Da'an District

We arrived around 1:50 PM located on 12th floor and were lucky to only wait about 30 minutes for a table. Totally worth it. We ordered a nice spread: their signature chicken, fried sweet and sour squirrel fish, stir-fried vegetables, a cold appetizer combo of clams and seaweed/small shrimp, and wrapped it all up with a durian dessert.

They serve your choice of oolong or red tea — we went with the red tea, which the waiter recommended as their special house brew. Bonus: if you leave a review, you get to try their calasmi tea, which was fragrant and really refreshing.

The cold appetizers came out first. The clams leaned on the sweeter side, while the seaweed had a nice bouncy texture and umami flavor. A great starter. The signature chicken was hands-down my favorite — incredibly crispy skin and flavorful meat, paired perfectly with their seasoned salt.

The squirrel fish was visually beautiful, though a bit too sweet for my taste — but the tanginess did balance it out. The stir-fried veggies were solid and much needed to round out the meal. And finally, the durian dessert — surprisingly light, creamy, and the perfect sweet ending.

All in all, everything was thoughtfully prepared and flavorful. The service was warm, and the ambiance was lively. I definitely recommend this spot if you’re looking for a well-balanced, satisfying meal with both classic and...

To begin with, there were two options of the complimentary hot tea, Oolong Tea or Black Tea and I chose the latter one.

Clay pot Rice with Seaweed ($298): The rice was quite gluey and the abundance of seaweed and various spices made it a lot more delicious. The rice at the bottom had special texture but much less crispy than bibimbap. The mushrooms taste so good even though I usually don’t like eating them. Moreover, their home made chilli sauce was sour and spicy to an extent. Eating the rice with the sauce was so satisfying.

Golden Ma Lai Cake ($35 per piece, $138 per portion (4 pieces)): They were of great quality, flavourful taste, and soft texture. Last time eating Ma Lai Cake was a few years ago, which was nostalgic and memorable.

Lime Juice ($98 per glass, $238 per kettle): The sweetness and sourness was on a perfect scale.

In conclusion, it had always been fully reserved for many times but today I finally had a chance to try the foods here. They all tasted superb and had great portions. The location was quite convenient and the service was great and efficient. Overall, it’s absolutely a 10 out of 10!

FYI, 10% service charge is included...

Booking on a Saturday night took a long journey, and Corinne finally went to the restaurant in the afternoon and successfully made a reservation for 5:30pm. We were told of 90-minute to finish our dinner, and was politely reminded after we were there over that 90-minute duration. Although we were 3-person, I yet decided to book 4-person set menu. Yes, food was good, but one piece of squid was a bit smelly. Blame me, of course, being sensitive about seafood. Courses were served very quickly, soon enough plates occupied the table, we have to speed up a bit but could never caught up with serving pace. In searching for a Michelin recognition, perhaps this is something this restaurant manager should consider the tempo of serving, just so a guest could enjoy the food at leisure. Plates were changed twice throughout, and we did request for the 1st change. Surprisingly enough, they focused on getting the food to the table promptly, but neglected to observe if plates should be removed and replaced. Call me weird but did I have too high an...