Gien Jia picky eaters — Restaurant in Kaohsiung

For those curious, GIEN JIA is Taiwanese dialect for Picky Eaters. Think of "Picky Eaters" a bit like discerning foodie rather than someone that doesn't like tomatoes. So, you know if the place has a name like this, you are in for a more elevated experience. Overall, this place was really cool. A unique menu you will not see anywhere else. Truly! The restaurant itself is very sexy and well designed. The open kitchen concept is really awesome and I recommend sitting as far back in the restaurant as you can to enjoy watching the chefs do their work. This restaurant is marketed as Western-food. I think they should call it Pan-Taiwanese-Fusion. They've taken these more Western dishes and translated them for Taiwan. The portions are small, so savor each bite. Now, for the bad part - ordering through a mobile app. I hate it so much! To pay so much money, I expect table service. The app is clunky and you have to rig certain fields to fit what they want you to do (put your table number in the name field but you still have to enter your own phone number). Hate, hate, hate it! Also, with the mobile app, it causes the servers to refuse answering questions. If you ask about a dish, they tell you to look at the app. Give me a real menu, come to the table and talk with us, share you passion for the menu, and take our order. Did I say I hate the mobile app ordering? Because if I didn't, I need to say it. HA!

The dishes - fried oysters and fries - great breading with a great crunchy, but the oysters lacked seasoning. Sashimi - delicious! Probably my favorite. Thin sashimi with sea urchin on top and a trio of sauces - mango, chili, and something like a chimichurri. Lychee bread with pork pate - delicious. The bread had great texture with sour sweet pops of flavor from the lychee. Then you spread this rich pate over. It was really nice. Peach salad - so delicious. I wish the peaches had been a bit more ripe, but you could still enjoy. Sweet peaches, earthy pepperiness from the salad and green sauce, touch of nuttiness from the peanuts. The cocktail I had was summery and beachy with tropical flavors. The burning star anise added some tableside spectacle but didn't add to the flavor at all...

Personally, I think this restaurant has a great atmosphere with its industrial-style decor. I particularly enjoyed the paintings featuring food and the warm glow of the dim yellow lighting. However, the food tastes average, and I don’t believe it is worth the price.

Tuna with Bread ★★★★★ The bread was perfectly toasted, releasing a delightful aroma that enhanced the eating experience. The tuna sauce, made with both tuna paste and raw tuna, paired wonderfully with the bread.

Grilled Oysters ★★★★★ This was the best appetizer we ordered. Each oyster costs only 65 NT dollars, yet they were fresh and paired perfectly with the cheese.

Seafood Pasta ★ Although it included a variety of fresh seafood like shrimp, clams, and scallops, the linguine was hard, and the flavors didn’t complement the seafood.

Warm Roasted Duck Breast ★ This dish was difficult to chew, because it had many sinews. The waiter explained that they intentionally chose a part with more sinews, but perhaps they should remove them to make the price of this meal more reasonable.

Coconut Milk Latte ★ The flavor of this beverage was a bit off—too bitter and too sweet. The sugar didn’t mask the bitterness of the coffee; instead, it seemed to make it even stronger.

Pineapple Cake ★ This dessert looked delicate, but the best part was the crispy cookie on top. The cake itself tasted average and lacked creativity in its...

檸檬冬瓜很出乎意料的好喝。食物也很棒，從前菜到甜點都有讓人驚艷的亮點，補足了從點菜系統到服務流程的諸多奇怪體驗。

[Good Food and Beverage, awkward and stammered service and terrible ordering system]

Gourd lemon is surprisingly refreshing, food is great too, from appetizer to dessert gave me a WOW. It covers the flaws from robotic service and bizarre sequence of serving: first guest arrive on-time, request if we could swap to a bigger table, the staff said yes at first, after changing to the other table, staff said bigger table is reserved. But til the end of day, no guests occupying that reserved table.

When late coming guest arrived, even though they have been notified the table number and location, staff insists holding them tick the reservation full name and give some minor reminders.

Ordering system is utterly user-unfriendly. Some items gone from the order received by kitchen. Changing quantity of drinks also very hectic and came out wrongly. Therefore we have to place the other order manually, at the end it came out 2 different size of same drink with same price.

Serving sequence is irregular: pasta came prior to appetizer, then the drinks, other appetizer, followed by other entree, then the other long wait for risotto.

Generally staff are friendly and refill water frequently, that’s why even though the overall customer experience is odd, still...