秋吉串燒 — Restaurant in Zhongshan District

Cho Chi (name in Chinese) is by far, hands down, one of my favorite Japanese Izakaya restaurants in all of Taipei City. This place has been open a loooooong time and I’ve been dining here for years. I’ve never had a bad experience here. The large variety of BBQ skewers of beef, chicken, and seafood are all very delicious and perfectly cooked. The sashimi is fresh, the hot pot portions are generous, and the fried dishes are perfect with a cold Japanese beer! The manager, his wife, and many service staff have been working for this establishment for many many years. This tell you something! The service they provide is over the top. They are warm, friendly, and attentive. I highly recommended Cho Chi if you’re looking for some awesome Japanese food in a casual setting. Sit at the bar area around the BBQ area and watch the chefs work...

This trip down memory lane brought me back to Akuyoshi Yakitori—it’s crazy to think it’s been 25 years since I was last here. Over 20 years ago, I left Taiwan for college and work, and I’ve been living abroad ever since. Now, walking back into this familiar spot with my childhood friend, I felt really emotional, like I was 20 years old again.

Back in the day, Akuyoshi Yakitori was this kind of understated, classy place in Taipei. Sitting at the counter with a glass of whiskey in hand, watching the chefs grill all kinds of food, I felt like the most sophisticated person in the city. These days, it feels a lot more casual, but the place is still packed. If they could dry out the chicken wings a bit more before grilling, I think they’d taste just like the perfect ones I remember from all...

For 40 years, this Japanese restaurant has been serving skewers grilled on fresh hot charcoals, seafood, and kushikatsu. I can’t get the fried lotus root out of my mind. Their fried fish with shiso leaf was also incredible. While we still can’t travel, this izakaya’s deep fried vegetable skewers took me back to Osaka.

I would come back to get their fried skewers, vegetables, and tofu. However their beef tartare and salmon were alright.

We ended up spending over 1000nt each on food, so the prices...