Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant

I had read too much blogged about Watami and got such good reviews. It's not like most Watami restaurants which has quite a found anywhere else at the other global branches around Asia. But this Watami branch restaurant in Chupei City Hsinchu was a bit disappointment about the quality of their food. I'm going to be honest and you may not like it for patronize Watami goer. First of all, the atmosphere is a picture of modernity, extremely intimate. I found it quite nice actually. The menu had Chinese, Japanese and English translations and the food is exceptional, especially considering how big the menu is. We went here for lunch and there's no queue and not much customers and saw an empty tables! We were seated quickly and given our menus and our orders are taken.

First to arrive at our table was an chawanmushi it has a smooth texture but it wasn't good if we compare it to Sixteenth Avenue Japanese Restaurant in Kuangfu Road.

Tonpeiyaki is an egg roll loaded with pork, cheese, cabbage and eggs it is drizzled with a sweet mayo-mustard sauces a heaping pile of spring onion are added on top of it. I find it quite similar to my favorite okonomiyaki. However it was a solid food.

We ordered some sushi fo my kids and they really like sushi and sashimi or raw fish more than us. So we sampled some of thier sushi platter that they can share was a deluxe assorted irodori sushi was a salmon, scallop and shrimp on a sushi roll with wasabi. Lightly glazed with a sweet soy sauce dressed with a mayonnaise.

Next up is the deluxe assorted irodori sushi was salmon, eel and tuna which is similar to deluxe assorted irodori sushi. The presentation is good but if we compare it to the other sushi shops a little bit let down. Their sushi is fresh but it wasn't that really fresh!

We never miss ordering their Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki pork and seafood. It was okay and nothing so special. I've had other okonomiyaki meals before in different styles. But this okonomiyaki it was bland,  tastes like just a batter and noodles with hint of thick soy sauce.

The roasted horse dried mackerel probably wasn't the best quality it was stench and smelled like it died in the ocean. We didn't eat anyway.

This breaded and fried pork cutlet or tonkatsu is most definitely my son favorite Japanese food.

For desserts, we shared a generous portion of fruit in honey toast box covering sliced of banana, strawberry, mango, ice cream, whipped cream then drizzled with chocolate sauce and caster sugar it was quickly disappointed.

The watami azuki red bean soup with rice cake was a bit bland. Overall; the service was better than the food, fortunately we only ordered a few dishes. Though, considering the tonpeiyaki was delicious but there are so many other good restaurants nearby, stay safe, skip this one.

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Watami Japanese Casual Restaurant-居食屋「和民
No.137, Guangming 1st Rd., Zhubei City, Hsinchu County 302
竹縣竹北市光明一路137號
Tel No: 036570208
Website:
http://www.watami.com.tw/

Sushi Yaki Paris France

Well, upon first entering this sushi restaurant just beside our hotel. We honestly felt a overwhelmed at last we found a good restaurant has to offer a delicious satisfying meal. Not to minimize anyone's patronized french delicatessen, but sushi kyrptonite. When life gets stressful looking for dinner during our stay in Paris we come and made our way in here. We were served one person at a time and she was very efficient. By the way when we entered the restaurant, we didn't hear the usual irrashaimase instead bonjour!

We were seated and given menu immediately, then she brought us a pitch of water for free. Actually most of the restaurant in Paris you have to pay every single drop of water and much more expensive than wine. She also give us a warm wet towel to keep your hands clean before the meal. The decor of the restaurant quite modernised is very clean and simple, minimalist. Back to the meal, we ordered 3 tea pots of green/jasmine for our tea craving. The tea was not too strong nor not too weak and a bottled of coke for my boy.

Just as the food was set to arrive, we started up with this miso soup and cabbage salad in mild wasabi dressing. We’d be happy with just a soup and salad which were good and my daughter told us. It feels she was being transformed eating a Jap's food somewhere in Taiwan.

I order the sushi rolls and is to die for, a thin layer of salmon and avocado there were served on a wooden board. There was so much sushi but I scarfed it down! It was fresh-bliss as it crunched and exploded in my mouth. It taste like californian rainbow sushi roll.

We also had a assorted nigiri (raw fish on rice) and sushi roll. Well prepared with a good balance of rice and fish.

The prawn, tuna and salmon skewers combo with plain rice, were grilled to smoky perfection, salmon was delish. You can taste every ingredient so bursting with freshness.

We got their Plate combo meat skewers with plain rice, which had thinly sliced beef stuffed with cheese, meat ball, chicken, and pork belly  were all excellent. The beef stuffed with cheese it was melt in your mouth and flavorful. The rest of the meat it had a sweet glaze that wasn’t too sweet or overpowering.

Another fresh sushi roll and I'm struggled to take a picture because of the lightning effect inside the restaurant. However it was very simple deliciously fresh.

Next we had their pork gyoza  was pretty good, and not too oily. Its a shamed to say but we go for 4 rounds. Overall, I can say on our 3 days straight dining here during dinner time. The service was excellent on each of our visit. The dishes are well cooked, fresh in high quality and overall quite impressive. The price are extremely super value for money which mean very affordable, you cannot get a decent meal in Paris for under 10 euros. 

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Sushi Yaki Restaurant Japonais
76, Rue De Turbigo 75003 Paris France

Ootoya

The setting is nice, clean, brightly lit and spacious. Window seats offer views surrounding in front of the shopping mall. There is also a room set aside for private use. We went there around 5:00 p.m, there were a few other diners at that time and it was pleasant and quiet. While we seated, the waiters brought us a hot of brewed tea. We skimmed through the menu but lots of combo meals to choose from. We had a really hard time picking our choices and figure out what we should get, as everything just looked so yummy but no sushi.

It was our first time at Ootoya for lunch on a weekday and we order the combo set meal it came with pickled daikon for appetizer and mushroom miso soup. The dish arrived at our table, all I could think of was wow too much kind of daikon on the table. My daugther choose the oyako jyu, a flavored grilled chicken and beaten egg simmered in a sweet soy sauce, served on steamed rice topped with green.

I had also tried the pork and kimchi bowl. It consists of a sliced tender pork meat and crunchy Korean pickled vegetable cabbage on a bed of rice and topped with green onions. My first bite leads me to speechless because it was too good or maybe I'm so hungry. It was full with flavour, the marination, the spiciness and the sweetness were all perfect! And it goes so well with rice.

My husband was so pleased with his grilled eel coated with a glazed sweet sauce on a bed of warm white rice a laquered rectangular box with a lid . It was very good, and surprisingly filling.

Charles also choose his favorite deep fried dish is the breaded tender pork loin deep fried & served with hot plain rice, thinly sliced cabbage with sweet brown sauce and sesame seeds in a mortar and pestle. The tonkatsu did not disappoint! the meat had a nice bite and crisp as well. Thankfully it was light beautifully grease-free.

Whenever we go out for lunch or dinner, we always order vegetables is a viable healthy option. The assorted of steamed vegetables it consist with 6 kinds of veggies, loaded with cabbage, daikon or radish, carrot, sweet potato, some greens and cooked in a bamboo steamer, served with ponzu sauce with freshly grated daikon was nothing so special! We gotta eat  more veggies though and so our body we’ll be more healthier.

Then it was time for the sweet tooth, we sampled different desserts. It begins with their tokachi red bean mochi tofu pudding in glass. This was actually really good, the mochi topping they put on top mochi being extremely tender and delicate. The red bean paste it wasn’t too sweet it’s actually quite light in tofu flavor.

To follow an green tea ice cream with azuki red bean paste. The green tea ice cream also very fragrant. The sweetness of the mashed red beans compliments well with the bitter ice cream.

Warabi mochi with azuki red bean paste and ice cream in brown sugar syrup was pretty dense and compact.

An espresso cup of creme brulee it was sublimely smooth, feather-light creaminess in the mouth, the pudding is served chilled with a pour of black sugar syrup it was suprisingly good!

Finally I ended off with fruit tea. The service was promptly and desserts was delicious. As for price, it is reasonable by Japanese restaurant standards in Taiwan. To be honest, the main dish it wasn't blown away, thought it was fairly decent.

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Ootoya-大戶屋
新竹市西大路323號2樓
No.323, Xida Road., Hsinchu City
(2th floor Fe21 Mega Shopping Center)
Contact No: 03-527-7818
Website:
http://www.ootoya.com.tw
Closed

Tamago Ya

The restaurant is situated beside its elevator on the 12th floor of Sogo Department Store in Hsinchu. The decor of the restaurant is not that impressive does not have fancy decor. Which a curved egg-shaped couches in egg yolk color and white accents and metallic tables with a blue and white glow stripe color. Giving the room a simple eerie feel but is cozy and relaxing rather than in the food court area.

There was a huge set meal selection of rice omelete, pasta, rice gratin as well as ala carte. Meal can cost as much as you wish because the prices range from reasonable to rich depending on the contents.

Our first course was the soup, the corn soup is mashed with flavor of sweet corn and not as creamy as I thought but my son he love the texture.

We also choose the tomato vegetable soup which was basically tomatoes, onion and some vegetables and it was pale and flavorless are out of season.

The second course was an individual side order for the appetizer. I ordered mine with the smoked chicken salad has a vibrant color of red-yellow bell peppers. The salad itself consisted predominantly of bite-sized pieces of lettuce with huge amount of chicken scattered throughout and some sliced of onion and bell peppers. The salad was fresh and crunchy enough. I like the taste of lime sauce and the sweetness flavor in it which makes it amazing.

And this is I worried that my boy will choose the crispy fish fingers served with spicy sauce. Being deep fried for what I felt was slightly too much oil since it had been breaded with breadcrumbs before it was fried. I even more concerned that, this is too much in high cholesterol and no good for his health someday.

These spicy barbecue chicken wings are delectable which are coated with hot sauce adds to the flavor and crispness, they are great tasting.

The first main course to be serve on the table was the spaghetti with fried crispy pork cutlet. I tried one forkful of this pasta and preferred mine, I suppose they cooked the sauce in Napolitan with Japanese mixture. The tonkatsu was crisp and well fried.  Lacking the usual oiliness but quite enjoyable nonetheless

The pork cutlet with curry sauce and omelette rice, arrived in a pool of curry sauce.

I ordered the omelette rice with cheese burger. Inside the omelette was a pile of fried rice was done perfectly al dente that had been seasoned with ketchup and garlic or onion something like that. I  was surprised that the cheese burger it was moist and not dry. It was more seasoned meatloaf than what we would consider a American hamburger. 

A lot of mild curry sauce was also poured on top of the burger, giving into something remarkable taste of flavor.

And then there is the desserts and drinks for the final course. The cream puff with vanilla filling, sure that these are full of fat and calorie but very delicious that you simply won’t just stop at one.

With a dense brownie like texture and a soft gooey center. The chocolate brownie are not to be missed!

Next came chocolate sundae, a blended with milk and coated with cornflakes topped with whipped cream and oreo cookie, drizzled with hot fudge chocolate sauce were soft and gooey.

And so we had a hot ceylon milk tea it was extremely bland and less in sugar, milk, and tea flavor.

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Overall the staff are very helpful. It's really an enjoyable lunch and we will be back again. All the dishes were good except the soup is wicked but the portion size was amazing!

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Tamago Ya-蛋蛋屋 Sogo Hsinchu Branch
新竹市民族路2號12樓
12th Floor Sogo Department Store Hsinchu City
Contact No:(03)5223959
http://www.zoe-grp.com/tamagoya/egg1.htm

Teishoku 8

It was dinner time after we refreshed ourselves, but we were too lazy to go out to search for food. So we try again the Teishoku 8, the whole decor of the restaurant is pretty authentic wooden furniture. The reason is called fresh set meal because the store serves only eight type of food can be selected. The  bento set meal deal was very reasonable and cheap indeed. The set meal for just NT$200 at this price, it was quite good value and came with chawanmushi- steamed egg, korean pickles, some fruits, miso soup and white pudding with brown sugar sauce as a desserts, and unlimited self service of rice, soup and a variety of sauces. We ordered a pork chop, eel, chicken, beef with rice and about 15 minutes at the point of a meal was already serving on.

'Beef Teriyaki ' the beef pieces were very tasty, with the slightly sweet. Though it could have been slightly more tender!

Grill eel was the comfort dish that was expected with well cooked fluffy rice. The fish was soft and moist and the marinade did over power it.

The chicken teriyaki on the other hand was quite average. But the meat was well cooked and tender than I would have liked too.

Tokantsu with cheese it doesn't seem greasy at all and the cheese filled ones are nice too!

We ordered a side dish of grilled fish and chicken yakitori. And came away surprised at how flavorful the simple looking whitefish was. Which is a whole butterflied grilled trout. The fish's oily flesh had excessive salt but mostly it was juicy and had some nice charred parts too. A squeeze of lemon juice are great over rice.

'Chicken yakitori' succulent chunks of chicken on a skewer are grilled with salt or basting sauce. And one of my favorite part on this restaurant, love these extra-tasty chicken skewers.

 Korean pickles

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Overall, we were pretty happy with this casual dining Japanese restaurant. If you dont want to spend too much time and money thought the foods is pretty good too. This is a good spot for comfort food, and would recommend it for that.
Closed and move to A. Mart in Gongdaowu Hsinchu City.

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Teishoku 8 定食8
No. 738 Section 1 Kuangfu Road, Hsinchu City
新竹市光復路二段738號1樓
Contact No: 03-5750115
Website:
http://www.sushi-express.com.tw/teishoku8/index.php
CLOSED!