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We are back in Taiwan to spend the holiday season with the Parental Units, but have alternating days off when we are on our own. I had planned exactly zero meals out for this trip, so as tonight was our first night off, we didn't have any idea of where to eat. Foursheets asked to go to an
izakaya (居酒屋), and after doing brief research online, I decided we should try a place literally just across the river from our apartment. In fact, I could hypothetically hit it with a Stinger from my living room window if I could get one...
As my research was very brief, I thought
Tokyo Skewer (東京串燒。酒場) would just be some old school
izakaya since the words I remembered were "old mansion (老宅)". The key words I missed were actually "hipster (文青)"... And while we entered through the door of Tokyo Skewer, we were actually led to seats inside the connecting space next door at
Old Town West (老城西。酒食製作所), with a feminine, farmhouse charm.
We were seated at the bar lined with potted plants and flowers, and watched the two mixologists work their magic all night. The drinks here were pretty elaborate, which took us completely by surprise. Since the house rules impose a minimum spend with the added condition that customers must order at least one drink, we started with an alcohol order...
Rose in lychee garden - as Foursheets exclaimed... "IT DOESN'T GET MORE GIRLIE THAN THIS!" With Glendalough Wild Rose Irish Gin as the base together with lime juice, garnished with both canned lychees and dried rosebuds... and finally finished with a blooming red rose plus baby's breath on the stem of the martini glass.
As usual Foursheets ordered up a martini, and we just had to take that obligatory picture with our two drinks. Needless to say, our female mixologist Ian was very confused when I picked up the girlie drink...
Chayote shoots with tofu and sesame sauce (深焙胡麻玫瑰白玉龍鬚菜) - I love having chayote shoots (龍鬚菜) when I'm in Taiwan. The combination of
katsuobushi (鰹節) with the sesame sauce on top made the dish feel Japanese.
Michelin skinny fries trio (米其林細薯條三重奏) - apparently a collaboration with
Alice by Tokyo, the VIP lounge directly upstairs. No idea what the Michelin reference is when it comes to French fries, but the "trio" refers to the honey mustard, ketchup, and truffle mayo that come with the fries.
Deep-fried Hiroshima atomic bomb oysters (酥炸廣島核彈大牡蠣) - I guess they were trying to tell us that these oysters were "DA BOMB", but while we found the reference to the atomic bomb in Hiroshima a little funny, it was, perhaps, also politically incorrect. Tasty, though, with that tartar sauce topped with some salmon roe.
Grilled chicken wings Nagoya-style (名古屋手羽先鹽燒)
Baby corn in husk (產地晨摘包皮玉米筍) - these were supposed to have been picked in the morning at origin. A pleasant surprise to find the husks still on. Glad that "包皮" wasn't referring to something else...
Pork skewer with salt and spring onion (鹽蔥豬肉串)
Stir-fried sausage with garlic shoots and Kaoliang (酒香高粱蒜苗炒香腸) - we love Taiwanese sausages for their sweet flavor, and they are naturally paired with garlic. In my mind garlic shoots are a much better alternative to the actual garlic cloves.
Herbal mojito - made using Diplomatico rum aged for 6 years, I was intrigued by the description which included "fresh sugarcane (新鮮甘蔗)" and "mango (芒果)"... so I thought I'd see a stick of sugarcane or slices of mango in my glass. Ixnay to either... syrups were used instead.
Lady M fruit cheese millecrepe (Lady M果実芝士千層) - the mixologist had made an extra order of this drink so she decided to pour it into shot glasses and offered it on the house. Can't say I was a fan of the cheese foam.
We had a good time tonight. We were impressed with how sophisticated most of the cocktails were, with many involving the use of fresh flowers or fresh herbs that were snipped from their stems right before serving. One even involved tying a ribbon around the glass. Since this place isn't too far from our apartment, maybe we would find ourselves coming back on future trips home.
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