[Taipei Food. Taiwan] A Journey Through Eel Rice – Hizen-ya, Kyoto-ya, Kenmochi-ya, Hamamatsu-ya – A Comprehensive Map Guide

Last two weeks alone to go to Taipei to walk a spacious, to go to Taipei four days and three nights I did not arrange what the schedule, and will not go to visit friends and relatives in Taiwan, the trip only two purposes, (a) to the Taiwan Computer Show to see the industry's new development direction. (2) To travel alone. In recent years, I found that I really need personal space, just like what my friend said, I usually face my work at work and face my family at home after work. So when should I face myself? So I decided to go out and travel alone for a few days! (Actually, I was playing it cool.) Before I left, I chatted with a few food bloggers in Hong Kong, and they told me that when they travelled to Taiwan recently, they would try out the Japanese eel rice, and that there were already four very famous shops in a small Taipei - Hizenya, Kyotoya, Hamamatsuya, and Kenji-ya. It takes a lot of time to eat at each of them, so none of them has ever eaten at all four. I thought, "Why don't I just make this my main mission? It seemed like a fun food tour.

"Why Eat Eel Rice in Taiwan?

My friend asked why we have to eat Japanese eel rice in Taipei? And why don't you eat Japanese ramen when you go to Thailand? (I laughed at him for a while on facebook about going to Thailand for ramen, he had a thousand knots in his heart, hahahaha~). It is because of the different historical backgrounds, Taiwan had been occupied by the Japanese for a relatively long period of time, the four famous eel hotels are also located in the Zhongshan North Road and Linsen North Road area, there is a Taipei Kabuki town known as, also known as the six passes, seven passes, eight passes of the region. Here is where the Japanese living in Taipei live every day, there are more Japanese men on the street than Taiwanese men, all of whom have been baptised by the Japanese culture that began during the war and has been precipitated over several decades. What about the Japanese culture in Thailand? At best, only in recent years the Japanese love cheap to play the hot spot, by the Japanese artillery baptism, although there are also a few trillion, but the history is the focus.

"Rumour on the street that Japanese eels are supplied by Taiwan".

Moreover, the taxi driver said that eels sold in Japan are now supplied by Taiwan, because Taiwanese people focus on eel farming techniques to prevent eels from falling sick and to keep them fat, and even if they have to use medication, the level of use is far less than that in Mainland China, and they use it in the right amount and to the right specifications. So it makes sense to go to Taiwan for Japanese food, the average standard of which is much higher than that of Hong Kong. I didn't compare the difference between Japanese eel and Taiwanese eel on my solo trip to Taipei this time, and I don't know if the stories told by the driver are true or not, so I'll just listen to them.
Kabayaki eel is prepared differently in the Kanto and Kansai regions of Japan (Wiki)：
People in the Kansai region do not steam eels before grilling them, and for this reason, they use eels that are smaller and less fatty. The method is to cut the eel from the belly, which is easy to cut, and grill it from the inside of the eel's body with the head and tail attached. Compared to the Kanto method, the eel produced by grilling in the Kansai region is crisper and the Kanto method is softer.
The main difference in the Kanto style is that the eel is steamed before it is grilled, and because of this the texture is softer. Because the steamed eel has less fat, you can use a bigger eel for cooking. Cutting is done from the back of the eel.
Among the eel rice dishes, I have had a very good experience of eating eel rice at Motoyoshiya in Yanagawa, Japan. As mentioned above, I went to all four of the most famous eel rice restaurants in Taipei, namely Hizenya, Kyotoya, Hamamatsuya and Kenjiya. I have read articles on each of the four restaurants on the internet, but no one has compared them, so I will introduce them again based on my memories of "Honjiya". Among them, "Hizenya" is the most praised and has the most articles. Kyoto House" has some good comments, but fewer articles. Hamamatsuya is recommended by many people as a must-try restaurant. Kenjiya is the least mentioned, mainly because it's a bit far away from Shichijo-dori and not many people would walk 15 minutes to eat there. Me? I'm a solo traveller with plenty of time on my hands.

Eel Cuisine Kyoto House Review

Taipei's Kyoto House "Eel Steamer" as the taxi driver said, they are selling eels from Taiwan, I saw the certificate posted in front of the door, as if it is very sure, I deliberately chose a more expensive, NT$500 steamed eel rice "Eel Steamer" to try.
"Kyoto House Unagi Steamer" was served with half of the steamer box filled with shredded egg and the other half covered with unagi. The picture was not bad, but I didn't adjust the camera properly, so the picture was very ugly and yellow. I picked up my chopsticks to try it out, but the eel meat was not fatty and thin, it didn't taste muddy or fishy, but it didn't have the unique flavour of eel, which was a pity. The soy sauce on the eel did not have a salty flavour and the fish oil did not penetrate into the rice. On the whole, it was not as good as the netizens said, but it was not as good as the name suggests.
......Eel Cuisine Kyoto House details, MRT station map, address, phone number

Eel. Japanese Cuisine Hamamatsuya" Short Review

The "Eel Three Eats" set meal is one of Hamamatsuya's popular set meals, and my food blogger friends in Hong Kong have recommended me to eat this. Many people say that the portion size is huge, but I don't think it's really too much, it's just four small bowls, so basically a guy can finish it, and a girl, I believe, is not too hard to finish it.
What is "three eel dishes"? It is actually a set meal, a big bowl of eel rice with kabayaki sauce, which is divided into four small bowls and eaten in four ways.
The first bowl is a rice bowl with no toppings, which is the best way to enjoy "Hamamatsuya Eel Rice". In the second bowl, the customer is invited to add a few new side dishes such as mashed yam, spring onion, sesame seeds, and shredded seaweed, which enriches the layers of Hamamatsuya Unagi Rice. In the third bowl, a half-cooked onsen egg was added, probably because of its favourite flavour, but also because the freshness of the egg sauce, eel sauce and soy sauce was a perfect match. Finally, the fourth bowl was filled with Hamamatsuya's own broth, "Hamamatsuya Unagi Tea Bubble Rice", which is a Japanese-style broth with a little bit of sweetness, and then poured into the unagi rice to mix with the freshness of the fish, which is my favourite type of bubble rice. Overall, I think the "Three Eats of Eel" set meal is a bit more playful.
(Today's Google shows that the article is closed, please check it yourself, or let me know if your friend uploaded the confirmation.)
......Eel. Japanese Restaurant Hamamatsuya" Details, MRT Map, Address, Telephone Number

A Brief Review of The Fat Frontier House

The eel meat at Hizenya's eel rice is thicker than Kyoto House's, and similar to Hamamatsuya's. The eel meat at Hizenya's eel rice is thicker than Kyoto House's, and similar to Hamamatsuya's.
The eels are also fattier than the two restaurants, and although some people argue that eels don't need to be fatty, I always find the oil from fatty eels to be the most flavourful and appealing.
The eel was grilled to a crisp and charred exterior, the soy sauce was slightly sweeter but at the fresh end of the scale, and the kabayaki eel at Fat Mae Uk was my favourite of the three.
However, the rice in Fat Maenya was cooked too wet, I don't like rice with too much water, and I can tell that it was a low grade pearl rice, and the oily flavour of the eel didn't penetrate into the rice, was it a problem with the cooking technique? I don't know much about it and I shouldn't say anything, but I feel that I have wasted the fat eel.
Last but not least, the main point is that the price of the food at Fatty House is relatively affordable, and in the words of a review of a technological product, the "price/performance ratio" is very high. That's why there are a lot of people queuing up for eel rice all day long, waiting for 15 to 20 minutes on average is not uncommon. There is plenty of seating for 50 to 60 people, but it's not very comfortable. Eel rice and sashimi are all made in large quantities, and it takes less than three to two minutes from ordering to serving. The atmosphere is like a fast-food restaurant, where you have to leave as soon as you finish eating, so you should be mentally prepared for this when you come to eat eel rice at Fat Mae Uk.
......Details of "Fat Mae Uk", MRT station map, address, phone number

A Brief Review of The House with the Sword

There are only two choices at Kenshoya: kamaboko and shirataki, with kamaboko as the set menu, and shirataki as the skewer option for most people. The fat content of the eel at Kenshoya's kamaboko is surprisingly higher than that of Fat Maeya's, and the grill work of the chef is one of the best among the four restaurants. The eel was grilled to perfection, with a slightly charred skin. The soy sauce is fresh and flavourful, and you can taste the soybean flavour as well.
The rice was dry and chewy, the kind of texture I like, and it was very appealing. Perhaps the quality of the eel itself is better, the oil from the eel seeps into the rice, and the grains of rice are wrapped in the eel's oil, making every bite of rice a treat.
The whole eel rice dish is of the same calibre as what I've had in Japan. Kenshoya is the best out of the four I've had in Taipei!
......Kensho House details, MRT station map, address, phone number