December 28, 2006
肥前屋
The place is famous as an inexpensive place for great unagi grilled eel. They even keep tanks of live eel in the back for optimal freshness. It's near the GF's workplace but all her co-workers have tried it enough times to be tired of it and so she's never been there either. Seemed like a good choice for a quick get-together weekday meal, while avoiding the long lines on more popular days.
Walked in and snagged a table before the rest of the after-work crowd got there. The tables are communal to maximize usage, though, so we had to share with another couple anyway. The obasan waitresses sat us down, handed us one menu, and stood there expectedly awaiting our orders. Didn't exactly leave us much room to peruse the options, which mostly consisted of standard Japanese quick-meal options plus some extra grilled items. Got an unagi-rice and a tempura meal, plus grilled squid and a couple of yakitori skewers.
The unagi was as advertised. Not the meatiest eel I've ever seen, but certainly fresh, appropriately fatty, and perfectly grilled with the sauce which makes it go so well over rice. Found the rice a bit lukewarm, perhaps a bit pre-prepared for the dinner rush. The tempura was generously portioned with two large prawns and plenty of veggies, but the fry wasn't quite on and the coating was a bit soggy with oil. The grilled squid was a bit tough and definitely not the best we've had. The miso soup wasn't bad, though.
The place was atmospherically shabby. The heavy wood furniture worn smooth from heavy use. It's an open kitchen, a touch of modernity which must've been well ahead of its time, considering what horror shows the typical Asian street-food kitchen can be. Not the absolute cheapest option out there, but certainly well worth a visit, as confirmed by the number of tourists in the house. Next time we'll stick closer to the specialties grilled items though (the neighbor's grilled 秋刀魚 fish looked good, too).
肥前屋
台北市中山區中山北路1段121巷13號之2, 1樓
02-25617859