A hipster-style restaurant tucked away in the alleys — enjoy Japanese home-cooked dishes and Spanish cuisine

Text & Photos /Xiaohu Dream Food Net

The busy life of the past six months has left me with little time to explore the alleys in search of good food. But fortunately, I have quite a few friends who understand me. They often secretly tell me—or even take me—to try out great finds, like this Japanese-Spanish restaurant on the usually quiet “Chaozhou Street,” which a food-savvy friend recommended.

Chaozhou Street isn’t too far from Dongmen or Guting stations, and it’s relatively close to the well-known Yongkang shopping area. But for some reason, I rarely find myself around here. Plus, the shopfront is pretty unassuming during the day and easy to walk right past. Fortunately, it has a name that makes you wonder what it means: “Taipei Tsukiyomi Ryu kunsofu.”

After stepping into this slightly hipster-style dining space, I curiously asked my friend about the name. Apparently, it has some connection to Japan. Though it’s not a branch, it does originate from Japan—at least the name definitely does.

What I particularly like about this place is the living room-like sofa seating area, even though the varying table heights can be a bit inconvenient while dining.

Also, the place looks like a “café” from several angles... especially this one, which follows the classic layout of a hipster café... To be honest, I quite like this style, even if I don’t always pay attention to the DMs, postcards, or cultural merchandise on the tables XD.

The walls display the restaurant’s signature dishes and some new offerings. It seems the focus is primarily on Spanish cuisine, but there's also quite a mix of Japanese home-style dishes—it’s a rather interesting place.

There are sometimes seasonal specials, like a summer-limited pork hot pot salad with soba cold noodle set... but honestly, when a friend takes me out, I usually just let them order everything, and I happily go along with whatever they choose.

For drinks, I had the yellow “Peach Paradise Special 120 TWD,” which had the aroma of peaches and the sweetness of mango, but neither flavor was too strong—quite a unique drink.

Nara French-style Savory Cake 90 TWD. It’s said to use Nara-zuke (Nara pickles), but the taste only reveals a faint saltiness. The texture is somewhat like a pound cake but a bit drier. To be honest, it’s really tasty, especially the slightly crispy and fragrant crust.

This seems to be Taiwanese black pork spread 180 TWD. The ball in the middle has a texture similar to tuna paste but with a hint of corresponding meaty sweetness. It’s actually quite good on its own, but the staff says it’s meant to be eaten with bread.

Actually, the meat paste has a slight dryness issue when chewing, but luckily it’s moistened a bit by the drizzle of olive oil. However, when spread on bread, it becomes a bit dry again. That said, the bread is nicely baked—crispy outside and soft inside, and quite delicious.

Spanish Garlic Shrimp 180 TWD. When it was served, the oil was still vigorously bubbling—you can imagine how hot the iron plate was XD. But the presentation was certainly eye-catching. The shrimp itself is crispy and sweet, with a slightly oily smoothness and just the right amount of garlic flavor. It’s a pretty tasty little dish, though after eating two pieces, it gets a bit oily—and even a little lonely XD.

At this point, my seasoned friend, as if reading my mind, smiled gently, then picked up a leftover piece of bread, dipped it in the oil, and pushed it toward me. To be honest, the oil-soaked bread was really delicious—I even liked it more than the meat paste. And those three ways to enjoy these two dishes are pretty brilliant XD.

Grilled Taiwanese Black Pork Roll 250 TWD. Okay, I was initially drawn in by the presentation of this dish... and it still looked very tempting even after seeing it up close—especially for someone like me who loves meat. Just the aroma of the crispy, grilled skin was irresistible...

When I actually took a bite, the fat under the skin had a great balance of sweetness and melt-in-your-mouth quality. The middle is tender, with a roughly equal mix of fat and lean, cooked to a medium-rare level with a sweet meatiness. Beyond the fat and meat flavors, there’s also a subtle hint of herbs. It looked as satisfying as it tasted.

My friend said this was a “Curry Combo,” meaning half of two different curries from the wall menu were scooped together, separated by white rice in the middle. This is apparently a favorite way for regular customers to enjoy it. The tomato and pickled vegetable curry on the right had a lighter “sourness” than I expected, with a slightly sweet curry flavor. Of course, the mild spiciness of the curry was still the main note, but the three tastes didn’t clash and blended well. The other side was a South Indian-style chicken and coconut milk curry—the coconut milk and coffee flavors melded nicely, though it was pretty much what you’d expect.

After having enough of both curry flavors separately, my friend mixed them together. The resulting flavor was very layered and quite unique, though whether it’s “good” or not is another matter XD.

Okay, I didn’t catch the name of this dish. Maybe it’s “Tsukiyomi Okinawan Taco Rice”? But anyway, it has a sunny-side-up egg on top, diced tomatoes sprinkled with cheese powder in the middle, then something that’s a bit like Italian meat sauce and a bit like Thai larb, and at the bottom, shredded lettuce with a refreshing flavor.

My friend mixed it all together with a spoon, and the taste did indeed resemble larb pork but was a bit milder, with a faint herbal aroma. The texture was made richer and smoother by the semi-raw egg, and the slightly crunchy lettuce added a lovely contrast. The meat sauce flavor was also quite good, though it got a bit spicier the more you ate XD.

Spanish Tuna Puff Pastry 130 TWD. The puff pastry on this dish really impressed me—thin, yet light and flaky, even slightly crisp, with a melt-in-your-mouth feel after a couple of bites. The tuna filling had a flavor reminiscent of Spanish chili powder, with a touch of spice. It’s perfect as an appetizer. I really loved both the texture and the taste.

Finally, the dessert: Catalan Crème Brûlée 90 TWD. When it arrived, I was a bit stunned... Then the server came over with a blowtorch, and it all became clear.

Well, tableside flambé service is also a selling point, and besides, the young server was pretty cool and handsome, wasn’t he?

The caramel on the brûlée was quite thin and made with white sugar, but the crunch was excellent. Maybe the burnt sugar aroma wasn’t super strong, but it was still quite tasty. Most uniquely, the custard in the middle was incredibly silky. I asked and found out the custard hadn’t gone into the oven—it was just heated with water and chilled. It’s probably the silkiest custard I’ve had that I didn’t dislike, with a milk aroma stronger than flour or egg, yet not overly rich. It’s a really unique custard—custard lovers shouldn’t miss it.

Restaurant Name:Taipei Tsukiyomi Ryu kunsofu
Address: No. 102, Chaozhou Street, Da’an District, Taipei City
Phone: 02 2391 0299
Business Hours: 11:30–15:00 / 18:00–23:00 (Closed on Tuesdays)

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