A homestyle Japanese eatery in Taichung serves stir-fried udon with sauce and fried ham

Text and photos bySir San Gao

On a day when J and I had just finished work and were feeling rather lethargic, we wondered what to do. We thought about going to the secondhand bookstore, but then remembered this homestyle Japanese eatery nearby that we hadn’t visited in a while. We invited my mom and my child along. My child didn’t want to come, so it ended up being just the two of us moms.

When the shop first opened, there weren’t many customers. Later on, apart from Japanese patrons, quite a few locals started coming too. The menu isn’t particularly expensive overall, but there’s an additional 10% charge. For this kind of small eatery, I usually prefer to go alone or with one other person. However, some of the dishes here are almost enough for 3–4 people. It would better suit my needs if the prices were slightly lower and the portions reduced to two-thirds. The server who took our order seemed to be the owner’s daughter helping out. It would be great if she could give a heads-up about portion sizes or provide brief descriptions for repetitive dishes (like butter-fried tofu and tamagoyaki).

I started with an Orion beer from Okinawa. This was my first time trying their canned draft beer—it was just okay.

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We ordered six dishes, the stir-fried udon and rice set meal, and the total came to over 1,000 NT dollars. The portions were a bit too large, especially the stir-fried udon and cabbage, which were enough for 3–4 people. The udon was Q (chewy) and well-seasoned, with plenty of pork and onions. The flavor was rich but not greasy, and it tasted better than expected.

The miso-glazed pork intestines were a bit of a letdown because I prefer the red miso version. It had radish and ??? inside, and the ingredients were all tender from braising, but the flavor was too mild and not very appetizing with rice. The fried ham was enjoyable for its thin saltiness and the crunch of the bread crumb coating—it went “crunch crunch” and paired perfectly with beer. If you’re worried about it being too heavy, you can drizzle on the slightly tangy sauce. Before you know it, you’ll polish it off like a snack. The hamburger steak’s sauce was good, but the texture was too tough. If I just wanted a simple hamburger steak, I’d still think of [another place] first.Atsuko Western-style Restaurant.

The tamagoyaki I had that day wasn’t very moist and lacked that extra sweetness from sugar. A small dollop of yuzu pepper gave it some character and made it fairly enjoyable. I thought the butter-fried tofu would be a simple dish, but it came with a large piece of fried egg on top. They used soft tofu, and the seasoning leaned more toward soy sauce than butter. The flavor balance was nice, but I personally prefer a stronger butter taste.

The previously mentioned rice set meal included miso soup and a small side dish. The rice was decent, the side dish was cold tofu again (repeated), and the blowfish chopstick rest was chubby and adorable.

It’s been many years since I moved away from Taichung, but whenever I come back, I’m always surprised to find so many eateries I want to try—especially around Gōngyì Road in West District. My list of places to visit has quietly grown even longer.

Mom Anxi’s Home Cooking

Address: No. 378, Huamei Street, West District, Taichung City
Business hours: 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM (Closed on Sundays)
Contact number: 04-2320-5536

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