Xuan Ge's Japanese creative cuisine: eel salad instead of teriyaki

▲ Eel salad.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

Japanese restaurants are everywhere in Taiwan, but how can they stand firm in an increasingly competitive market? Nestled in a lane on Section 4, Nanjing East Road, there's a nearly 15-year-old veteran eatery"Xuan Ge Japanese Creative Cuisine"—Xuan Ge’s strength lies in using the spirit of Japanese cuisine to create dishes with Taiwan’s seasonal fresh ingredients. For example, while most eateries prepare eel with teriyaki, Xuan Ge turns it into a chilled salad—refreshing and not greasy.

Although Xuan Ge focuses on creative cuisine, you can also enjoy traditional Japanese dishes such as nigiri sushi, sashimi, grilled items, and set meals. To serve and accommodate the hardworking office workers nearby, they also offer special lunch set meals around noon, all priced around 200 NT dollars. These include salad, main dish, rice, appetizers, and drinks, with the lunch specials changing periodically. In the evening, they mainly serve à la carte items, set meals, and creative dishes. Although set meals are also available, their prices differ from the lunch specials.

Xuan Ge owner Jiang Weibin says that ingredients are delivered daily from Keelung or Yilan. Seafood isn’t always the same, and sometimes they get special items, which become hidden menu specialties. Jiang Weibin recommends five dishes: mentaiko-grilled bamboo shoots, crispy perilla fish rolls, scallops and shrimp with pumpkin sauce, hot spring egg stir-fried curry crab, and eel salad.


▲ Scallops and shrimp with pumpkin sauce.

Jiang Weibin says the eel salad is the most unique because while most eateries prepare eel with teriyaki, making it into a chilled salad is likely the first in the industry. The eel is bought live and processed (killed and prepared) in-house—first grilled, then steamed, de-boned, cooled, and refrigerated before being served. When ordered, it’s paired with onions and a homemade sauce. Jiang Weibin adds that the eel salad has a refreshing taste.

Scallops and shrimp with pumpkin sauce—the pumpkin sauce is made by blending pumpkin, taro, and carrots, then seasoned with a bit of butter. Both scallops and shrimp are lightly battered and fried. Jiang Weibin says when eating, remember to dip the scallops and shrimp in the pumpkin sauce.


▲ Crispy perilla fish rolls.

The crispy perilla fish rolls are made with whole bamboo eel sliced and rolled, then coated and deep-fried. Jiang Weibin explains that the dish includes shredded bamboo shoots, mushrooms, seaweed, ham, and fish cake. He mentions that it pairs especially well with other sides for a more complete meal. Additionally, the bamboo shoot rolls are also popular and flavorful, another recommended choice.

Hot spring egg stir-fried curry crab is made by blending hot spring eggs, mayonnaise-based curry, chili oil, and surimi into a paste, then slowly simmering it over low heat to make a sauce. This sauce is then stir-fried with steamed crab so the crab absorbs the flavors. Jiang Weibin says the sauce is made fresh, giving it a delicious taste. It’s also served with French toast that can be dipped into the sauce.


▲ Hot spring egg stir-fried curry crab.

Bamboo shoots are in season now, so this mentaiko-grilled bamboo shoot dish is made by boiling the bamboo shoots first, then glazing them with a yuzu sauce mixed with mentaiko, and finishing them off with a slow bake in the oven until the sauce melts.


▲ Mentaiko-grilled bamboo shoots.

Xuan Ge Japanese Creative Cuisine
Address: No. 2, Lane 52, Section 4, Nanjing East Road, Songshan District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2578-6969
Business hours: 11:30–14:00; 17:30–22:00; closed on Sundays.