Huge portions of affordable Japanese cuisine in Hualien City — 6 liang (200g) pork cutlets bigger than your face!

▲ Exterior view of Sanmaru Japanese Restaurant.

Reported and photographed by reporter Li Zi-yi / Hualien

The Japanese restaurant "Sanmaru" located in downtown Hualien exudes the classic look of a traditional Japanese eatery from its name to its exterior. The building is constructed with vintage wood materials, giving it a strong and distinctive Japanese charm. Opened in August 2014, it has attracted a loyal local clientele thanks to its reasonable prices and generous portions.

▲ Limited-time menu on the wall — the most expensive dish is only 460 TWD.

The limited-time menu is written on the blackboard in the semi-open kitchen. Prices for individual dishes generally range from 60 TWD to 460 TWD, with an average cost of around 200+ TWD per person. This time, we ordered 8 dishes: assorted sashimi, cheese mushroom balls, shrimp with green herb tempura, crab and somen noodle hot pot, shrimp salad rolls, pork cutlet, bamboo shoot with mitsuba, and clam yuzu soup. There were about 6–8 of us dining, so the restaurant arranged the serving sizes accordingly.

▲ Assorted Sashimi.

▲Cheese Mushroom Balls.
▪ Cheese mushroom balls — cheese is wrapped inside mushrooms, coated in batter and deep-fried, topped with a slice of lemon for color. They’re crispy and refreshing, and the subtle cheese aroma adds depth to the flavor.

▲ Shrimp with Green Herb Tempura.
▪ Visually striking shrimp with green herb tempura — the main shrimp dish is wrapped in layers of shredded sweet potato and spinach, then deep-fried to a golden-green crisp. The batter complements the shrimp perfectly, and the healthy additions make this fried dish feel less guilty to eat.

▲ Crab and Somen Noodle Hot Pot
▪ Somen noodles (a type of thin wheat vermicelli) soak up a rich sauce made with ultra-low temperature deep-frozen three-spot crabs. Paired with mushrooms and garlic, the dish is very flavorful. The owner mentioned that they plan to switch to more seasonally flexible soft-shell crabs in the future, and the menu will be updated accordingly—so don’t be surprised if you don’t see three-spot crabs next time!

▲ Pork Cutlet
▪ Each pork cutlet here weighs 6 to 6.5 liang (about 200–220g), truly living up to the name “bigger than your face.” Not only are they crispy on the outside, but the special sauce used is also imported all the way from Japan, with additional seasoning done in-house — a lot of effort goes into each piece.

▲ Shrimp Salad Rolls
▪ Resembling American-style sushi, these shrimp salad rolls use whipped cream as a topping. Each roll is about the size of a palm — not only do they look great, but they’re also very filling.

▲ Bamboo Shoot with Mitsuba
▪ Made using mitsuba (Japanese wild parsley) miso from Japan, crafted from tender young shoots of sansho (Japanese pepper plant), this miso has a much fresher taste compared to regular miso — only a faint miso flavor, paired with seasonal bamboo shoots. It’s a perfect summer dish.

▲ Clam Yuzu Soup
▪ The final soup is a clam yuzu soup, simply combining yuzu peel, clams, seaweed, and fish cake. The light and refreshing taste makes it a perfect summer limited-edition soup recently introduced to the menu.

After tasting all the dishes, chatting with the owner revealed that the generous portion sizes are intentional — from the start, the restaurant considered the many students nearby and wanted to ensure no one left hungry. As for the name "Sanmaru," it humorously comes from the physiques of the three co-owners.

During our conversation about their dedication to food quality, the owner emphasized seriously: “Our seafood is delivered daily by frozen truck from Taipei, and even the kitchen chefs were specially hired from Taipei. All ingredients used in the restaurant are carefully selected.” If you have a chance to visit Hualien, be sure to stop by and experience the warm hospitality and delicious food here.

Sanmaru Japanese Restaurant
▪ Address: No. 8, Lane 293, Lin Sen Road, Hualien City
▪ Phone: 03-836-0999
Business hours: Monday to Sunday, 11:00–21:30 (closed 2:00–5:00 PM)