Melty delicious sushi to eat standing up at West Lake Quick Bite (now closed)!

▲ There's a standing-only sushi shop in Taipei’s West Lake Market, drawing early-morning visitors.

(Now closed)

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan, Taipei

In Taiwan’s traditional markets, there are always surprising culinary delights to be found. On the first floor of Taipei’s West Lake Market, inside the fresh produce section, there’s a Japanese restaurant that serves nigiri sushi and seafood donburi.<的日式料理店，The most unique part? There are no chairs—the customers all eat standing up.This eatery is called West Lake Quick Bite. The term “quick bite” refers to eating sushi while standing. For just NT$250, you can enjoy a seafood donburi, which has made it very popular with young people. Many come early in the morning to savor the offerings.<，很受年轻人欢迎，很多人一大早就来享用美食。

Unlike most Japanese restaurants, West Lake Quick Bite is located inside a traditional market—and without any seating? It turns out that the chef, who previously worked at Regent Taipei and Uobei Sushi,Hsu Yu-wei,initially wanted to start his own business but was limited by insufficient funds and couldn’t afford a regular storefront. Hsu suddenly thought of how many Japanese restaurants in Japan are also located in traditional markets, where rents are much cheaper. That’s how he began his entrepreneurial journey in West Lake Market.

▲ West Lake Quick Bite doesn’t have much space for customers.

Why adopt a standing-only dining style? Hsu Yu-wei explained that since he previously worked at Uobei Sushi, he brought over the concept of standing sushi from there. Also, because the space in West Lake Market is quite small, this dining format fits perfectly. Despite the lack of tables and chairs, Hsu has plenty of clever ideas—like using large S-hooks for customers to hang their bags, or turning large baskets into mobile tables. But wouldn’t this upset other vendors or the market management? Hsu said there were some initial concerns, but communication resolved everything. After all, the busiest time for Quick Bite is during lunch, when many vegetable and meat stalls are closed. He even joked that by the afternoon, his shop is the only one still open in the entire market.

▲ The NT$200 grilled nigiri set includes flounder fin, salmon belly, scallop, and squid.

Hsu Yu-wei heads to Keelung’s Zhongzheng Fish Market every morning at 3 AM to purchase fresh seafood. After cleaning and preparing the fish, he opens for business daily from 9 AM to 4 PM. Since he only shops for ingredients once in the morning, everything sells out quickly, sometimes leading to an early closing. Thanks to low rent and hand-picking ingredients from the market, operational costs are kept down, allowing him to offer affordable dishes—like a seafood donburi for just NT$250.<（6片鱼片、虾卵、花枝、玉子烧、海藻），350元可以吃到9片鱼片、干贝、天使红虾、鲑鱼卵及海胆，以这种组合在一般的料理亭，没500元以上是吃不到的。

▲ The NT$350 seafood donburi<可以吃到9片鱼片、干贝、天使红虾、鲑鱼卵及海胆。

 West Lake Quick Bite video


Additionally, there’s a daily limited offering of just five portions ofpremium seafood donburi,<which includes Japanese o-toro (fatty tuna), sea urchin, salmon belly, scallop, red snapper belly, squid, and abalone. Each portion is NT$580. Hsu says he makes almost no profit on this dish and can’t justify selling too many.

Besides the seafood donburi,<，许昱纬说他们的200元烧炙握寿司组合也很受欢迎，有鲑鱼肚、比目鱼鳍边肉、干贝、花枝，还送上一大碗的味噌汤；烧炙握寿司部分，许昱纬说不用沾酱就很好吃；至于味噌汤不但大，而且里面的料超多，许昱纬表示，每天处理完的虾头、鱼头、带骨鱼肉都会下锅煮味噌汤。这样免费的味噌汤根本是佛心来着。

▲ Grilled beef nigiri sushi.

Most uniquely, they also serve grilled beef nigiri sushi. In addition to being part of the NT$1000 set, it’s also available à la carte for NT$50 per piece. Hsu laughs, saying you definitely can’t find this price elsewhere.

West Lake Quick Bite
Address: No. 285, Section 1, Neihu Road, Taipei City (MRT: West Lake Station, inside West Lake Market, first floor)
Phone: 0913-358068
Business hours: 9:00 AM–4:00 PM (may close earlier if ingredients sell out)
Closed on Mondays


▲ Hsu Yu-wei has 17 years of experience in Japanese cuisine.


▲ All the seafood is personally purchased by Hsu Yu-wei every morning at Keelung’s Zhongzheng Fish Market.


▲Use the S-hook to hang your bag.


▲The basket can be turned into a table.


▲Sea urchin (Mizu-gani).


▲You can see an introduction to Xiao Litun right at the entrance of Xihu Market. After entering through this entrance, pass one stall and turn left to find Xiao Litun.


▲Take the MRT to Xihu Station, and exit from Exit 1 to reach Xihu Market.