Taichung’s newly opened “Specialty Unagi Rice Shop” also offers unagi cola and grilled unagi liver

Text/Photos byAh Mon

In recent years, the number of unagi restaurants in Taipei has been increasing, making the competition fierce. But in Taichung, unagi restaurants are few and far between. Many good specialty shops have closed down, so now if I want to satisfy my craving, I can only go to Jingzhuanyuan Unagi Rice or fly to Japan. Recently, I heard that a new specialty unagi rice shop called Oedocho Unagiya opened in Nantun District, and they use the highest-grade bluefin unagi. As an unagi rice enthusiast, I couldn’t miss this, so I immediately gathered some friends to try it out. Since it’s still in its trial operation phase, reservations are required, and it took quite some effort to finally secure a spot. Is it really that popular@@?!

Speaking of unagi rice, it always gets me excited. I’ve loved eating unagi since I was a kid, and unagi rice used to be a signature dish at many Japanese restaurants in Taichung. Unfortunately, due to the decreasing supply of unagi, prices have gone up, and the era of cheap unagi rice is over. Fewer and fewer restaurants serve it. Nowadays, the more well-known unagi rice specialty shops in Taichung are probably Daito-ya, Isshin Shokudo, and Jingzhuanyuan. I’ve tried all of them, and Jingzhuanyuan is my favorite. I hope this Oedocho Unagiya has the potential to surpass it. Oedocho Unagiya is located near Costco, with a very eye-catching signboard. Below it are Oedocho Kaiten Sushi and Oedo Teppanyaki. Parking for cars and motorcycles is pretty convenient.

After parking, I walked into the building and was greeted by a spacious plaza area. On both sides are restaurants from the same group, while Oedocho Unagiya is located on the second floor.

At the end of the plaza is the staircase to the second floor. I’m ready for a delicious unagi rice feast!!

Once upstairs, you’ll see the entrance to the unagi shop. Hmm~~ the decor has a strong Japanese feel—elegant yet classy.

After telling the staff at the entrance that we had a reservation, they quickly showed us to our seats. When I saw the interior of the restaurant, I couldn’t help but exclaim—it’s such a huge unagi rice shop!! According to online descriptions, it has a 9-meter ceiling height and covers 200 tsubo. It seems to be true. The seating is divided into three sections: the outer section has multi-person tatami rooms, the middle has two-person tables, and the innermost section has one-person counter seats. You can choose based on the number of diners. The space between tables is also quite spacious, and the lighting is bright, so it doesn’t feel cramped. The design and layout are pretty nice. The high-ceilinged space is decorated with many Japanese lanterns, fabric drapes, and menu boards, adding even more to the Japanese atmosphere.

The menu board above the kitchen counter is the most striking and eye-catching. Almost every group of customers takes out their phones or cameras to take pictures. This kind of decor design really has a strong Japanese vibe, making me feel like I’ve returned to a Japanese izakaya. I almost wanted to order a drink (calm down, calm down—the star today is unagi rice, not beer).

Japanese-style seating area
Each table here can seat up to 8 people, making it the best choice for family meals.

Since there were only two of us, we were seated at a two-person table in the middle. After sitting down, the staff served complimentary tea—it seemed to be barley tea? The tea can be refilled for free, so it’s fine even if you don’t order drinks. While looking at the menu, the staff gave a brief explanation, helping guests better understand the shop’s specialties and dishes. The explanation was decent.

Edamame
A common appetizer served at every table... it’s just okay.

The shop’s breeding tank has live unagi on display—rare to see live unagi, which feels quite special.

There’s a refrigerated cabinet at the counter area. Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be sashimi k8. Could it be that this shop also sells sushi?

Sake
On the other side of the counter, there are several rows of empty sake bottles. These are probably the types of sake sold at the shop. There are quite a few familiar ones, but I’m not drinking today XD.

● ETNEWS reminds you: Don’t drink and drive, and don’t drive after drinking.

The shop boasts the use of live unagi and domestic charcoal. I did see live unagi—they were really lively. As for domestic charcoal, I’m not sure if it refers to Taiwan or Japan XD?

This shop is a unagi specialty store, so the dishes are mainly unagi-based. The unagi rice is divided into shiro-yaki (white grilled) and kabayaki (sweet soy-glazed), with different prices based on the portion size of the unagi. Prices range from $330 to $690. Here, it’s recommended to order at least one as a main dish.

Unagi side dishes
Besides unagi rice, there are also other related unagi dishes, such as grilled unagi liver, unagi head soup, and unagi tamagoyaki. You can order 1–2 of these to share. This portion size is quite generous. For those who want to drink, you can also order fried unagi bones as a snack—they’re really addictive.

Unagi bucket rice double-style (1 person)
This is a one-person portion of unagi rice but comes with two ways to eat it: plain and ishiyaki (grilled on a stone). I originally wanted to order this, but after seeing the duo set, I switched to that instead. I know, I’m so indecisive.

Unagi bucket rice 3+1 style (duo)
This is a two-person portion of unagi rice and comes with a 3+1 style of eating: plain, with mustard and green onions, with a hot spring egg, and with a warming broth. I was a bit surprised to see the four ways to eat it, as I’d never seen a version with a hot spring egg before—it’s such a unique idea. Considering our limited budget, we ended up ordering one of these to share.

Juice, soda, desserts

Eel-flavored cola $120/bottle

When we ordered drinks, the server informed us that sparkling drinks and beer seemed to be buy-one-get-one-free. Since we were all riding scooters, we obviously couldn’t drink and drive, so we had to go with the sparkling drinks. Among them, the eel-flavored cola piqued our curiosity the most. Friends who’ve been to Japan have probably tried plenty of unusual cola flavors, but we never expected there to be an eel-flavored one—of course, we had to give it a try. The eel-flavored cola came in a glass bottle, but it was less than 330cc per bottle and cost NT$120, which is quite pricey. Thankfully, it was buy-one-get-one-free, or we wouldn’t have gone for it. The color of the eel cola was also a bit lighter than regular cola.

After opening the bottle and taking a sip, the carbonation was very noticeable, and then there was a slight peculiar aftertaste—that might have been the eel flavor? But the taste was really faint and you’d need a few sips to detect it. Flipping the glass bottle over, it turned out to be an imported product from Shizuoka, Japan, and the ingredients included eel extract, which probably gave it that unique flavor. We’d recommend sharing one bottle among several people just for the experience.

Assorted Sashimi Platter $300
My friend loves sashimi and insisted on ordering a platter as an appetizer=_=, but I thought it would be pretty tragic to have sashimi at an eel rice specialty shop. After my failed attempts to dissuade her, we went ahead and ordered it. When the sashimi arrived, just as I expected, it was honestly underwhelming—it was strictly four slices of sashimi, two grilled ones, and a small plate of squid and salmon roe. For $300, it was really expensive. My friend’s face fell when she saw it, so definitely don’t order the Assorted Sashimi Platter!! Just stick to the eel rice dishes. If you want sashimi, go downstairs or to another sushi restaurant. The sashimi included tuna, salmon, and grilled swordfish, but it was all pretty average—the grilled swordfish didn’t even seem to be made to order.

Out of the sashimi, I thought the squid and salmon roe were okay, but that’s not saying much (got smacked), well~~ so definitely don’t order the Assorted Sashimi Platter—swap it for an eel side dish instead.

Grilled Eel Liver Skewers $160
Whenever I come here for eel rice, if grilled eel liver is on the menu, I usually add it too, because the texture of eel liver is especially chewy, and it makes a great drinking snack after grilling. Each order comes with two skewers, and they looked well-marinated from the color. They tasted really good too—if you want something lighter, you can also squeeze a few drops of lemon juice for extra flavor. This dish is highly recommended.

Sesame Oil Eel Liver Teppanyaki $220
Most eel liver dishes are either skewered or made into soup, but seeing it prepared with sesame oil as teppanyaki was a first for me. When it arrived, the teppan was still pretty hot, and the aroma of sesame oil was super enticing. However, the portion of eel liver seemed a bit smaller compared to the grilled skewers earlier. The sesame oil preparation gave it a chewier texture, making it easier to eat, and it paired wonderfully with the sesame oil aroma—it was instantly love at first bite. Even better with beer—highly recommended, must-order.

Eel Rice (for Two) 3+1 Eating Style $690
Then the eel rice arrived too—the service speed felt pretty fast, and the table was quickly filled up. This order was $690, so $345 per person, but it came with three extra ways to enjoy it compared to ordering a single portion, so it’s actually more cost-effective. If you’re dining with more than two people, we’d suggest ordering this.

Along with the eel rice for two, they also brought mustard scallions, two onsen tamago (hot spring eggs), red ginger slices, and a broth packet. Aside from the two slightly odd onsen tamago, everything else was the standard fare you’d get when eating eel rice in Japan. When you lift the lid of the eel rice box, you’re greeted by the golden eel rice @@. From the top of the box, the golden eel covers the white rice almost entirely, making it seem like there’s very little rice—but later we realized we were wrong. There was actually quite a lot of rice because the box is quite deep. It should be enough for two people.

Onsen Tamago
The set for two comes with two eggs. We cracked both open, and we could only say that the yolk doneness wasn’t well-controlled—one was almost fully cooked. That’s probably an area that could be improved.

Eel Rice
The star of the meal today, made with high-quality eel brushed with sauce and grilled over charcoal. Judging by the length of the eel pieces, we guessed it was from the mid-section of the eel. However, once we lifted the lid, we noticed something—the lack of grilled eel aroma @ _ @. What the heck? Freshly grilled eel should have an incredibly enticing aroma or charcoal scent, right? What happened? But to avoid delaying the meal, we decided to let it slide for now.

First Way to Eat
The most traditional way is to eat the grilled eel and rice together to enjoy the delicate texture of the eel, the richness of the sauce, and the chewiness of the rice. The rice beneath the eel is brushed with sauce made from eel bones—a time-consuming process, so such sauces are very precious, and restaurants usually give a small amount. But the server mentioned that if we needed more sauce, they’d happily provide more for free, which surprised me. What a generous place.

Besides the sauce, there were also some seaweed flakes sprinkled on the rice. Seeing those seaweed flakes startled me a bit, but based on my memory, seaweed is usually added in the second way to eat... Putting it directly into the rice just dulls the aroma and texture of the seaweed. The eel itself had a delicate texture—we’re pretty sure it was high-grade eel—but it lacked a bit of aroma, which was a bit of a shame. As for the rice, I felt it was a bit squished and misshapen, maybe because there was too much rice packed in. The bottom layer got compressed, and with the sauce on top, the texture wasn’t great. Truly a missed opportunity.

Second Way to Eat
After tasting the eel in its original form, the second way to eat is by adding scallions, mustard, and red ginger slices. The scallions and red ginger are meant to enhance the texture, while the mustard complements the umami of the eel. However, the red ginger overpowered the other flavors—we’d recommend skipping it. This method doesn’t differ much from the first way to eat.

Third Way to Eat
The final way is to add broth and turn it into ochazuke (tea-soaked rice). The quality of the broth is key here. Combining the eel rice with the broth resulted in something pretty tasty, but the rice itself still has issues that need improvement.

Fourth Way to Eat
In the traditional Japanese eel rice eating style, you’d pick your favorite of the first three methods and have it again. But Taiwanese people love innovation, so they added this fourth way—eating it with an onsen tamago. Maybe inspired by moon-viewing beef?<饭的灵感吧，但鳗鱼配上这个，就真的有种奇怪感觉，也是唯一我没吃完的吃法，但可能也有其他人喜欢吧，这真的很见仁见智。

Grilled Eel Head Clam Soup with Garlic $150
This was another dish my friend insisted on ordering, but thankfully it was delicious—otherwise, she’d have gotten an earful from me XDD. The soup was full of clams, and the eel was rich and flavorful. There were about two eel heads, but they didn’t have much meat—they seemed more like soup stock ingredients. Because garlic was added, the garlic flavor was quite strong, so friends who don’t like garlic shouldn’t order this.

Eel Cheese Omurice $200
The menu picture looked like tamagoyaki (Japanese rolled omelet), but the name was “Omurice”—not “Omurice” as in the Western-style dish, so my friend and I debated for ages. In the end, we decided to order one to try. When the omurice arrived, it was definitely tamagoyaki!!! Seriously!!! What a weird name XD. The tamagoyaki was cut super thick—if one person ate it alone, they’d definitely feel full. So it’s better to share it among several people.

It comes with five large pieces, which can be considered an eel dish because it has minced eel mixed in the middle, but the portion is really small... It’s more about the texture... There’s a layer of cheese on top of the tamagoyaki, so when you eat it together, besides the eggy aroma, there’s also the creamy and savory flavor of the cheese. It’s quite tasty, but if there were more eel meat, it would probably be even more enjoyable XD.

Here’s the bill from the day. This whole meal, including service charge, cost over $2000, but I really didn’t find it that impressive.....

Overall,
After trying so many dishes today, we feel that Oedocho Unagiya’s performance was just average. Especially the unagi donburi part, I was a bit disappointed as it didn’t meet my ideal standards. The grade of eel used was good, but other details just didn’t follow through. On the contrary, the eel liver part actually performed better than the unagi donburi. As for the sashimi, it was really weak—maybe because it just opened? I hope they can improve further. When dining here, you might want to start with an order of unagi donburi to see if it meets your standards before adding other items. That way, you won’t waste money unnecessarily. The above is just my personal opinion for reference only.

Oedocho Unagiya
Address: 2F, No. 1, Wenshin South 2nd Rd., Nantun District, Taichung City
Phone: 04-24737711
Price: $300 and up, plus 10% service charge

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