A must-visit yakiniku specialty spot for meat lovers—huge portions and tender meat

Text & Photos /Ahmon

These past few days, my friend said they wanted to celebrate my birthday, so they took me out for a big meal. This time, we chose to dine at Kyuu-nichi Miso Yakiniku NZhuanmaidiandecanting, which is pretty close to the National Museum of Nature and Science, and not far from the Yoridome Street Izakaya. I didn’t expect there to be so many Japanese restaurants near the museum.

The place looks small from the outside, and the sign isn’t very eye-catching—I almost rode right past it. At first glance, it doesn’t look like your typical bustling eatery, but wow, the interior is lively and almost completely packed. Eh—today’s a weekday, Monday, so how come business is still this good? Could it be a hidden gem of a restaurant? Although the name suggests miso yakiniku N

As soon as we opened the wooden door, we found the place buzzing with energy, nearly full to capacity. Ugh—today’s a regular weekday Monday, how can the business be this thriving? Could it be some kind of secret gourmet spot? Even though the shop is called Miso Yakiniku N

Business was so good that the owner was busy settling customers’ bills. Only after finishing that did he come over to take our order and give us an introduction. I heard this place has been featured on a food TV show, but I’ve never seen it—lately, I’ve been traveling out of town and have become a bit unfamiliar with Taichung.

On the counter, there are small yellow jars filled with imported Japanese rice crackers. The owner said we could help ourselves—they’re pretty tasty, haha.

Give it a knock to ward off bad luck. There’s this thing on the table too—we studied it for a while. It might also be from Japan. It involves using an iron piece to knock on a stone. We were careful not to make too much noise and disturb other tables, but I’m not sure if it actually warded off any bad luck.

Another noteworthy detail is that the tables and chairs in the restaurant are all made of solid wood, so they’re super heavy. Moving them even slightly takes quite a bit of effort, but they’re quite comfortable and sturdy to sit on.

There are some signs hanging on the walls with dish names written on them—probably the restaurant’s signature dishes—but since there are no prices listed, you still have to check the menu to order.

Chilled barley tea is available unlimited in the restaurant, though the tea flavor is a bit light.

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Grilled items. Most are seafood, and the prices are a bit higher, which made us hesitate about adding more. Some dish names sounded really unique, so we wanted to try them.

Drinks & alcohol

Burdock strips and seaweed sprouts. Since I ordered a set meal, it came with two side dishes and a dessert. The sides were seaweed sprouts and burdock strips. The seaweed sprouts were crispy and quite tasty, but the burdock strips weren’t sweet enough for my liking.

Kyuu-nichi Steak N < $250. I ordered it because I saw a TV icon next to the dish name, and it didn’t disappoint — such a huge portion of steak. It’s very satisfying to eat on your own. If you think that’s still not enough meat, there’s also an upgraded version with a big steak natto rice, but it doesn’t come with side dishes or dessert, so this one might be a better deal. The white rice underneath is drizzled with a special sauce, giving it a slightly savory taste, reminiscent of pork lard stir-fried rice. The steak on top is sprinkled with a bit of black pepper for flavor, and there are also slices of ginger and garlic to eat with the beef.

The steak’s cross-section is cut very neatly—you can see the tender, pink beef. It’s probably cooked to medium rare, about 5–7 minutes, with a thickness of around one centimeter. The texture is firm yet soft and tender, and it retains its juiciness. It doesn’t taste dry or tough. Paired with rice and garlic, it’s really delicious. No wonder almost every table orders this—it makes sense why it was featured on a TV show. This is a must-order dish. Meat lovers definitely shouldn’t miss it.

Miso-grilled Pork Rice $180. Ordered by a friend, it was different from what I originally imagined — the pork pieces were very large and thick, almost like pork cutlets. Grilled with miso sauce and sprinkled with white sesame, the flavor is pretty good with a hint of miso saltiness. It was tasty, but the portion of rice seemed smaller than with the steak rice.

Tokyo Mentaiko Cheese Toast $90. This was also featured on the show. It looks a bit like a thin-crust pizza—my impression is that it’s about 6–8 inches in size. The crust is baked very crispy and thin, topped with lots of cheese and parsley. It’s quite fragrant.

It’s also stretchy. The flavor is rich and savory, but I couldn’t really taste the mentaiko. Eating a whole portion by yourself might feel a bit heavy, so it’s recommended to share or eat it with rice.

Beef-wrapped Shrimp Skewer $80/skewer. When I first saw this dish name on the menu, I didn’t understand what it was. After asking the server, I found it quite novel and decided to try one skewer. At $80 per skewer, it’s really a bit pricey. The grilled shrimp is shelled in the middle, then wrapped with beef bacon and sesame seeds before being grilled again, turning it into a beef-wrapped shrimp skewer. When eating, you first cut off the shrimp head, then remove the tail, and eat the middle section of the shrimp meat directly. The richly marbled beef bacon and the fresh, springy shrimp meat create a wonderfully unique combination of textures. It’s delicious, but I could only order one skewer this time—otherwise, my wallet would’ve taken a huge hit XD

Dessert. We ordered the Kyuu-nichi Steak N[rice-only dish], which is said to have Meiji-brand ice cream with a slightly bitter-sweet chocolate flavor, putting a perfect ending to this birthday feast.

We came to eat a bit later, so by the time we finished, there were almost no other customers left in the restaurant.

Overall, it was surprisingly delicious, which explains why the business is so good. The steak portion size is also quite large, offering good value for money, making it suitable for meat lovers. The food comes out quickly, and the service is pretty good. However, the skewered items are a bit pricey, so it's more of an occasional visit kind of place — eating there too often would break the bank XD. I recommend this place to everyone; these are just my personal thoughts, for reference only.

Restaurant Name: Kyuu-nichi Miso Yakiniku Specialty Store
Phone: 04-22032499
Address: No. 36, Bokuan Road, North District, Taichung City
Price: 80 Taiwan dollars and up
Dining Date: July 2014

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