Taipei’s Super Popular Japanese Canteen – Try the Rare “Grape Shrimp N<”

Text and photos by /Kuni

Lunch at Shōroku can’t be reserved. A friend told me it’s better to come around 1:30 PM to try your luck. I deliberately arrived early, getting there at 1:00 PM on the dot. As soon as I walked in, the owner asked if I had a number — without one, no entry, since all the seats were full. Just as I was about to leave disappointed, a customer suddenly called out to me. When I turned around, I realized it was a dining companion — turns out he’s a regular at Shōroku. I got incredibly lucky and immediately joined him at his table.

The owner with the small tree by the counter.

This place is similar to Yunghe Yang Japanese Cuisine — the daily chalkboard menu is the highlight, changing every day depending on what fresh ingredients the owner gets. I came for the seasonal Pacific bluefin tuna, so of course I ordered a bowl of full Pacific bluefin N<,N<.

Prices:
Full Pacific bluefin N<(NT.780)
Grape shrimp N<(NT.480)
Otoro lean meat (NT$180)

The chalkboard menu is the highlight.

Complimentary side dishes.

Strictly speaking, today’s sushi rice wasn’t entirely satisfying. The vinegar wasn’t pressed in too tightly, which is actually a good thing, but the sashimi was cut rather carelessly. To be fair, back in my first visit in 2015, while the knife skills lacked finesse in terms of aesthetics, they were at least precise. Normally when I have seafood sushi, the freshness of the fish on the rice is just the basic expectation.

The slices were smoothly cut, clean, with neatly arranged thickness—not only visually appealing but also enhancing the flavor. It’s truly rare to find a place that achieves this level. This time, the otoro belly was torched, which I didn’t prefer. The chin part had rich fat marbling, similar in appearance to the belly, but the texture was noticeably firmer. In short, for some reason, the Pacific bluefin today didn’t have the appeal I was hoping for.

Full Pacific bluefin seafood sushi.

This is the chin part.

The middle part that’s torched is the otoro.

The owner specially brought out yellowfin tuna for me to compare and try.

The tonkatsu (pork cutlet) was recommended by Owner Shōroku. I heard it’s from the otoro lean meat (in Taiwanese), also known as the rare occipital muscle part. It’s located at the very front edge of the large loin muscle, and it’s just as rare as Matsusaka pork. Because of its inverted triangular shape, it’s called “monkshood.” The meat is tender yet moist, juicy, and very satisfying. What surprised me most was that even the thinnest parts were bursting with plenty of juicy meat. Such a delicious pork cutlet for just NT$180 — totally worth it.

Otoro lean meat tonkatsu.

Unfortunately, it was slightly overcooked, but still tasty.

Grape shrimp has always been “judged by color,” usually “the more purple, the more expensive.” I remember last year I once encountered two plump, nearly half-purple ones at a certain ryotei — they were the kind of rare, amazing shrimp you don’t come across often. I was full of praise after eating them and couldn’t forget the experience for a long time. Today’s grape shrimp, regardless of size, richness, or color, were noticeably weaker, which is why they could give you five at once, and the price was kept under NT$500. After hearing my grumbling, Owner Shōroku probably wasn’t convinced and went back into the kitchen to pick one out specially. This one finally had the feel of grape shrimp — the shrimp roe wasn’t purple enough, but at least you could see some. The shrimp head, needless to say, I had the owner stuff it with rice and grill it — absolutely satisfying.

Not commonly seenGrape shrimp N<.

This time, the shrimp roe was less abundant.

The owner specially brought out another one with more shrimp roe.

Shrimp roe.

A good shrimp head is meant to be stuffed with rice and grilled, right?

Finally, I got to enjoy Shōroku’s most famous midday seafood lunch. Perhaps the knife skills or the level of finesse weren’t quite to my taste, but at least an occasional visit lets me try some ingredients that are not commonly seen.

The plump grape shrimp I encountered last year — taken with a phone, hence the shake.

Grapes Shrimp at Chuyo Yoko Japanese Cuisine<.

Little Six Restaurant
Address: No. 8, Lane 259, Songjiang Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City
Phone: (02) 2506-0065
Business Hours: 11:30–14:00, 18:00–21:00 (Monday to Saturday)

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