Super Generous Japanese Cuisine in Tamsui – Free Flow of Skipjack Miso Soup with Your Rice

In Tamsui, if you mention Tama Shokudo, there’s no way anyone wouldn’t know about it. This place isn’t just affordable and delicious — that huge portion of rice is served up, and everyone can’t help but exclaim “wow,” quickly pulling out their phones to take photos. That’s the typical scene when dining at Tama. Meanwhile, the unlimited miso soup made with swordfish backbone is another incredible value that locals rave about.

The owner couple, Mr. and Mrs. Yang, both previously worked at the Grand Hyatt. He was a Chinese cuisine chef, and she worked on the front of house. They loved cooking and trained under various mentors. Originally, they co-owned a Japanese restaurant in Zhongzheng with others, but because Mr. Yang is from Tamsui, they eventually went their separate ways and returned to Tamsui to open their own shop. During their travels, they visited Tama City in Tokyo and fell in love with the place, so they named their restaurant after it. They’ve been running the shop in Tamsui for three years now. Their philosophy is to ensure that even solo diners feel welcome, offering great value meals — and only dishes they truly enjoy themselves. Speaking of which, the group of regulars who’ve dined here all shake their heads and say: “Boss, this isn’t just for solo diners, it’s enough to make you explode!”

Aside from the free-flow skipjack backbone miso soup, the shop also offers Hokkaido scallops, Canadian sea urchin, freshly caught skipjack, red snapper head, and the most unique offering — overnight-dried fish made by local fishermen from Pingtung Fishery, using whatever they catch. Because the catch varies, Tama serves a variety of overnight-dried fish. All are served with delicious Xiluo rice, which is also one of the reasons many people fall in love with Tama Shokudo at first bite.

The seating inside is lined up on both sides — no need to look around too much, having a seat is what really matters. Back when the burnt-out nurse first came here, they actually ended up eating at the tiny table by the restroom.

Then there are the blackboards on both sides covered in tiny, hard-to-decipher writing...

Flip open the menu — yup, it’s cheap alright. But then you have no idea what to order.

Might as well start with the skipjack miso soup, free flow — no need for rice then (huge misunderstanding).

There’s also free-flow barley tea, by the way.

Oh wow — just that one piece of skipjack belly already has so much meat, you’re kinda full already.

Let’s bring out the dishes, folks — some of you might faint just watching this. Here comes Tama’s Invincible Set: Canadian sea urchin sashimi, Tama’s unbeatable sashimi, salmon and tuna sashimi, salmon and egg sashimi, Yokozuna pork cutlet rice, fried chicken cartilage. It comes out like an armada — so grand and shocking. Where do you even start eating? Actually, after everyone takes photos, they all lean back. This invincible fleet is truly intense and terrifying.

Let’s start with something a bit more harmless.Salmon Parent-Child N<Behold — this is a dish from Tama. Fluffy slices of salmon are placed gently over rice, as if worried the rice might catch a chill, topped with generous amounts of salmon roe, golden egg, and a cheeky piece of imitation crab.

Canadian Sea Urchin Sashimi, which includes sea urchin, salmon, skipjack, tuna, red snapper, tamagoyaki (rolled omelet), golden egg, and black beans. It may not look like much at first glance, but when you dig in with your chopsticks, you’ll realize just how much is in this rice bowl!

Tama Invincible Sashimi N<— this platter is super luxurious. It features sea urchin, salmon, skipjack, tuna, red snapper, raw squid, sweet shrimp, Hokkaido raw scallops, Hokkaido scallops, salmon roe, matsutake crab guts, tamagoyaki, golden egg, and black beans, all lined up in gorgeous array. The boss, unfazed and probably hiding in the kitchen, smirks at your shocked expression. Okay — I admit it, I lost the challenge.

Tama Invincible N<— don’t say the burnt-out nurse didn’t warn you, don’t order this lightly, you definitely won’t finish it. Inside are three tempura prawns, two explosive egg ‘Happy Encounters,’ two Hokkaido scallops, one massive Japanese conger eel, one onsen egg, pumpkin, tofu, and okra, all piled up like the majestic Mount Yu, waiting for brave climbers to conquer. Last year I conquered it once, but was so full my stomach felt like I was eight months pregnant (usually it’s more like four).

Yokozuna Pork Cutlet Rice, each piece of which looks harmless enough — but the portions are super large, and the thickness of the pork cutlet? Wow!

Fried Chicken Cartilage, but actually this plate is the best-seller, because it’s tasty and feels the least heavy. The above-mentioned rice sets, no matter which one you choose, will knock you out!

Mackerel Overnight-DryIt's so delicious and tender~

After seeing the photos above, you now know why Tama Everyday has such long lines, right? But as for overworking my liver, I dare not casually order the Tama Invincible Heaven Set anymore. Next time, I’ll just go with the chicken cartilage and overnight-dried fish along with the miso soup. But the generous portions are Tama’s specialty, not only offering super fresh ingredients at great value, but also challenging you with big servings. Plus, the rice contains a tataki vinegar jelly — this sweet and sour jelly is one of Tama’s signatures and a classic highlight of the rice bowls. Are you coming to Tama? Just be sure to order according to your appetite!

TamaShitang - Japanese Cuisine
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Location: 1F, No. 2, Lane 50, Section 2, Zhongcheng Rd., Shilin District, Taipei City
Phone: 02-2838-3950
Business Hours: 11:30–14:00, 17:00–21:00 (Closed on Tuesdays)

We are overworked nurses “Meatball” & “Bowl | Junbao?? They brought us to this place hoping we could share more delicious food and happy moments. The written introduction conveys the beauty of the place, the emotions in the season, and the local delicacies, making it hard for friends who’ve been there to forget the feelings they had.
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