The strongest tonkatsu (pork cutlet) restaurant in Taichung you can't get into without a reservation—and there's unlimited heartwarming chicken soup too!

Text and photos byFeitian Xuan

When it comes to tonkatsu restaurants in Taichung, it’s hard not to mention "Uma Yakiniku"... and then the next thing people say is: the phone line is so hard to get through, often ringing until the sky turns pitch black... The first time we got through was after 9 PM, and even then, we couldn’t book our ideal time slot~

Uma: “Miss, for the date you requested, the earliest available time is 11:30 AM. Would you like us to reserve it for you?”
Us: “Wow... thanks, but maybe some other time!”

Later we got smart—we took turns calling the Garden Store and the Zhonggang Store, and as soon as someone picked up, we’d ask which dates and times had openings. Finally… we managed to book a table at Uma for a month later.

All that said above really proves that having just two Uma locations is simply not enough to meet the tonkatsu demand of Taichung folks. In 2016, Uma successively opened the Wenshin Store and the Guo’an Store... Whenever we walked by their renovation sites, we’d be filled with hope that next time we book, we’ll definitely “get a spot” (a play on words with “Uma,” which sounds like “get it” in Taiwanese)!

Even though we had just returned from Tokyo where we feasted on wagyu beef, my girl squad was still obsessed with tonkatsu… (Actually, we’re just meat lovers… give us tonkatsu and nothing else will do!) We spontaneously planned to meet up the next day. Since everyone was busy, we chatted on the Line group about tonkatsu, mentioned Uma, and Grace immediately said she’d gotten us a reservation... truly a secretary-level pro. So off we went to Uma Guo’an Store. In the Mi Square Mall in the Zhongke business district, several new shops have gradually opened. Last time we visited "Ming Yue Xuan Cantonese Restaurant," we noticed that Uma Yakiniku would be on the first floor downstairs. The mall had already started putting up Christmas-themed decorations in anticipation of the season—even if there wasn’t any actual cold weather yet.

The shop thoughtfully placed seats at the entrance for customers to use. When we first arrived, no one was waiting, but before long, people started showing up and taking seats!

As soon as you step inside, unlike other branches, you’ll notice a water feature design here too. The Guo’an Store has a spacious and airy layout—but… this also makes it less noisy!
Previously on:[Taichung Tonkatsu Recommendation] Uma Yakiniku @ Garden Store. The legendary strongest and most popular tonkatsu restaurant in Taichung~

On the other side, there’s also a private room-style design, but it seems not all seats were open during the initial launch.

Without hesitation, we ordered the trio set… (usually when three people go, they order the duo set and add a la carte items, but we’ve got serious eating power!) Of course, we still asked the staff if there were any new additions to the set menu. After getting recommendations, we still went with the Trio Set for $2880, which lets you try different types of meat. Above are Uma’s sauces—mustard salt, lemon juice, and yakiniku sauce.

Chef’s Salad—starting with a plate of veggies before the meat is really appetizing, and it was gone in no time!

Korean-style Kimchi—crunchy in texture, great on its own or paired with lettuce for wrapping meat.

Lettuce—this is for wrapping the meat… (of course, no one’s stopping you from eating it raw either XD)

Pine Nut Pumpkin Purée—a special house-made dish, refreshing and not greasy.

Chicken Soup—Uma’s chicken soup has always been famous. Have a sip of hot soup to warm your stomach first… apparently, some people are full just from the soup!

Three-tier Meat Rack—Uma seems to be the originator of the three-tier grill setup!

Premium Pork Shoulder (Plum Flower Cut).

Italian Herb Chicken.

Premium Matsusaka Pork.
Each slice is perfectly cut thin and tender. Once you get the hang of the grill temperature and watch how the meat changes, you can just pick it up to eat. So it’s pretty hard to mess up the grilling!

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The Premium Plum Flower Pork can be eaten as is or wrapped in lettuce leaves with a bit of kimchi for two different textures.

The Premium Matsusaka Pork can be grilled to a perfect crisp!

Once the grill gets hot, we couldn’t help but throw all the meat on… what a luxurious feast of meat.

The vanilla chicken also has just the right texture and flavor—absolutely delicious!

The steamed rice can be swapped for seafood congee, which is packed with a generous amount of seafood and bursting with ocean flavors… (Someone actually finished an entire pot by themselves—scary!)

American Angus premium scallop beef short rib.

American rose beef short rib.

American Korean-style beef short rib – the thickness of this meat is seriously impressive and bold-looking! All three types of beef are so good even with just a quick grill—total satisfaction.

Premium black sea squid & Hokkaido scallops, carefully selected.

The scallops sizzle deliciously.

Calpis sparkling drink – you can choose with or without bubbles, but the drink is relatively plain.

Dessert – choose between Haagen Dazs ice cream or a healthy white fungus and lotus seed soup. We both ended up going for junk food… (how lame of us!)

When making the reservation, the staff kindly asked if there was a birthday celebrant that month and mentioned they would prepare a special dish for them. At the time, I didn’t quite catch what they meant… (I was just shocked to get a table!) Later, they brought out a strawberry specialty sparkling drink and ice cream… It was truly an unexpected celebratory gift… slightly softening the bittersweet feeling of getting another year older.

Today’s dining breakdown.

Taichung’s highly renowned UMA Yakiniku has opened two more new branches in 2016 while maintaining its consistent dining environment and service. It’s sure to be a great pilgrimage spot for yakiniku fans—hopefully, you won’t have to worry about not getting through on the phone anymore… This time we were lucky enough to get a table quickly, and 2017 is shaping up to be a great start Up!
※ This article was written by our fellow traveler and good friend Grace.

UMA Yakiniku
FB:https://www.facebook.com/umaiguoan/
Address: No. 168, Guo’an 1st Rd., West District, Taichung City
Phone: (04)2465-2222
Business Hours: 11:00–00:00

Feitianxuan
I record the ups and downs, food, fun, and emotions in my life with a light-hearted tone" Blog、FB