Taipei’s 40-year-old teppanyaki gem: A hidden cheesecake known only to regulars

Text & Photos /Burnout Nurse

Shanglin Teppanyaki, originally named Shanglin Teppanyaki, is a legendary teppanyaki restaurant over 40 years old located in Taipei’s East District. The chefs here all have 20–30 years of experience. Not only is the food high-quality, but it’s also a popular spot for business owners, political and business elites, and entertainment celebrities to gather.

Today, while driving, I originally planned to grab some steak, but thinking it was a rare day off, I decided to contact “Madam Liao,” the owner. After all, I had promised to retake photos of the desserts last time but never found the time. “I can come take dessert photos today,” I said. The moment I answered the phone, my plan instantly changed from dining in Taipei’s Shangcheng District to the East District.

Following the familiar path, I walked up the red-carpeted stairs. Aside from seeing the peony paintings by the renowned painter “Liao Meihui” at the counter.
“Madam Liao, what are you doing here?” The hospitable Madam Liao was already waiting at the door.
“If you’re coming, of course I’d be here,” Madam Liao greeted with her signature warm smile.
And just like that, I was quietly led into the restaurant.

Inside the restaurant, I saw the familiar Chef Li approaching.
“Are you here to eat today?”
“Yeah~ It’s rare that we come, so we’ll eat and chat a bit,” Madam Liao quietly grabbed some rice balls and headed toward the private room.
“Huh? No way? We’re just here to retake dessert photos.”
“Eat first, then take photos. No rush, no rush. Let’s eat first,” Madam Liao continued to greet us warmly.

Reluctantly agreeing, I thought, might as well write another food review. There might be different dishes this time. I lowered my head and rummaged through my backpack—disaster struck. Oh no—the voice in my head probably screamed at 5,000 decibels. Help!! I forgot to bring the battery for the lighting kit, and when I turned on the camera, it displayed “No memory card”! At this point, if there were a sea nearby, the rice balls would probably jump in.

(Thankfully, there wasn’t.) Luckily, Eslite Bookstore was nearby, where I could probably buy a memory card easily. Just then, I sent a message to Wan|Ke...Da Gei Qie and Qi Gou, asking them to go buy one. My heart was still racing from the earlier scare, and my heart rate was around 100 beats per minute. I kept silently shouting, “Wan|Kao Lai Jiu Chu!” While waiting for a response, I thought about how the photographer might come up with an alternative idea. But the photographer also encountered an unexpected situation. “Ba Meng Ke Dao Hu Liao?” they asked. “Oh, you got it?” I replied.

But by then, if Wan|Yuan could still eat, he was probably already in a state of nervous breakdown. When the mountain doesn’t turn, change the road. Seeing my phone still had 48% battery, I quickly opened the camera app. If Wan|Ke couldn’t make it, I could try using some apps. “Alright, I’ll use these two,” I said, selecting two photography apps from my phone. I opened one of the apps and started taking photos. The photos weren’t bad, and I managed to capture a few decent shots. Honestly, it wasn’t that the photographer didn’t show up—it was just that the situation took an unexpected turn.

It felt like an entire year had passed. You know, in tense situations, every second feels like it’s ticking by... “I’m back!” Wan|Ke returned after what felt like ages. It turned out that while waiting for the customer in the private room, he had taken another detour. “Did you find the dessert place?” the photographer asked. The photographer left and later recounted the story of searching for the dessert place. After some back and forth, “Ah, I got it!” they finally said.

“What soup do you want today?” Seeing the salmon almost finished, Madam Liao asked. “What kind of soups do you have?” I had originally promised not to eat and just focus on taking dessert photos to leave quickly, but I ended up giving in to my cravings. “We have corn soup, pumpkin soup, tomato and basil soup...” “Madam Liao, I’ll have pumpkin soup!” Wan|Yuan, who always speaks up when he hears something he wants to eat, immediately shouted.

At this moment, Sister Chen brought out the nostalgic garlic bread. Shanglin really started out making bread—this garlic bread was seriously delicious. Paired with the smooth pumpkin soup, taking a sip of soup and a bite of bread was incredibly satisfying.

“K8, are you making it pan-seared for them today?” Madam Liao saw Chef Li’s dish and immediately commented. “Madam Liao, how did you know?” “Come on, I’ve been watching for decades. I can tell just by glancing.” This pan-seared white pomfret, paired with the restaurant’s homemade tartar sauce and thinly sliced Parmesan cheese, was garnished with sweet potato leaves (yes, sweet potato leaves). One bite of cheese, one bite of fish—it’s hard to say whether it was the freshness of the ingredients or Chef Li’s incredible cooking skills, but all I could think was, “So good, so good, so good.”

“These are large prawns air-flown from Penghu,” Chef Li said as he placed them on the teppan. The charm of teppanyaki isn’t just the unique flavors from high-heat cooking compared to home-style methods, but also the interaction with the chef. Most importantly, you’re watching a live performance right in front of you.

Pumpkin, prawns, yuzu peel, caviar, paired with butter truffle white wine sauce.

So beautiful it’s almost unreal, and yet so delicious it’s insane. This dish perfectly balances the saltiness of the caviar, the sweetness of the prawns, the tanginess of the yuzu, and the aroma of the truffle white wine sauce. The flavor balance is just right—a taste that makes your eyes light up the moment it hits your mouth.

“Have some salad,” Chef Li quietly brought it to the table.
“Wow~ These greens are so tender!”
“Different, right?” Madam Liao said while eating and chatting, waiting for our reactions. “Very tender, right? Because these are organically grown greenhouse greens.” “Not the kind you usually find in markets.” (And they’re sold by weight, too.) No wonder—the flavor was so unique, even with just a simple pairing of roasted walnuts. No bitterness or grassy taste, the unexpected tenderness and sweetness gave my taste buds a whole new experience.

Today, we had to try the signature ribeye beef roll. The ribeye was cooked to perfection, paired with crisp vegetables. This bite was classic—and, of course, satisfying.

While the taste of the beef roll still lingered, the teppan was sizzling with a “ridiculously delicious-looking ribeye steak.” “What kind of meat is this?” “It’s ribeye.” “How would you like it cooked? Is this okay?” Chef Li asked. With a seasoned chef like him handling it, what wasn’t okay? Of course, it was okay.

Seeing this photo, right? Just leave it to Chef Li, okay? Slice it up nicely and small, mmm~ so delicious~~~ Madam Liao must have some kind of telepathy knowing that Meatball was just about to go eat steak, but today’s dish totally outshines any steakhouse. “When Takeshi Kaneshiro comes, I cook it for him just like this,” Chef Li suddenly said quietly. “Whoa?! Turns out Takeshi Kaneshiro eats here too?” Meatball asked in shock. “Oh, he’s been here many times,” “Last week, James Soong just came too. Earlier, the boss wasn’t here because Mr. Wang Yaoqing was sitting right over there,” “I want to take a photo with Uncle Song!” Meatball started making random wishes. “He’ll be back next week, he’s also a regular,” Who knew Madam Liao would casually add that. (After hearing the list of regulars, you’d think you should apply for a waitstaff job.)

“Let me stir-fry some bean sprouts without bleach for you guys,” Chef Li said quietly again. Same greenhouse-grown organic bean sprouts, paired with fattier cuts from the ribeye and some ground beef, all stir-fried into this dish—of course, it tastes amazing!

“Did you eat your fill today?” Chef Li asked.
“Yes.”
“Are you full?” Madam Liao floated in again.
“The dessert chef is here today, so we’ll give you three kinds of cake. Help us take photos to promote them.”
“Sure, no problem.”
But you jinxed it—usually the dessert after teppanyaki is a tiny little cake. What is this in front of us?
“Our cakes are really delicious!”
“No no, just one piece is enough.”
“One piece each isn’t enough!”
“Wow, this cheesecake is really good!”
“I’ve been eating it since I was a kid. Wherever there’s good food, I’ll go. Bad food, I won’t serve.” When it comes to food, every time Madam Liao talks about it, her eyes shine brightly. She’s the kind of person who dares to spend and eat lavishly (can easily spend NT$20,000 in one meal). If she became a blogger, probably no one else would need to go anywhere.
Seriously, this cheese cake, made with super high-quality ingredients and tasting way better than most famous shops, is priced at only NT$700. That’s really a great deal!

“Here—Black Forest,” the chef brought it in and said. “What Black Forest, it’s Sachertorte!” Madam Liao immediately corrected. Rich chocolate flavor—you can tell the ingredients are top-notch. It’s really delicious too. Meatball felt like Madam Liao’s hobby might be watching everyone’s facial expressions when they taste food. If we smiled, she’d laugh along too.

This is seriously so good!! The walnut chocolate cake is rich, refreshing, dense, yet still has that proper cake texture. Delicious. “I told you, one piece each is definitely not enough,” Madam Liao said proudly. “Hey, where’s the coffee?” Seeing the coffee hadn’t arrived, Madam Liao’s straightforward personality kicked in and she went straight to ask the waiter. A bite of coffee, a bite of cake—so satisfying!

“Want to try our pudding? It’s really good,” as they chatted, Madam Liao suddenly started promoting their own pudding.
“Nooooooooo~~~”
“We’re full.”
“You absolutely have to try it, k8, do we still have pudding?” Madam Liao completely ignored us and went to check on the pudding.
“So good~~~” Dang it, we really are all talk—we actually got won over by the pudding. (And barely touched the escape route.)
“No kidding, we use free-range eggs,” Madam Liao started bragging again.
The caramel is just the right amount of bitter with a nice aftertaste, paired with the smooth pudding—it’s really delicious!!
“So do you get cake after every meal?”
“No, you get pudding.”
“Then what about the cake?”
“Only if regulars ask for it when they come.”
“Whoa” So the cake is actually a hidden item.
“Yeah, some people do order it. Anyway, if you ask, we’ll give it to you.”
So, this day we got to try all the classic desserts at Shanglin. Aside from luck, we really owe it to knowing the boss lady~ (It’s like having prayed sincerely and having the ancestors bless you.)

That day, there was also someone I know—Zhong Tai—who called five minutes too late, so we ended up not connecting. We made plans to have another meal together, and between Liao Tai and Zhong Tai’s chatting, I suddenly had the illusion of turning Rouyuan (me!) into part of some high-society ladies’ circle, haha~ Actually, if anyone wants to spoil Rouyuan, that’s totally fine too~ Getting back to the point, this long-established Shanglin Teppanyaki—there’s no question of just three visits; Zhong Tai has even been here 30 times in five months. There’s no particularly special reason—it’s just that the ingredients are genuinely fresh and delicious, giving off that kind of addictive, nostalgic feeling once you’ve tried it. A classic is a classic.

The Sunlit Teppanyaki Shanglin Teppanyaki Restaurant
Address: 1F, No. 10, Lane 247, Section 1, Dunhua South Road, Da’an District, Taipei City
Tel: 02-2752-8569
Business Hours: 11:30–14:30 / 17:30–22:30

We’re overworked nurses “Rouyuan” & “Wan | Junbao... came across this blog and felt we had to share our deep appreciation and joy here, introducing the hidden gems and local flavors of Taiwan, hoping many friends will also remember the heartfelt feelings from this place.
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