Open until 2 AM!Getang Night Market seafood N< with up to 14 slices of sashimi

Text and photos by /Ah Mon

The other day, while accompanying a friend to explore Fengjia Night Market, I spotted this Japanese restaurant called Yutale. Thinking it had been ages since I last had Japanese food, I discussed it with my friend and decided to have dinner here. The restaurant is located on Fuxing Road, quite close to Fengjia Night Market, situated more toward the outer edge of the area. Right next to it is the Fuxing multi-level parking lot, so parking is pretty convenient. According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, their specialty is affordable seafood. They serve rice and nigiri sushi, with business hours from 5:30 p.m. to 2 a.m., making it something of a late-night eatery — after all, there are very few Japanese restaurants in Taichung open until 2 a.m., so I really envy people who live nearby, as they can enjoy seafood and sushi for a late-night snack XD

Yutale Japanese Restaurant’s signboard features black text on a white background, making it quite eye-catching among the other signs along the street.

At the entrance, there was a small blackboard listing some cooked rice bowl dishes, all priced quite reasonably. Perhaps to accommodate customers who don’t eat raw fish, they also offer cooked options.

The kitchen is set up outside the restaurant, so as soon as you approach the entrance, you can see the refrigerated display case, which already had some fish inside—probably salmon and tuna. It looked fairly average; we’d find out how it tasted soon enough.

We arrived around 8 PM, and the place was practically empty. There seemed to be over 20 seats available, so we just picked a table and ordered. By the time we were halfway through our meal, several other groups had come in, and it seemed like there were quite a few students—lots of young people.

Sashimi, grilled items, combo set N<, hand rolls
Yutale Japanese Restaurant offers a diverse menu, ranging from sashimi to N< rice, sushi, and hand rolls. The menu is fairly comprehensive, and prices are mostly budget-friendly. There are quite a few types of sashimi. If you don’t know what to choose, you can also go for a mixed sashimi platter. Today I originally wanted to order the mixed sashimi, but after asking about the fish types, I didn’t find them very appealing, so I didn’t go ahead with it.

What surprised me the most was that they actually offer combo sets N<, mainly featuring grilled beef, grilled salmon, grilled spaghetti eel, and other seafood ingredients, combined into double servings. It’s somewhat like semi-prepared food—you can enjoy two types of grilled items in one go. For example, the grilled spaghetti eel and scallop combo N< sounds really delicious, and it’s only about $300, which doesn’t seem too expensive. But in the end, I still decided to go with raw items, XD.

Sushi platter
Originally, I wanted to try the mixed sushi set with 8 pieces, but my friend said he wasn’t very hungry lately, so we opted instead for four individual sushi pieces. The staff was kind enough to bring all four at once XD. The nigiri sushi we ordered included salmon belly, swordfish, tuna, and a scallop gunkan maki.

Swordfish nigiri – $30
Just in terms of price, I thought it was a bit steep. Both the fish and the vinegared rice portions were on the small side. My friend also said he found them just okay after trying them.

Tuna Nigiri – $40
The tuna slices here are cut a bit thicker than at other seafood places. Additionally, a layer of soy sauce is brushed on them, making them look even more delicious than the previous swordfish XDDD.

Salmon belly nigiri – $50
This was the most expensive piece in the set, but also the one my friend liked the most. The thickness, size, and color of the salmon belly were all great. For the price, it was quite a good deal, and it tasted really good too—I’d definitely recommend it.

Scallop gunkan maki – $30

I didn’t quite get why my friend ordered this one—he probably hadn’t had scallops in a while XD. But the portion was quite generous, almost hiding the rice underneath, and it was topped with some crispy chopped green onions and white sesame seeds for added texture and aroma. It was a pretty good value item.

Seafood Rice (NT$220)
Since online reviews highlighted their seafood dishes, we ended up ordering the one marked with a “recommended” red label on the menu. It costs NT$220, which is pretty affordable. When the rice set arrived, it gave me a little surprise—the presentation looked very generous. I counted and found salmon, tuna, swordfish, herring roe, shrimp roe, crab meat, and more. There were 14 slices of sashimi alone, plus other ingredients like shrimp roe, crab meat, and onions. I think it offers really good value for money, and the salmon slices were so thick...

It made our mouths water—the bottom layer of rice was cold vinegar rice, a very traditional preparation. The acidity of the vinegar rice was mild, not overly sour to the point of being off-putting. On a hot day, it’s actually quite appetizing.

Tuna, swordfish, shrimp roe
These are all fairly common seafood. There were four slices of tuna sashimi (the original said Qiyu, which is actually marlin or swordfish, but the writer mentioned not liking it and wanting salmon instead), which was a fairly generous portion, but I don’t like marlin/swordfish (T^T), can I please get it replaced with salmon? The tuna sashimi had two slices, and it seemed to be from the akami (lean) part—it tasted pretty average. It would probably taste better with a bit of soy sauce. As for the shrimp roe, it’s recommended to mix it with the vinegar rice, which enhances the texture. Of course, you can also just pop the whole thing in your mouth, but that might be a bit challenging.

Yellowtail, crab sticks
When I first saw this on the menu, I wondered what kind of fish it was, but after checking the seafood N< I saw these golden ingredients and guessed it was fish roe. One seafood N< comes with 4 pieces, but this isn't real fish—it's a mixture of fish paste and fish eggs. It has a granular texture, which is why it's popular. It tastes a bit salty, but I’m not a big fan. I ate one piece and gave the rest to my friend XD. Next to it are crab sticks, which also seem to be made from fish paste. They taste pretty average.

Salmon
Overall, this seafood N

In the corner of the restaurant, there was a large rice-cooker-like electric pot. At first, I thought it was for storing vinegar rice, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a soup pot—used for miso soup.

Miso soup – $30
The soup isn’t complimentary here—it’s an additional order. But when we heard it was a “miso fish soup” and that you could refill it unlimited times, we instantly felt the owner was really generous. You can even add as much green onion and kelp as you like. No wonder nearly every table had ordered soup. So of course, we each got a bowl too XD. After your initial serving, you can go help yourself to refills.

If it were just regular miso soup, I’d say $30 per bowl is pretty steep. But with the addition of fish and unlimited refills, the value suddenly becomes amazing. When I scooped around with my spoon, there were quite a few fish slices k8. Just drinking this soup felt like getting your money’s worth. The saltiness was mild, the taste smooth, and it had a slight sweetness from the fish—it was really quite delicious. I highly recommend everyone try a bowl XDD.

Yutale Japanese Restaurant

Phone: 0966281589
Address: No. 595, Fuxing Road, West District, Taichung City
Price: $100 and up
Dining date: October 2017

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