I eat a lot of yakitori and yakiniku in Taipei. I drink a lot of beer. And I love heading out for spontaneous izakaya meals on weeknights. (And also weekends, who are we kidding here.)
There are a lot of places in Taipei that satisfy these basic requirements, but there are also a lot of places that simply phone it in. Spend too much time and too much money at the lesser places, and you eventually come to treasure the good ones.
One place I’ve been to going back to a lot is Kurume Izakaya [酒留米日式精食居酒屋] near Taipei Main Station. We stumbled into it a few months ago while killing time around Q Square Mall. So yes, it’s a little out of the way, but it hasn’t let me down yet…
Everything I’ve ordered here just tastes more delicious than at other yakitori places I’ve been to so far. First things first. The Orion beer is so cold that ice particles form on the rim of the mug.
Even the standard stuff like the baby corn and the king oyster mushrooms are exceptional. My favorite, the chicken meatball skewer, tastes so chicken-y it makes me want to cry. Its name in Chinese translates to “chicken skewer looks at the moon” referring to the bright yellow yolk it’s served with. Poetry on a stick.
They have all types of bottled beers and sakes. I stick to the ice cold Orion draught at 150NT because I’m loyal and boring.
The restaurant opened two years ago, probably the result of big bang explosion of knick-knacks.
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A couple of things to know before you go:
They’re closed on Mondays. Rest of the week they’re open 5:30pm – 2am. The kitchen takes last call at 11:30pm.
Unless you’re dropping in late night, it’s safer to call ahead and make a reservation: 02 2567 3367
The menu is Chinese only. Here’s the Instagram location page where others have posted food shots. Point and eat.
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Kurume Izakaya