No. 241, Rende St, Qianjin Dist
高雄市前金區仁德街241號1樓
(07)726-6803
Monday-Sunday
6:00pm-1:00am
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sumikikori
English friendly: no
vegetarian friendly: no
average cost: 300-400NTD
This is really just another Japanese BBQ place, but I am always one to take advantage of the opportunity to say "kebab" when presented with it.
Our kebab bar finds itself located in a random alleyway off the main roads, just like I like it. There are no other real restaurants or shops open in the area at night, at least from what I could tell, so it feels like your own little secret. Yours and my little secret, now.
It is not actually blurry in real life! And once again the interior decoration is pretty damn cool, this time going for more of a Japanese pop-art/comic book style, with brightly colored Japanese advertisements and posters plastered all over the four walls. About half of the restaurant (pretty small overall) is taken up by the sit-down kebab bar, and the rest is given over to low tables and stools for larger parties.
Their menu is full of creative combinations of meat and other things, some of which you won't find anywhere else, as well as a nice selection of beers and other alcohols. Take my hand, and let us explore some choice menu options together...
We got three free side dishes for knowing the owner, ho ho ho. Be sure to tell them Kaohsiung Gastronaut Handbook sent you if you go visit. It will definitely get you nothing at all.
Their kimchi, in the upper left, is an incredible triumph of science! It has all the bright redness and sour flavor of Korean kimchi without being spicy at all... modified to suit Taiwanese tastes, of course. The radish and pomelo in sweet syrup in front were really refreshing (I thought they were sliced pears!) and the "drunk" cherry tomatoes in the upper right were also really good: just the right amount of sweet, and bursting with juices.
Woohoo! Here we have "five flower" pork (still trying to figure out what part of the pig that is) kebab'd and smothered in scallions. REALLY juicy, really good: the scallions melded perfectly with oils from the pork to make a sort of sauce. Just look at the picture and you know it was good.
Whatever fish they had on had that day (apparently all their meats are bought fresh in the morning, so fish options depend on that day's catch), cooked to a beauuutiful golden color. Difficult to eat for all the bones (they made up like 30% of the total mass of the fish), but good.
This. Chicken. Was. SOOOOO juicy, oh my goodness. Very well cooked, approval all around.
And here we have an interesting garlic and clam soup, purported to help ladies (also gents) keep up some aspect of their health, or something. You know how it is. All the spiciness has been stewed out of the garlic cloves so you can eat them straight; they are soft and mildly potato-y, and will still make your breath smell the following morning. The soup tasted... sort of exactly how it looks in the picture. Kind of greyish. A little salty, a little garlicky. Not terrible. Still, any time someone tells you a certain dish is good for your health (or, even worse, your ladyhealth) you should be a little wary.
Noodles!!! Only I would end up with noodles at a kebab place. (It wasn't even me who ordered them!!!) I sort of wish they hadn't been smothered in that stinky Japanese dried shredded ham stuff, which wriggles like it's alive when put on top of any thing hot, but even as much as I dislike the stuff I still liked the noodles. I don't know if that says more about this restaurant or my love of noodles... The sauce was thick and smoky, as were the noodles. Nice.
Last up, and on one plate because I was tired of taking pictures, we have pork wrapped around mochi again and chicken balls with an egg yolk dipping sauce. I think the mochi pork was an improvement on that of Dashoushao, mostly because the pork was thicker and juicier. The mochi itself was still pretty flavorless (though chewy as always!).
The chicken balls were really entertaining--before eating them you mix up the sauce in the bowl and roll them around in it--but tasted mostly like chicken meatloaf. Juicy chicken meatloaf, but chicken meatloaf nonetheless. This is partly because they included bits of ground up "soft bones" for texture. So if you think you would be into that, great!
Unfortunately, this place is also realll damned expensive. IF, however, one were--for the sake of objectivity--to discount the price as well as the fact that one (personally) is not a huge fan of eating tons of meat at a time, I think--objectively--it is pretty close to a perfect version of what it wants to be. An interesting, fun, and delicious dining experience. Highly recommended.
OVERALL RATING: 4/5
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