I had been hoping for this for a while. Yes, it is America and I’ve had barbecue, but I have had a Puerto Rican dish too, and Hawaii is very far away from America in pretty much every respect. In the same way that if I was to find Chamorro food (from Guam) I‘d also include it.
It was a pretty bleak day out, so I figured I’d go out to for some fake tan sunshine grass skirt, tiki tiki hula action to lighten the mood. Then I realized that actually, I do all that at home anyway, so it is no different to a regular day.
There are a few Hawaiian places in Taipei and most of them apparently aren’t authentic. I’d had poke before and enjoyed it but from what I’ve been told the places I’ve been to didn’t cut it. This came from Hawaiian native Dr. J who, although she isn’t the NBA star from the 70’s, does have a fine head of hair in her own right. I can only hope the good Doctor approves, because she would not hesitate to tell me otherwise.
So Kame House won my favour mostly due to very good reviews, and the prices seeming to reflect what someone who was homesick would be happy to pay, for a bit of home. Homesickness is never really a factor in my world (especially right at this moment, as I write Manchester has just gone into a severe lockdown against the wishes of the Mayor and Mancs in general. That will not go down very well). I do feel like I need to check in with the UK every now and then, but when I do, I always end up freaking out about the amount of choice there is compared to Taipei for everything. A supermarket alone can be a dizzying experience; just walking down the breakfast cereal aisle is enough to bring on palpitations. I can spend hours in bookshops or whatever when all Mrs. Bao wants to do is see tourist attractions.
I arrived early because I had other appointments today and wanted to be sure I could pack in all my usual stuff, along with a quick mooch around the shops, a chance I don’t get much these days. As is often the case, I was the only diner in the place, and I had forgotten about the concept of Halloween.
The décor is probably great when it is not Halloween. It feels bright, fresh and smelled like a restaurant in London which I have no idea what that reads like, but trust me, it does. As Preschooler Bao’s kindergarten doesn’t celebrate Halloween, and I haven’t been teaching for a while, I’d forgotten it was coming. Maybe it is also 2020ness as well, who knows.
The menu is pretty extensive, ranging from about 300NT to 3000NT for steak. They have teppanyaki and various other things too, but as I still have a limited budget, everything looked good, and I haven’t really got a bloody clue what I’m doing, I went for the mixed plate which contained a mini loco moco, poke, fried shrimp, a mini burger and some not on the menu fried chicken. You have a choice of two sides and I went for fries and roasted veg. As I was keeping it under 500, I didn’t get a drink.
The plate is advertised on the menu as being cheehuuuuu, as I have no idea what that means; I can only surmise that it is a good thing, so I’ll repeat it: cheehuuuuu. It was really great, and I’d have the larger versions of each of them any day of the week. I’ve forgotten how I can describe them to be honest, other than they tasted tip top and I want to go back, probably with other people for teppanyaki and not be a Billy no mates.
So yes, worth the trip to the posh end of town near Sun Yet San Memorial Hall and Taipei City Hall. The door to the place is pretty non-descript (at least in the daytime) so it is possible to blink and miss it but definitely poke your head in. It is good stuff, and there are no pineapples.
Next week promises to be well outside any frame of reference I have for food, so I’m really looking forward to it.
Cheers for your support!
Menu (partial)
Address: No. 13, Lane 32, Yixian Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
It is apparently a four minute walk from Sun Yet San Memorial Hall MRT on the blue line, so easy to get to. Unless you are a bit ‘eads gone like me and get lost in the alleys.
52 Cuisines? 