Speakeasy in the Alley

"Do you serve any food?" It's probably a bit rude to walk in to the bar and immediately ask for food, but then we were desperately hungry (and thirsty too, but in this order) after the concert late evening so we got to have our priority straightened out first. 

Unagi and Izakaya

We have long anticipated the opening of Uza, the new concept by our friend Anthony with the name a combination of Unagi and Izakaya which also described what this establishment does - a casual Japanese pub (izakaya) specializing in eel cuisine (Unagi). He first tested this at a pop-up event 2 years ago (which I enjoyed) and finally managed to open its doors after some delays (partly because of Covid) and my friends and I went to visit recently. 

Punjabi Feast After 9

We loved our late night dining experience at the Black Sheep Black Series last time around at Belon, and so when the restaurant group did it again offering set menus at special price in all of their restaurants, we decided to check out New Punjab Club on Wyndham Street. It’s a restaurant we heard a lot of good words about but never got around to visit, so this promotion just worked out perfectly for us.

Late Night Fine Dining

Eager to explore more of the rising Taipei restaurant scene, we made a reservation to eat at Longtail, helmed by the young Chef Kin Lam. We have long heard good things about the restaurant and the chef and we regrettably missed out last year when he returned to his hometown Hong Kong for a brief pop-up to much acclaim, so this is how we made amend to that.

Belon Encore

When a local restaurant group in town launched a week-long promotion called “Black Series” in early August, “featuring iconic dishes and signature menus at exception value” in all of its restaurants, we thought we should take advantage of the discount and checked out a few places during that week.

Kushikatsu Dinner

We came across this little izakaya in Causeway Bay specializing in Kushikatsu, when we were looking for a casual bite in the area on a Friday evening. When we found out there’s no space at the yakitori joint we frequented in the area, we made a call to this restaurant called JunG39 with short notice and asked them to save two spots at the counter for us while we made our way over.

Post Concert Yakitori and Cheese

We were desperate for food the moment we stepped out of the Cultural Centre after a classical concert on a Friday night, and I remembered there's this new bistro/bar which just opened in TST East just a few weeks ago. So after a quick phone call to make sure their kitchen is still open this late  (we wanted some hot food), we hopped on the bus and made a quick ride over for a late night supper.

On My Day Off: Izakaya Dinner

A long story why I ended up on this side of harbor after spending a good afternoon browsing through exhibits at the Art Basel on the other side (alright, for me it’s more about the champagne at the VIP lounge than the art pieces, I admit), but anyway, since we were around this neighborhood (TST, that is), I thought it's a good idea to check out this new Japanese izakaya nearby that I always meant to try. Goshaku sat on the sixth floor of a commercial building on Knutsford Terrace and behind the restaurant was the same team which operates Keyaki near LKF and a handful of other Japanese casual diners around town.

50 Hours in Tokyo: Izakaya at 1am

What sounded like a crazy idea of spending the weekend in Tokyo was made possible by the attractive "Fanfare" offer by Cathay Pacific plus a favorable flight schedule, allowing me to fly out early Friday evening and returning on a red-eye flight early Monday morning, giving me a full 50 hours on the ground. I have been joking about doing this for a while but it's only the first time I actually made this into reality.

Late Night Teppanyaki

We were looking for a place for post-concert supper when we "stumbled" across this little Japanese restaurant called "Kozy Okonomi-yaki Teppan-yaki" in Causeway Bay on Google search. A quick glance at the online reviews did look promising, so we trekked over across the harbor from the concert hall after the show ended at 10pm, figured it would be interesting to try out a new place for a quick late-night treat.

Blowing the cover on Hidden Kitchen

We first heard of this speakeasy-style kushiage/izakaya restaurant in Causeway Bay called Hidden Kitchen from a few chef friends of ours, who mentioned in separate conversations that this is their go-to place for a quick bite after work. Well, obviously they knew more than a thing or two with food so with such recommendations, a few weeks ago the CHF gang went to check out the place and we loved it. I thought that's probably the best late-night spot in this busy neighborhood (they opened til 4:30am)