We saw a big building. Next to it was a 15″x15″ sign with a couple of words written in mandarin. My family and I approached the sign and saw a fancy stairway curving down . There were tropical plants around it, and a beautiful waterfall. As we got closer, a lady opens the double glass door and invited us to step inside. We were escorted through a dark bamboo forest. We heard the sounds of birds and crickets, but there wasn’t a single one in sight. Though we did notice small rectangular tables around the bamboos and a beautifully designed Sushi bar.
Since there were 5 of us, we were guided to a private room with a huge class window overlooking the beautiful ambiance that we had just witnessed. One of the waiters came and gave each one of us a menu and started to warm up a ceramic teapot right there in the room. The minute steam started to come out, he poured a cup of tea for each one of us. The other waiter brought in a tray with clean, warm hand towels for everyone. Sounds nice doesn’t it? After we decided on the food we wanted, one of the waiters took our order and came back shortly with several sheets of papers. Apparently, the items we each ordered was printed on individual sheets like personalized menus. There was also a description of what we would see on our plates once it is served, such as names of the vegetables in the dish, type of fish, type of beef, etc. It was dated and stamped at the bottom. They told us to put it next to our plates so we would know what we ate, and what would be served next.
Voila! The first plate came out and we thought that after we got out of there, we would need to go to McDonald’s. Little did we know that by the time the main course came, we were barely able to put it in our mouth. But, IT WAS SO DELICIOUS! So, we made the effort to finish every bit of food that was served.
Like many of the other restaurants I have visited, the presentation of the food at this restaurant was equally good. Sometimes, we think that the food may look good but taste bad or even old. NAH! Not this restaurant. For over $100 per person, I gotta say that they did pick the best available. That is an A++++. No questions about it! The manager even stopped by to ask us if we were happy with the food , and if we had enough to eat. She was willing to ask the chef to make something else for us, without additional charge. That did sound great, but as much as we wanted to have some free stuff, we simply could not fit anything else in our stomachs.
I must say, this is definitely the place to go if you are in Taipei and have extra money to spend. Most importantly, it’s great if you are not traveling in a large group ’cause the bill could leave you without any spare change. This restaurant did not need a huge sign or any word that said, “Restaurant” because it is famous through word of mouth. So, let me tell you the name of this restaurant. It’s Shintori.
B1, #80, Section 1, Chien-Kuo North Road
Taipei, Taiwan
Phone: (02) 2577-2727
Open: 11am to 2pm, 5pm to 9pm, seven days a week
By the way, the pictures shown here are only part of one person’s menu.
1. Weirdest thing you have had for breakfast?
* Deep fried salted-dried-fish with a lot of steamed rice because it was way too salty.
2. Most desperate meal you've ever had?
* I remember 2 desperate moments. The first one, I dumped a pack of Lit'l Smokey's sausages, a cup of rice and 2 cups of water into the rice cooker. The second time, I put a piece of frozen chicken and poured a can of V8 into it, boiled and ate it. Of course, there are other moments when I just picked out frozen food and microwaved them. But, since I try my best to eat personally cooked meals, these were my most desperate moments.
3. When you eat too much, you...
* I get horrible heartburn and my whole body swells up like a propane tank. Short, round and filled up! You don't want to know what happens after that... 
