Izakaya Adventure

 It has been YEARS since I've been to a 居酒屋/izakaya and this past Saturday I had the chance to go to one with my friend!

The weather has been much more chilly recently, so it's time for the long sleeves and jackets~  I ought to get some short jackets as I've currently only got hoodies, a couple baseball-style jackets, and then a full-length winter coat.

KC, JSK: BABY THE STARS SHINE BRIGHT

Underskirt: Forest Song (taobao)

Shoes: Sheep Puff (taobao)
Bag: Swimmer Japan

Love this print

The izakaya we went to was the Ximen branch of 狗一下/Dog (I actually don't know if it's got an English name) which I'd passed by several times before and seen ads for on Instagram.

The staff was pretty nice.  Stayed out of the way but was available for questions and sake recommendation.  The grilled shrimp was available as an add-on for a reduced price, and the staff told us to just tell them if we wanted the shrimp rather than ordering via the QR code menu as the price would be different.

Mentaiko shrimp

According to the ads I'd seen, the caterpillar (California style) sushi rolls were highly recommended, so we ordered a salmon one.  This dish and the grilled shrimp were my favorites of the whole meal!

Salmon caterpillar roll

We also got a bowl of sashimi which was decent.  The shrimp was pretty nice!  The oyster shell is decoration only 😸

The skewers were pretty average.  I liked the seasoning.

Mushroom and scallops
Not pictured: Chicken skewers

And we got some veggies to be ~healthy~ 😹

We also got a small 300ml bottle of sake.  The warmer (steel container on the left) gently heated up the sake in hot water. We also tried a bit of it cold.  I personally prefer this one warm!  It feels nice in the chilly weather to have some warm sake~

Overall, it was a pretty decent izakaya.  Not spectacular, but not bad.  The location is relatively convenient, and there are loads of shops nearby to browse as Ximending is a popular destination.  The eating time is only 90 minutes, so with more people, it may feel rushed if you'd prefer to eat and chat for a while.  For just the two of us (the other two people cancelled last minute) 90 minutes was an ok amount of time to eat and chat.

The price point is high, as all izakaya are 🙀 which is part of the reason I haven't gone to one in years. This meal was over NT$2000 🙀

My friend also gave me some gifts!

From the maid cafe event (see previous post) he'd received a thick, printed paper coaster (I believe it's because our combined bill was over $1000?) but didn't know what to do with it so he gave it to me 😹

He also got me these placemats from a 7-11 collab!  They're so cute!  Since I only have two seating spaces at my counter, it's perfect~

And finally is this double-sided Violet Mizutsune/Mizutsune keychain!  This was from a pop-up he'd been to recently and he picked up some of these keychains for Monster Hunter friends~  The art is by a local artist and I love the little bubbled Palico detail!

Violet Mizutsune

Mizutsune

It was a fun day!

Have you ever been to an izakaya?  If so, what do you like to order there?