[Taipei, Taiwan] - 89活海產/89 Seafood

One of the best meals I have ever had - dare I say, in my life? - was right here at 89 Seafood. A big reason why I went to Hokkaido was to get my crab on. Which we did, but being a buffet, the quality just wasn't what I had hoped for. Enter 89 Seafood. I first watched it on the Taiwanese news, a Taiwanese food show, and then read a ton of Taiwanese blogs. Bottom line, this restaurant is completely unassuming and simple but the crab is so fresh and grilled to perfection that it's actually comparable to eating it in Hokkaido itself.

89 Seafood is located between two MRT stops so if you aren't taking a cab, you're in for a 10 minute walk. The day I went, it felt longer because it was raining and I decided to be extra Seattle-y and skip out on the umbrella (I know better, I don't know what I was thinking). Walking down the street and looking at all of the restaurants you wouldn't even think twice about it. But, fantastical crabby goodness awaits inside those drab walls. The first thing you see is the garden variety sign buried amongst all of the others along that street. The second is the kitchen. That's right, the kitchen is right alongside the street. The kitchen too, looks completely pedestrian. There are woks, grills, cutting boards, and orders dangling from a metal wire. Like every other restaurant. Nothing makes it stand out. Not here in Taipei anyway. But then you hear the raucous laughter coming from inside; you want to go inside and partake in that kind of fun. 

Step past the kitchen and immediately to the right you see two large tanks filled to the brim with Hokkaido King Crabs. At first I didn't even see the other fish on the left on ice. I saw those on my way out. Apparently I have a one track mind. There are maybe six or seven tables in the entire restaurant. That said, make reservations! We were there in the middle of the week and the place was packed. A lot of reviewers said to bring at least seven people. I brought four others. The five of us would take down this beast. The less people there are, the more crab there is for our greed (I invited my cousin to bring her boyfriend, but she didn't invite him... one can only assume it was so she could eat more without him). She got there before we did and mentioned that they already started on our crab, but that it weighed around 6 kilos. I wasn't sure how much it was per pound, but I had a fat stack in my wallet that I hoped was enough. Yes friends, this place is cash only! If you intend on eating here, be sure to have enough!

While we were a little disappointed that we didn't get a picture with our crab, they told us we could take pictures with them after dinner. While we waited for our crab, we ordered a few other items. It was hard to guess how much to order since we weren't sure how much the crab would fill us up. We ordered a few meat items and two veggies. The waitress said, are you sure you want that many veggies? There is Napa cabbage in the hot pot (along with corn and some clams!). Dur. Strike that. We kept the bird's nest fern, the fried cuttlefish, the soy sauce tofu, and the stir fried goat. There are a ton of other things that you can order, but because we had the least amount of people at our table in the entire restaurant, we had to show some restraint. We did get to see the majority of the menu appear at the table across from us, which had at least fifteen people - but they did have to all share that one crab. So who is the winner, really?

The "small" legs go in the hot pot. Scroll down to see the big legs.

滷肉飯//Stewed pork belly over rice - all you can eat

It looks like the pot is small, but really, the crab is just that big!

炸軟絲//Fried cuttlefish

Don't leave it in too long, otherwise you're just wasting fantastically 
fresh Hokkaido King Crab! Just long enough that it's al dente is perfect. 

This crab head took up most of the space in this pot, which is more 
the size of a small wash bin.

One BIG claw.

First time trying the premium; it was refreshing!

Soy sauce tofu.

The big legs.

​​破布子炒山蘇//bird’s nest fern

This claw is the size of her hand!

Stir fried goat

Dessert of small, sweet tomatoes.

Cheers to those who are lucky enough to come here all of the time 

and leave a bottle of Blue Label, Glenfiddich 18yr, or Ballantines 17yr 

for each meal!

Outside the restaurant was this guy, Big Boss Cat (literal translation 
of his name). He sits there every day and people feed him. He is one 
of the luckier strays.

Address:

No. 89號, Hejiang Street
Zhongshan District
Taipei City, Taiwan 10491

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