One of the most exclusive Japanese restaurants in town, Suntory aims to provide highly personalized service. "With so many good Japanese restaurants in Taipei, we have focused on providing the best service [to distinguish ourselves,]" said Lilian Yeung (
Suntory specializes in kaiseiki cuisine, a style that emerged from Zen practice but developed into a form of super-delicate food art. Portions are small, and you are expected to savor each mouthful. At Suntory, the effort is definitely worthwhile.
While there is an a la carte menu, most diners opt for the range of set menus, which start around NT$900 for a lunch set and going up to around NT$3000. "It is in the set menus that our quality shows," said chef Sakamoto Mitsuhiro. "It gives us the opportunity to present some unusual dishes that you can rarely taste in Taiwan."
PHOTO COURTESY OF SUNTORY
Suntory usually offers around 10 set menus and a number of specials, such as the current promotion of kaiseiki cuisine from the Niigata region, which is particularly famous for the quality of its rice and seafood. An amazingly simple dish, the steamed koshihikari rice (
Soups are often the test of a restaurant, and nothing is simpler than miso -- but Suntory adds queen crab craw, and simple flavorings of spring onion, seaweed and tofu. True to the old-fashioned authenticity that Suntory espouses, the soup is kept warm with a heated stone placed in the stoneware bowl in which it is served. It is these little touches that you pay for at Suntory. "It is in such ways that we are different," Yeung said. "It is the sort of thing you can only expect in a five-star hotel."
Suntory is not a hearty dinner option by any means, and you'll drop quite a lot of cash, but it is probably one of the most authentic Japanese experiences available, which many celebrities from finance, entertainment and politics have endorsed by their patronage.
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