金子半之助

Unquestionably one if the top tempura restaurants in the world. This branch is small and and one can expect a long wait to be seated; select seating in the food court area will significantly reduce wait time, which I highly recommend for those who are not fond of waiting. Nonetheless, it is still worthwhile to dine here when one has the urge to eat tempura.

3.7/4
Situated in the Taipei Breeze Main Station, the restaurant is surrounded by numerous other dining options, and the area is always bustling with activity. The presentation of the dish was visually appealing and Instagram-worthy, but I found the noodles and dipping sauce to be somewhat lackluster in taste. I personally think the dish could benefit from more flavor. The tempura was satisfactory, and overall, the meal was relatively light. The interior had a contemporary Japanese vibe to it, and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, making for an enjoyable dining experience.

I found this restaurant while walking around the basement of building A8 of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xin Yi Place in Taipei, Taiwan. The basement of building A8 is one of several of those within the complex that has a food court area, but this Kaneko Hannosuke outlet has its own enclosed dining space.

We ordered 2 portions of the tendon, or tempura donburi (Japanese for "tempura over rice"), which is what Kaneko Hannosuke is famous for. Our tendon featured eel, and I think specifically anago (saltwater) eel. The donburi comes in what appears to be a deep bowl (more on this later), topped with assorted tempura including: 2 pieces of shrimp, 1 shishito pepper, 1 diced squid patty, an onsen-style egg and a big ol' slab of the aforementioned eel.

As was explained to me by our server, you can make space in your bowl by setting aside some of the tempura, giving you the space you need to center the onsen-style egg and cut it open allowing all the gooey richness of the yolk to cover the rice.

Each table has a tub of pickled ginger (gari) and another of yuzu infused pickled radish (daikon) slices, both of which make a terrific accompaniment to the tempura flavors. There is also a bamboo container or togarashi chili powder. There is no tempura dipping sauce as tendon is typically served with a slightly sweet savory sauce covering the tempura (which we were able to request more of on the side).

The tendon was delicious in general, but the bowl is actually shallower than it looks. While this looks like a rice heavy dish on first glance, it actually only contains the equivalent of a single portion of rice as you would find if you were to order a standard bowl of white rice in say a Chinese restaurant. The shrimp were also on the small and could have been bigger.

Definitely on my list of regular places to eat at while in Taipei.

Pro service with tasty meal. Side dishes are free. Same food quality like Japan. Fresh seafood made the meal good,