You Sushi 游壽司 @ Taipei (2025)

Taipei has some of the best Japanese restaurants outside of Japan, and I returned to this excellent sushiya near Yongkang Street.

Yongkang Street 永康街 district is Ground Zero for food, where world-class eateries and restaurants that cater to every level of the budget can be found. For a restaurant to survive here is quite something, not to mention if it has two branches within walking distance to each other.

You Sushi 游壽司 is one of the most popular and longest-running in the Yongkang Street district. It has become so successful that they have three branches, two of which are within walking distance to each other, and one for in Zhongshan district.

The seafood is from a mix of Japan and Taiwan to keep the price reasonable. But the quality is not compromised even if the fishes used are from Taiwan.

Omakase or “I leave it to you” is a chef-curated dinner, where the chef will decide what you have and in what sequence. Good omakase is like a well planned concert; you have an overture, followed by the concerto and then the symphony, ending with a couple of encores. Let’s trace the night’s repertoire in chronological order.

Once the itamae understood our part’s preference and allergy (which we have none), the otoshi was served. And this was like a warm-up to the rest of the meal, nothing too substantial and usually a tangy item like this mozuku seaweed with vinegar and yamaimo.

Hirame 鮃 and Engawa 縁側 (Flouder and Fin)

As an overture, three types of sashimi were served, starting with hirame 鮃 (olive flounder) and engawa 縁側 (flouder fin). The hirame was served as-is with a sprinkle of lime zest, very refreshing and great texture. The engawa was aburi-ed and smothered with a light layer of soy sauce, the flame brought out the fattiness of the fish that was balanced with the salty-sweet sauce.

Awabi 鮑 (Abalone) from South Africa 南非鮑魚

Next up, half a braised South African abalone, juicy and tender, but this is one ingredient that I have yet to learn to appreciate. Not many shellfish are in season in the summer; awabi is the exception. This shellfish feeds mostly on kelp, and therefore has a lovely, sweet flavour of the sea, and a nice crunchy texture.

Amaebi 甘海老 (Deep Water Shrimp) 甜蝦

Amaebi 甘えび (sweet prawn) live in 500 to nearly 2000 feet of water. They taste best when sourced from the cold waters of Hokkaido, and have a soft texture and sweet, lingering flavour. Fresh sweet prawn is eye-catching because it shines bright red with a sense of transparency. Often confused with botanebi, amaebi has a softer texture.

Deep fried shredded burdock hand roll 炸牛蒡絲手卷

And before proceeding to the sushi, we were handed a hand roll with deep fried shredded gobo ごぼう (burdock) and apple. The crunchy burdock and apple with contrasting taste (savoury and sweet) worked together harmoniously, like a wonderful interlude in anticipation to the main bill.

Yariika (Spear Squid) from Taiwan Northeast Cape 台灣東北角 軟絲

The first piece of sushi for the evening, Yariika ヤリイカ (Spear Squid) from Taiwan Northeast Cape. The squid was very fresh and still slightly translucent. After slicing the piece of squid and just prior to serving, the itamae will slice thin cuts throughout the tane (as can be seen in the photo above) in order to tenderise the flesh. If it is allowed to age for about a day, it looses its translucence, turns completely white, and acquires a sweet flavour that is hard to beat. The seafood in Taiwan is just as good as Japan, and it showed in this nigiri sushi.

Shima-aji 縞鯵 (Striped Jack) 白甘

Then, it was followed by shima-aji 縞鯵 (striped jack) or 白甘. This fish signifies summertime, with its shun period from June to August. However wild-caught shima-aji from Japan is very rare, making this Hokkaido-sourced shima-aji a surprised netat for this evening. It was miles better than the farmed version, more flavour and texture.

At this point in the dinner, a nice dry sake was in order. This is Hakkaisan’s classic sake , a style referred to as tanrei karakuchi 淡麗辛口, featuring a smooth texture, an elegant flavour, and a crisp finish.

Kaki 牡蠣 (Hokkaido Oyster) 北海道生蠔

The next interlude, kind of a palate cleanser, was a freshly shucked kaki 牡蠣served in a ponzu sauce with spicy radish, kelp and scallions. The oyster was large and plump with a good creamy texture and flavours of the sea.

Hamachi 魬 (Japanese amberjack) 青甘

Buri 鰤 (Japanese amberjack), or 青甘 in Taiwan, has been favoured as a sushi ingredient since the Edo period for its delicious fattiness during winter. Hamachi 魬 and buri are the same species of fish—Japanese amberjack—but refer to different ages and growth stages, with buri being the mature, larger fish and hamachi being the younger, medium-sized fish. We were having the hamachi that evening as this was the summer fish.

Sugi すぎ (Sergeant Fish) 海鱺

Sugi すぎ (Sergeant Fish), known as 海鱺 in Taiwan, is uncommon in Japan. However, Taiwan exports a lot of this fish to Japan, and many sushiya in Taiwan serve it. It has a rich, greasy taste and a crunchy texture similar to yellowtail and amberjack.

Hotate ホタテ (Scallop) from Hokkaido 北海道干貝

The white adductor muscle (the white part that we normally eat) of the hotate ホタテ (scallops) from Hokkaido was scorched with white hot binchotan and served with a nori sheet. I usual prefer my hotate to be served straight up as it allows the sweetness and umami of the bivalve to come through, but this one was OK too.

Aburi Salmon Belly 炙燒鮭魚肚

This was a crowd-favourite, but wild-caught salmon is not a neta fish in Japan because of fear of parasites. The salmon used here was farmed Norwegian salmon, so the controlled environment eliminated the risk. Torosāmon トロサーモン (salmon belly) was torched (aburi) to release the oil from the fish. Sprinkled with sesame seeds for more fragrance.

Negitoro with Avocado 鮪魚上腹配酪梨

The tuna and avocado roll is one of their signature pieces, and always delicious. Tonight’s version was made with bits cut off from the premium bluefin tuna belly or otoro 大トロ.

Otoro 大トロ (Premium Bluefin Tuna Belly) 鮪魚大腹

The much anticipated otoro 大トロ (premium bluefin tuna belly), which scorched using a white hot binchotan to release the fragrance of the oil, finally made its appearance. The fish melted in my mouth as I chewed the whole piece in one bite. It was such a delicious piece of sushi that Princess asked for an encore.

Bafun Uni (Hokkaido Sea Urchin) 馬糞海膽

The excitement continued with a gunkan of Bafun uni 馬糞海胆 (sea urchin from Bafun, Hokkaido). This is compact in size and comes from a smaller sea urchin harvested from much deeper ocean depth. This gives the uni a bolder taste that’s rich in umami. 

Aburi Engawa with Mentaiko and Scallions 炙燒比目魚緣側

And the final piece of sushi of the night was aburi engawa mentaiko 炙り縁側明太子. Usually the flounder flesh called hirame is served as sushi. But sometime the fins of the flounder are also served for the crunchiness and fattiness. The aburi method to force out the oil in the fins and the mentaiko elevated the flavour profile for a delicious sushi.

Ayu No Kanro-Ni 鮎の甘露煮

When my favorite fish, ayu 鮎 (sweetfish), was served as ayu no kanro-ni 鮎の甘露煮, I was a bit disappointed because I was hoping it to be salt grilled. However, this version was just as tasty, and you can eat the whole fish, head and bones included.

Ayu has the nickname “fragrant fish”.  Since you can eat all parts of sweetfish from the head to the tail and internal organs, various ways of eating have been developed since ancient times.

In the era when there were no refrigerators, sweetfish caught in the season from June to August was boiled in sweet soy sauce and eaten as a source of protein during the winter. Kanro-ni 甘露煮 should not be confused with nitsuke 煮付け as nitsuke is a cooking technique and kanro-ni is a preservation technique.

Anago (Conger Eel) 穴子

Often mistaken for its freshwater counterpart (unagi), anago is saltwater eel. Anago (conger eel or sea eel) is available year-round, but best in the summer time, especially from June to mid-July when they reach three feet in length and are at their fattest. It is a classic Edomae-zushi topping that announces the arrival of the rainy season (June) in the Tokyo region. It was simmered in shōyu and sake, served warm and brushed with a tsumé reduction.

Grilled Kuromutsu (Japanese bluefish) 黑喉

I always confused kuromutsu (Japanese bluefish), aka 台灣黑喉 (lit. “Taiwanese black throat”) with akamutsu, also sometimes called nodoguro (blackthroat perch). It is very rare in Japan, but it has been farmed successfully in Taiwan. It has a lot of fat inside, and you can taste the sweetness.

Asari (Clams) Soup 蛤蠣湯

We skipped the tamagoyaki and went straight to the soup. It was a nice clam clear soup with lots of ginger, more Taiwanese style than Japanese.

Mango Sorbet

Dessert is always the Achilles’ heel of any sushiya and this is no difference. The mango sorbet was delicious, but not the same as the nearby Yongkang Street famous mango ice shaving.

I just cannot understand why Taiwanese itamae likes to complicate the sushi by adding flavours and salts when the freshness and flavour of the fish are sufficient.

Nevertheless it is still a wonder place for sushi. Having visited many sushi-ya in Taipei and tried their nigiri sushi omakase, You Sushi is without question the winner in terms of best value. Definitely comparable with what you can get in Japan and for a fraction of the price.

Yóu Sushi 游壽司 (麗水店)
No. 7, Lane 7, Lishui St, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
Tel : +886 2 2391 9298 (Reservations)

Visited Aug 2025

Michelin Taipei Guide Tables 2017-18