In Hachioji, I wanted to try Taiwanese cuisine because I like dim sum and xiaolongbao. Last time I came, it was full and I had to give up because I was in a hurry. This time I managed to slip in smoothly. It wasn't completely full, but almost all seats were taken. For lunch, there is a menu where you can choose 2 items for 1000 yen, which seems to be popular, so I chose that. I hesitated, but I chose my favorite xiaolongbao (6 pieces) and minced pork rice. Tea is placed on the table in a pot. There are no teacups... but they are stacked in the center of the store. Small teacups with a Chinese-like design. Everyone around me seems to be drinking from them, so I get up to get a teacup. The staff didn't say anything when taking the order. They should have mentioned it, I think. Soon, the minced pork rice arrived. Oh, so this is minced pork rice. I'm not very familiar with it. I don't really know the standard taste either. I think I've had it in a retort pouch from MUJI before. I took a bite. Huh? The rice is soft... or rather a bit sticky. Of course, the rice becomes softer because the soup ingredients are on top. I think of eating a bowl of rice at home or eating a oyakodon or gyudon at a restaurant. Did I ever think while eating that the rice was a bit sticky? I can't really recall. So, the rice in this minced pork rice is soft, I conclude. The texture, well, it might be a bit uncomfortable as you eat more. Oh, maybe people who like soft rice are fine with this. Just my personal impression. The xiaolongbao comes in a set of 6. The skin is thick. When you bite into it, the soup splashes out, so be careful. It splashes out! Please eat it gently. I often have xiaolongbao outside, mainly at Din Tai Fung, so I can't help but compare them. Is that bad? Theirs has thin skin and is light. Here, it has thick skin and is heavy. It's quite filling. I prefer thin skin. Just my personal preference. Some people may like thick skin. So, it turned out to be a bit critical, but I think Taiwanese cuisine in Hachioji is a valuable find. They also seem to sell cheese tea, so I might try that if I feel like it. Thank you for the meal.

On a certain Saturday, after eating a huge melon cake at a café, my companion suggested that we check out a Taiwanese restaurant nearby. We ended up having lunch there and ordered cold dan dan noodles, braised pork rice, and shrimp rice rolls. The dan dan noodles were light and had a milky taste, perfect for summer. The braised pork rice was flavorful with plenty of ingredients and soup. The shrimp rice rolls, made of steamed rice flour, had a texture similar to pork intestines and a unique taste. We also tried the peach cheese tea, which had a generous layer of cheese foam and was a refreshing drink. Overall, we enjoyed the food and would love to visit again to try more dishes.

This is a roadside Taiwanese cafe with a wide variety of menu options tailored towards girls and women. They offer Taiwanese sweets, cheese tea, and it seems their xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) are quite popular. I tried their almond jelly dessert for some reason, which was freshly made with tapioca pearls. Lunch options start at around 700 yen. The cafe is run by two friendly sisters. The interior has spacious table seating. Female guests tend to stay longer for chats after eating, so the turnover rate may be slow. Reservations for lunch are also available.

Before I knew it, a lovely cafe had opened in Yao in March 2020! The name is Kin Sendou, and its beautiful light blue exterior is quite eye-catching. Located near Ario Yao, across from Coffee and Light Meals Blanket, this Taiwanese cafe offers great value for money with its morning, lunch, and cafe menus. On this particular day, I visited for lunch. The lunch set allows you to choose 2 dishes from a selection of 10 Taiwanese dishes for a reasonable price of ¥1000. The options include Lu Rou Fan, Suan La Tang Mian, Taiwanese Xiao Long Bao, Octagon Xiangfu Man, Crystal Shrimp Dumplings, Shrimp Rice Rolls, Boiled Vegetables, Truffle Xiao Long Bao, Taiwanese Dim Sum, and Three-color Dim Sum. It was a tough choice as they all looked delicious! Each dish is also available as a single item on the menu. They also offer a Sesame Soy Milk Mellow Dan Dan Noodles set. The best part about their lunch is that you get unlimited refills of three types of tea - Oriental Beauty, Jasmine Tea, and Dong Ding Oolong Tea. The tea is self-served at each table, and the cups are cute and Taiwanese-themed. While sipping on tea, our chosen two Taiwanese dishes arrived: Suan La Tang Mian and Truffle Xiao Long Bao. As a fan of dim sum, I was torn between all the options, but the name "Truffle" won me over. The Truffle Xiao Long Bao had a strong truffle aroma and delicious soup inside the thin skin. It was delightful! We also ordered the Sesame Soy Milk Mellow Dan Dan Noodles and Taiwanese Xiao Long Bao set (¥1000), and the Xiao Long Bao in that set had a chewier skin compared to the Truffle one. It was also delicious! The Suan La Tang Mian had a generous amount of sauce on top of thin noodles, and adding plenty of black vinegar made it even tastier. The Sesame Soy Milk Mellow Dan Dan Noodles had a creamy sesame base with a pleasant spiciness. It was quite tasty! I left satisfied with the delicious Taiwanese cuisine. I'm happy to see another great cafe in Yao and look forward to trying their morning, lunch, and cafe menus again. They also have a breakfast set featuring porridge that was featured in SAVVY magazine, as well as affordable desserts like Tapioca Pancakes for ¥500 and Dou Hua for ¥600. They also offer Taiwanese-style afternoon tea called the Taiwan Tea Banquet for only ¥1000, which I'm excited to try in the future. Taiwan drinks like Tapioca are also available at the cafe.

I'm so happy that such a delicious restaurant has opened near Ario Yao! The staff are polite and lovely, the restaurant is cute, and most importantly, the food and tea are very delicious. My favorite is the cheese tea, which is satisfying even without tapioca. The other teas were also delicious. Being able to add black vinegar to the cold noodles is great. They have a gentle flavor and are recommended. The peach buns were also incredibly delicious! I will definitely be a repeat customer!

The soup dumplings had no soup at all. The service from the staff was not good.