An Accidental All-Tuna Meal at 一条通 石牌 (Shinkansen Sushi, Shipai)

I walked into the 石牌Shí pái branch of 一条通Yī tiáo tōng hungry. Hadn't eaten all day. That may taint the first couple of bites, because things seem to taste a lot better when you’re really hungry.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The May special is 長鰭鮪雙拼黑鮪Zhǎng qí wěi shuāng pīn hēi wěi — two types of nigiri, two albacore and one bluefin, for NT$80. The albacore piece was incredible. A stronger tuna flavour than you usually get from sashimi, but clean, not the slightly off, sat-out-too-long kind of strong. Tuna sashimi tends to be mild, almost too mild. This was that same flavour profile, just dialled up. The bluefin piece next to it was good, more what you'd expect — a straightforward, well-cut nigiri. Solid but not as much flavour.

I'd ordered it once and eaten it before remembering to snap a photo, so unfortunately, I had to order it again. Got to taste it twice in fifteen minutes. Confirmed: this wasn't a hunger illusion. Tuna, but more of the good parts. I liked it.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The rest of the meal, I ended up ordering only tuna without really meaning to. Usually, I order more salmon than tuna. Today I ended up with a tuna sashimi plate (NT$130), a bluefin akami nigiri (NT$60), and the special twice. All tuna. Not on purpose. Just where the menu pulled me.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The sashimi was fresh. Cut into small squares, not quite an inch thick. It confirmed what I already suspected about tuna sashimi: it tastes the way tuna tastes, which is to say, mild.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The clam miso soup (NT$40) came with four clams and was barely above lukewarm. Normally, it’s served hot. Generally fine, but today I could have skipped it.

The last thing I ordered was 胡麻黑鮪海苔包Hú ma hēi wěi hǎi tái bāo — sesame bluefin in a nori wrap, NT$50. It took 20 minutes to arrive.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

I need to say, this restaurant is very inconsistent in timing. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to wait a long time for something. Some items come out almost immediately; others take 15 or 20 minutes. The tablet at the table displays order status, so the kitchen knows exactly which items are still outstanding. The information is there. On a memorable visit, my son's Coca-Cola arrived as we were finishing the meal, and we had ordered it at the very beginning.

By the time the sesame nori piece arrived, I'd been watching the clock for 15 minutes, then 20. When it landed, I was rather annoyed. 20 minutes for a single piece of sushi. And the sushi itself was a bit of a letdown — if there was sesame oil in it, I couldn't taste it. Maybe a faint sesame note, surprisingly salty even without soy sauce. It might have been fine to come out within a couple of minutes, like everything else. But 20 minutes is 20 minutes.

Total bill: NT$440. For two of the tuna special (6 pieces total), a sashimi plate, a bluefin akami nigiri, a clam miso, and the sesame nori. It’s not cheap, but you can easily get to that price at Sushiro or Sushi Express as well. The tuna alone is worth coming back for, especially while the May special is on the menu.

Just don't come when you're in a hurry. The food, when it arrives, ranges from solid to genuinely good. When you’ll receive all your food is hard to know.