Sunway 三味食堂: The Salmon Nigiri Is Too Big, and I'd Still Go Back

Sunway is Instagram-famous. Not as much in the English-speaking channels, but for Taiwanese locals and many Asian tourists, it’s become famous for its oversized salmon sushi and sashimi. So when my local friend who has taken me for 熱炒rè chǎo suggested this spot, I already had it bookmarked and had been wanting to go.

We arrived right around noon on a Thursday and got a seat right away. Sunway is a rather unassuming spot, and easy to walk past — there's signage out front, but what you see from the street looks like a stall, and they're serving coffee out of it. The restaurant is behind that. We got seated on the first floor, which only has a couple of small tables, though there's a second floor with probably over 50 seats. Even so, at busier times you can reportedly wait 20+ minutes, and there's the common sign-up sheet out front where you put your name and party size. I ordered my first coffee of the day, and we looked at the menu.

The server suggested the salmon nigiri, as that’s what everyone gets; the large order is NT$450. We also ordered the chicken karaage (NT$180), cold tofu dressed with sauce (NT$50), and shrimp fried rice (NT$180).

Just some napkin math on the salmon nigiri: six pieces, so each piece is NT$75, or about US$2.30; in comparison, this is a genuinely good deal for North America. For Taiwan, it’s probably a bit more on par. The most common sushi restaurant is Sushi Express; they serve two salmon nigiri for NT$40. However, they’re tiny pieces. The salmon sashimi plate is NT$60, but those are also small chunks. The amount of salmon you get on one nigiri at Sunway, I’d say, is possibly two to three plates of salmon from Sushi Express. With how big the pieces are, I’m leaning towards the three plates estimate. Not to mention the clam miso soup at Sushi Express is an extra NT$50, but free and unlimited miso soup at Sunway.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The size of the nigiri is both amazing and a huge issue. They’re literally so big, it’s awkward to eat. There’s no way you’re fitting the entire thing in your mouth; well, at least neither of us could. You can try and bite half of it, but then you’re trying to chew through raw salmon and most likely going to break apart the rice underneath and make a mess. And just by design, there is a lot of rice underneath as well. Next time I may try unhinging my jaw to get it in one bite. But what we resorted to was taking the salmon off, so basically like sashimi, and then the rice after that. But even eating it that way, the salmon piece was a mouthful and a little awkward to eat.

It’s easy to see why the place is so Instagrammable; however, we both agreed it took a little away from the meal. It became like a puzzle to figure out how to eat the nigiri. I’m not opposed to going back, but next time I think I would get the sashimi instead. Those pieces are still super oversized, but I think it will be more manageable.

The fried rice was decent, and although it is apparently a common ingredient in Japan, I don’t recall ever having crab stick or fish cake in fried rice. I was a little surprised, although it didn’t really add or take away anything from the rice. My friend who is a local Taiwanese said he thought it was Taiwanese-ified Japanese food. Which isn’t wrong, and I’m fairly used to it, having eaten sushi in Mexico with large amounts of cream cheese. You’re serving to the local palate, even if you get tourists regularly. The fried rice was quite oily but overall relatively solid.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

The chicken karaage was also fine, nothing mind-blowing. I think I tasted the mayo that was probably used to marinate the chicken. It was crunchy and juicy, so otherwise a good piece of fried chicken. The cold tofu did its job; it was a little filler with a light sauce and salty seaweed on top.

Photo by Kalen Johnson

It’s all about the salmon at Sunway. They're generous with the size, and the price, while it looks a little high at first, is surprisingly good for the amount of food you get. It also tastes good. As long as it’s fresh and tastes like salmon should, I’m going to enjoy it. Perhaps just in smaller slices.

I just ate at Sushi Express earlier this week and got up to NT$400, and I walked away only somewhat full. Part of that is they have new items like larger pieces of salmon sashimi for NT$150 a plate. It’s four long slices, but they’re still rather thin. For NT$150, it’s not a lot of sashimi. With that in mind, Sunway is actually a far better deal. I walked away from Sunway having paid a similar amount, and was really full.

Interestingly, when we finished up, my friend and I talked about how it’s probably on par with pricing at Sushi Express. I mean, you can get eleven plates of salmon nigiri for the same price as six pieces at Sunway. So when I sat down to write this, I thought I was going to be more down on Sunway. But having just been to Sushi Express again and seeing their prices and sizes, I’m a little more impressed now. Yes… It’s awkward to eat. The size of the nigiri is far too big to be eaten comfortably. That’s part of the draw, especially if you want to post pictures online. But it’s not a bad deal; I’d actually say it’s well priced for the amount you get.