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Writer's pictureCherie Aria

True Don Yakiniku Donburi

Updated: Sep 28, 2021

You gotta have enough protein even on cheat day, so yakiniku donburi is not a bad choice. In Chinese, True Don is pronounced the same as how you would say stirring up someone's feelings. Being obsessed with bad puns, I had to go.

I found this while I was taking a walk on Google Maps... Because I do that. It's totally normal, you don't even have to leave the house. I was really drawn to it because of its simplistic industrial interior. I thought I could get some good pictures for Instagram.

The walls are covered in architectural concrete wallpaper. On the right, the wall reads "life isn't terrible, being able to eat is a blessing." It is designed as the check-in location. It is a very simple photo wall so you could really do whatever you want with it.

 

True Don is the second store of Truegather Yakiniku (Japanese barbecue). If you would take a look at its menu, unlike Yoshinoya and SUKIYA, its donburi isn't just made with random, regular Sukiyaki. There are a lot of proper yakiniku and seafood to choose from. It also has pretty impressive side dish choices but I didn't try them because they are mostly seafood and I am allergic. I really like how the cocktail menu looks as well, there seems to be a lot of fruity choices but I quit drinking two years ago.

👉🏻Onsen Tamago Green Onion Butadon NTD$180

I know if you aren't particularly into Japanese food, you understood almost no part of that title, so let me explain– Onsen tamago refers to a soft egg yolk that lies in the center. Butadon means park donburi.

Personally, I can't stand the stink of raw eggs but I also really love the creamy texture, so I always have to make sure that the ingredients are extremely fresh. I did not detect a hint of fishiness in this butadon.

It is mixed with my favorite chopped green onions. It brings both a freshness and spiciness to the dish. Though green onions have been very expensive recently because of the typhoon, they were very generous with it and did not hold back.

For the pork, they used pork shoulders. I can't really stand the texture of fat so I'm very impressed but how well this was cooked. It didn't feel greasy yet it still retained the slight chewiness of the fatty parts. It also wasn't dry or overcooked. Each slice was pretty big and had a certain thickness to it, unlike the sad tiny pieces you would find in shabu shabu. There's also an option to double the meat with an extra NTD$100. I didn't do it because it was my first time here and I didn't want to have double if it didn't turn out well. But if you have a huge appetite like I do, I think it would be a good deal.


👉🏻Blade Steak Donburi NTD$350

This was the first thing that caught my friend and my attention on the menu. We both like steak medium-rare so when it was first served, we regretted not telling them how we'd like the steak. However, it turned out to be great! It was perfectly cooked and was really tender, kind of like sous vide steak. The juice was also nicely retained, maybe they "cut it on a bias." (Did anyone else 90-Day Fiancé–Before the 90 Days? Because I can not look at a steak without think about this scene from Darcey and Jessie.)

On the side, there are garlic chips which always go perfectly with steak. There's also a half a kumquat, you can drizzle the juice across the steak and it adds a special sting to it. Personally, I think it's better to eat the steak as it is without the kumquat. This beef bowl also has plenty vegetables on the side, including broccoli, zucchini slices, baby corns, and carrot slices. It's quite a balanced meal.


👉🏻 Soup

At first, I thought it was just regular miso soup but I realized that there were egg drops in it. There's also a lingering ginger taste. Usually I hate ginger but there's only a light hint of it and it's not aggressive at all. I had to ask what it was, turns out it was fermented tofu soup. I was really surprised because I did not know that was a thing and I also don't eat fermented tofu. I'm kind of glad that I didn't know what it was or I would not have tried it and I think I would have missed out on something really unique. I 'm guessing that they don't always serve the same soup though, because the waiter told me "Does it taste too weird? We just switched to this soup yesterday."


Truedon Store Info

Name: Truedon

Address: 1F., No.2, Lane 155, BaDe Rd. Sec. 3, Songshan Dist., Taipei City

Phone: 02-2577-0200

Opening hours: 11:00-14:00/16:00-20:00

Transportation: 5 to 7-minute walk from exit 4 of MRT Taipei Arena Station

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Cherie Aria🧜🏻‍♀️ 艾雪莉

Lifestyle, workout, doggies: https://www.instagram.com/cheriearia/

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