So Yankees looks like a nice bar/ restaurant. I went there on Saturday night with a couple of my local rudeboys. Here’s the gen…
Yankees is a big space, well decorated, and with lots of spacious tables. It also has them little TV’s at the bar. Its bright inside, and has a modern comfortable feel to it. I was excited as we entered. I thought we may have found ‘The Tavern Premier’ in Taichung. But was it to be…?
First off the place was empty. It was 8:30 pm and I reckon there were 8 other people in there. OK it’s new. But don’t places usually fill up when they are new? I don’t know. Yankees was deserted. We got to the bar and the language thing came crashing down on our sorely disappointed heads. The bar staff couldn’t muster up a sentence of decent English between them. Shame. They couldn’t explain what was on the pizza’s, and twice thought my friend was making an order when he was just enquiring. Ok, so this is Taiwan, maybe Tom and the rudeboys are harsh critics. But I was expecting them to bust out the English. So confusion reigned…
Tom ordered the chicken Quesadillas and the fries/ onion ring/ chicken platter. When the quesadilla’s came the waitress gave them to rudeboy1 who had ordered the Yankee pizza, and simply said, “Pizza.” He started tucking into it, as it looked like a pizza. Plus as we still hadn’t fathomed out what was on the Yankee pizza of course we assumed that this was his pizza. 4 slices later ANOTHER pizza arrives. “Oh s*it bro, I just ate your dinner!” Again this is a Taiwanese/ American style bar in Taiwan, so who the heck am I to say anything…
Rudeboy number 2 ordered a spaghetti bolognaise. He was very happy to eat it and said it was top notch. Rudeboy 1 enjoyed his Yankee Pizza, which seems to have fish on it, for those interested enough to still be reading this. I thoroughly enjoyed my food too.
So it must be said that the food and the decor are very good. The language thing is not good, and the lack of punters meant that we didn’t stay for more than one drink. And what’s with them playing rubbishy music in a sports bar? It was like being stuck in a taxi.
Tom says… 2 hours later we went for Yaki-niku and I spent half as much money, drank loads of beer and ate a ton of food, for half the price of an hour in Yankees. And this is the problem that Yankees, like the Londoner, like many other bars before them have faced. Taichung people like it cheap, and plentiful, and thats all there is to it. There is no sophisticated Taichung crowd to cater to. There are farmers, and the sons of farmers. And that’s all. Now if Yankees served the local muck and had Taiwan beer at 50nt per glass it would be packed to the rafters.
Tom says more… If I were to open a restaurant in Taichung I’d hire a decent chef, have a blend of local and foreign foods, (emphasis on local) and I’d make the beer dirt cheap. You won’t win over the locals with international cuisine. Taichung folks like to burp, fart, pick their teeth, and eat all at the same time. Preferably with their shirts off.
It’s a shame. Cos I would love to see a Tavern Premier style bar really take off. And I hope that it does. But for now, it seems grounded. Strike three!