Yankees - Taichung

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!

[quote=“TomHill”]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.[/quote]Well, the Londoner’s still going, and the food’s still not bad.

I don’t usually go to bars for the food though. There are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Sophisticated? I don’t really know, but the food’s good.

Where is this place??

[quote=“joesax”][quote=“TomHill”]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.[/quote]Well, the Londoner’s still going, and the food’s still not bad.

I don’t usually go to bars for the food though. There are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Sophisticated? I don’t really know, but the food’s good.[/quote]

The Londoner is on it’s second owner. Ask the previous owner how busy it was.
I never said the food wasn’t good. I said the food at Yankees was enjoyed by all. I said that local people prefer local food.
My point is that both face low punter turnover.
Jeezum crow. Learn to read will ya.
This is the second time you have me questioning your mental faculties.

[quote=“TomHill”][quote=“joesax”][quote=“TomHill”]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.[/quote]Well, the Londoner’s still going, and the food’s still not bad.

I don’t usually go to bars for the food though. There are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Sophisticated? I don’t really know, but the food’s good.[/quote]

The Londoner is on it’s second owner. Ask the previous owner how busy it was.
I never said the food wasn’t good. I said the food at Yankees was enjoyed by all. I said that local people prefer local food.
My point is that both face low punter turnover.
Jeezum crow. Learn to read will ya.
This is the second time you have me questioning your mental faculties.[/quote]I never said that you said the food at the Londoner wasn’t good. You were talking about the problems that the Londoner has faced. Yes, custom could have been better. And yes, I know it’s on its second owner (and its second location). However, it is still going, which is more than can be said for a lot of establishments both Western- and local-style.

Yes, you said that local people prefer local food. Let me elaborate on my point above. I said that there are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Some of them serve local food, some of them other food. The popularity of places such as Tatajia, Coconut Grove, and other South/Southeast Asian restaurants among both westerners and locals would seem to disprove your point. But maybe you meant that local people don’t like Western food. Whenever I go to TGI Fridays I have to line up, and it’s not because those restaurants are full of foreigners! You could well argue that the food at Fridays isn’t the best (though I wouldn’t say that it’s cheap and plentiful either!) However, that’s not what you said. You said that local people prefer local food. The food at Fridays definitely isn’t local.

I’ll stop short of questioning your reading skills or mental faculties as that would be very silly, rather rude, and perhaps more suitable to the international politics forum than to a friendly chat in the restaurants one. But I will suggest that you read things a little more carefully before you reply to them.

[quote=“joesax”][quote=“TomHill”][quote=“joesax”][quote=“TomHill”]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.[/quote]Well, the Londoner’s still going, and the food’s still not bad.

I don’t usually go to bars for the food though. There are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Sophisticated? I don’t really know, but the food’s good.[/quote]

The Londoner is on it’s second owner. Ask the previous owner how busy it was.
I never said the food wasn’t good. I said the food at Yankees was enjoyed by all. I said that local people prefer local food.
My point is that both face low punter turnover.
Jeezum crow. Learn to read will ya.
This is the second time you have me questioning your mental faculties.[/quote]I never said that you said the food at the Londoner wasn’t good. You were talking about the problems that the Londoner has faced. Yes, custom could have been better. And yes, I know it’s on its second owner (and its second location). However, it is still going, which is more than can be said for a lot of establishments both Western- and local-style.

Yes, you said that local people prefer local food. Let me elaborate on my point above. I said that there are lots of decent restaurants in Taichung. Some of them serve local food, some of them other food. The popularity of places such as Tatajia, Coconut Grove, and other South/Southeast Asian restaurants among both westerners and locals would seem to disprove your point. But maybe you meant that local people don’t like Western food. Whenever I go to TGI Fridays I have to line up, and it’s not because those restaurants are full of foreigners! You could well argue that the food at Fridays isn’t the best (though I wouldn’t say that it’s cheap and plentiful either!) However, that’s not what you said. You said that local people prefer local food. The food at Fridays definitely isn’t local.

I’ll stop short of questioning your reading skills or mental faculties as that would be very silly, rather rude, and perhaps more suitable to the international politics forum than to a friendly chat in the restaurants one. But I will suggest that you read things a little more carefully before you reply to them.[/quote]

I love you.
Lets never eat in TGI Fridays together. That would be horrible.
Lets agree that Taichung people like cheap food.

[quote=“TomHill”]I love you.[/quote]The feeling is mutual.

[quote=“TomHill”]Lets never eat in TGI Fridays together. That would be horrible.[/quote]Agreed. But let’s eat somewhere together sometime. (Unfortunately, I can’t make your lovely lunch because I have to work on Saturday mornings).

[quote=“TomHill”]Lets agree that Taichung people like cheap food.[/quote]Who doesn’t!

But there’s cheap and cheap and and I agree that those all-you-can-pig buffet hotpot places are rather disturbing and some way from gourmet dining. I’d far rather pay for a sensibly-sized, good quality portion of food and leave it at that.

guys,you want to kiss and make up?
go to MOKUBOKU,finest ever japanese restaurant in taichung,you’ll love me for it,then we can have a 3some…

i still don’t know the address,but if you’re really keen to go,i’ll call my “contacts” and let you know…

As you would need to be, I’d have thought. But what’s this “we” thing? I’m not at all sure that DP discussions are suitable for the Restaurants forum, and I’m the mod so I should know about these things.

[quote=“dablindfrog”]guys,you want to kiss and make up?
go to MOKUBOKU,finest ever japanese restaurant in taichung,you’ll love me for it,then we can have a 3some…

i still don’t know the address,but if you’re really keen to go,i’ll call my “contacts” and let you know…[/quote]Sounds nice, DBF, though 1,500NT for a meal is still a little steep in my book. About half that is about right for me!

[quote=“joesax”][quote=“dablindfrog”]guys,you want to kiss and make up?
go to MOKUBOKU,finest ever japanese restaurant in taichung,you’ll love me for it,then we can have a 3some…

i still don’t know the address,but if you’re really keen to go,i’ll call my “contacts” and let you know…[/quote]Sounds nice, DBF, though 1,500NT for a meal is still a little steep in my book. About half that is about right for me![/quote]

it doesn’t have to cost that much,for this money you get the whole shebang,but if you can only spend 500NT,just say so to the chef who will come to see you,and it won’t mean that you will be served the scraps,trust me,you will still get fine tasty food,just not the extravagant 9course menu.

on a side note,no offense mate but IMO it’s best to hit a proper place like MOKU once a year and it will stick in your brain as a memorable day/meal than for the tasteless shit that is dished in 90% of the eateries in taichung.

it’s not about budget,i totally understand when peoples,like myself,cannot afford 1500NT on a weekly basis,but when i see someone complaint about their 120NT eat all you can buffet,i wanna remind them that’s what happen when you strive to dine at the cheap and cheerful

those who went to fredfest will agree i am sure :wink:

[quote=“dablindfrog”]it doesn’t have to cost that much,for this money you get the whole shebang,but if you can only spend 500NT,just say so to the chef who will come to see you,and it won’t mean that you will be served the scraps,trust me,you will still get fine tasty food,just not the extravagant 9course menu.[/quote]I don’t need 9 courses, and 500NT sounds about right to me.

[quote=“dablindfrog”]on a side note,no offense mate but IMO it’s best to hit a proper place like MOKU once a year and it will stick in your brain as a memorable day/meal than for the tasteless shit that is dished in 90% of the eateries in taichung.

it’s not about budget,i totally understand when peoples,like myself,cannot afford 1500NT on a weekly basis,but when i see someone complaint about their 120NT eat all you can buffet,i wanna remind them that’s what happen when you strive to dine at the cheap and cheerful

those who went to fredfest will agree i am sure :wink:[/quote]Well, I’ve had some very nice food for 120NT or less (though not at all-you-can-eat buffets of course).

I’m quite happy to spend a few hundred on a decent meal, and I do expect something decent, though not huge, for that. As for the “FredFests” they do sound nice but I balk at the thought of spending two or three thousand (with the wine) for a single meal. I don’t think I would have three times the eating enjoyment from such a meal that I would have from a seven or eight hundred dollar meal.