It is no secret that I love sushi. In fact, it’s probably my go-to food for celebrations of any kind. But, what Addiction Aquatic Development (上引水產) offers up is lunchbox-style sushi that is mega value. Omakase is awesome, we all know that, but sometimes you don’t have 1.5 hours and $1500-$10,000 to drop on a meal. You want a quick fix of sushi, at a reasonable price. Addiction could be your go-to!
Addiction is a bustling marketplace filled with vendors selling fresh seafood, lunchboxes, there’s a hotpot restaurant here, and also a BBQ restaurant inside, too. You’ll find a wide variety of sushi rolls, sashimi, and nigiri, made from ingredients taken directly from the market itself. But, what do I recommend and what should you really not miss out on?
Table of Contents
This is definitely not my first time at Addiction, so you should definitely click here for more pictures from my other visits.
This place should never be overlooked
Eating in Taipei, 2016
I really like walking around and looking at the seafood. You’ll find lots of crab, lobster, abalone, and lots of other shellfish in big tanks here.
If one of these is what you’re looking for, then one of the fishmongers will gladly be on hand to prepare it for you to take home and cook however you would like. Frankly, that idea still scares me a little, though.
Mixed Sushi Box
So what I like so much about the food here, is the sheer variety of the fish that you get in their lunch boxes. I’ll go from left to right, top to bottom: snapper, tuna, salmon, snapper, salmon egg roll, tamagoyaki, tuna, salmon, snapper, salmon, scallop, shrimp, mini tuna roll. These lunchboxes run for about $500 but can fluctuate by $20 or so on either side of that.
Now don’t expect unreal quality here akin to that of a curated no-menu omakase restaurant such as LiXiu in Taipei, but more so a wide variety of good quality fish that has been presented nicely in a lunchbox for you.
My top picks here would be the salmon egg roll, tamagoyaki, and salmon. That’s not to say that the others aren’t good, but they’re not as good as those 3, in my opinion.
Tofu sushi & Tuna sushi roll
I have never picked up one of these boxes before. I tend to go for the mixed set above. But, I was pleasantly surprised by this and I would definitely get it again. You’ll find a sufficient amount of brown rice stuffed into the bottom of that tofu skin you see, and inside the roll, you’ll find a deep-fried length of tuna with some deliciously tangy and salty sauce.
I actually find it quite difficult to pick between the tofu skin on the left and the rolled deep-fried tuna on the right, here. Both are really good! The tuna has a little more in flavour with the actual fish, sauce, and deep-fried batter, but that tofu skin and brown rice combo totally surprised me!
I would have absolutely no problem ordering both of these again.
Addiction Aquatic Development – The bottom line
Is it worth it? Yes, definitely. It is a fun experience to walk around Addiction, sees the different seafood that it has to offer, and then either eat in or take out.
What else is there? There are lots of others types of restaurants within the ground of the market – hotpot, barbecue, and a variety of other Japanese-style restaurant places. Or you can simply sit and drink an afternoon coffee.