Ali Seafood Restaurant

A favorite among Taiwanese diners is the ubiquitous “re-chao” (hot stir-fry) eatery, serving up a wide range of fresh-made, cheap, tasty cuisine, usually in a noisy, no-frills venue. For the past nine years, Tempus Hotel’s Ali Seafood Restaurant has modified this concept for diners wanting to enjoy similar food in a refined, upscale ambiance.
Walk into the classy interior and the first thing you’ll notice is straight out of a traditional seafood restaurant–giant tanks filled with live lobsters, crabs, moray eels, clams, fish and other seafood, plus various ice-filled boxes and displays stuffed with a wide range of ingredients and labeled side dishes. This includes freshly-caught fish from Ali’s very own fishing boat, delivered daily from Kenting’s Houbihu harbor.
Just like its traditional counterparts, the general way to order here is to browse these displays, choose your desired seafood and other items, and dictate a preferred cooking style, which the staff is happy to advise on. A filling meal ordered this way averages from about NT$500 to NT$900-plus per person.
With autumn the best season to savor fat crabs, Ali Seafood is highlighting special autumn Taiwanese-flavored crab dishes (NT$699+10%, serves 3-4) made with six different kinds of crabs until Nov. 30. Sous Chef Tai Ping Huang, who has worked at Tempus Hotel 18 years, designed dishes to accent the attributes of each variety. Mud Crab Glutinous Rice features steamed, roe-filled crab in a fragrant steamer of sticky rice; the meatier ridged swimming crab is served on a bed of glass noodles in Crab and Vermicelli Casserole; a sweet, tender blood-spotted swimming crab is prepared with onions and eggs for Stir-Fried Crab with Osmanthus. You can also enjoy Recommended Crab Seafood Hotpot (NT$780+10%), filled with a green mud crab, fresh fish, clams and tofu.
It’s best to complement any main entree with soups and side dishes like the recommended Stir Fried Mushroom with Egg and Ginger Shreds (NT$240), made with Hengchun mushrooms; Stir-Fried Starry Moray with Wine, Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce (NT$360), prepared with a “three cups” cooking style; Deep-Fried Shrimp Cake with Sesame Seeds (NT$90); or Pan-Fried Leeks Dumplings (NT$90). There are also non-seafood dishes, including beef and chicken options.

阿利海鮮餐廳 Ali Seafood Restaurant
西屯區大墩20街37號 (永豐棧酒店) (04) 2323-0773, ext. 7101
37, DaDun 20th St, Xitun Dist (Tempus Hotel)
11:30 am-2 pm, 5:30-9 pm