Addiction Aquatic - Tresors de La Mer - Seafood, Taipei, Taiwan

2F, No.20, Alley, Lane 410, Minzhu East Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei Taiwan
+886 2 2508 1268
https://www.addiction.com.tw/lamer/

Hours: 11am-3pm, 5pm-10:30pm

Cash only

Last Visited: May 21, 2023

Food: 4 to 5 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$

Located in the Addiction Aquatic Development, also known as the Taipei Fish Market, Tresors de la Mer is the most upscale of the six eateries in the complex.  If there isn't space, you can stand at the sushi bar, try out the seafood bar, seafood bbq, seafood tapas, or hot pot.  There is also a market of prepared foods where you can buy items ready-made and sit outside on the patio. 

We arrived about 10:30am and walked around the market just to get a feel for things, but not much was open at this time except the prepared food market, sushi bar, and seafood bar.  The specials are listed on the board with beautiful seafood on display, but if you can't read Chinese, you'll have to ask for help like me. 

Since we didn't have reservations, we were first in line for a table.   Service by the hostess at the door is efficient, but not particularly friendly.  We were pointed to the appropriate spot to pick out our seafood  and were told we had 90 minutes for our dining - this seemed to include the time downstairs where you first select what seafood you would like to have made.  Whatever you select is weighed in front of you and then you get to choose how it will be prepared (e.g. steamed, grilled, and maybe some other options, but it's not so clear what those options are).    

After you finish ordering, you are told to go upstairs and someone there receives you and brings you to the table.  Despite being first to arrive, perhaps because we didn't have reservations, our party of two was placed in a corner of the room next to what looked like a makeshift storage corner.  This was slightly less pleasant, but we were still near a window and could see the happenings down on the floor below.   The area we sat in was very bright and the decor is modern and simple.  There is also an inner dining room which has little natural light, so it's a much different experience during the day because it's quite dark.

Service upstairs is okay.  You're given a menu of hand rolls to select from if you would like to order more food, but since we had such limited time and weren't quite sure what to expected, we skipped ordering more food.  Servers wear sailor themed tops, and for some of the men, it seemed the top was a bit too small.  You may also need to flag down a server if you're sitting in the corner - it took a bit of time to get someone to take our order for tea.  

- Deluxe Sashimi Combo - This dish could easily be an appetizer for four people - Salmon, tuna, scallops, oysters, mountain yam with ikura, yellowtail, abalone, shrimp, and I'm not sure what it's called, but I think it's a sea snail.  Everything was incredibly fresh.  What's strange is to say that each item was so superb that it was the tuna that was the least interesting, likely because it did have a little bit of silver skin.  From the lovely display on crushed ice to how each bite was just perfect, if you love sashimi, you will love this platter. Back in the US, this would easily be more than double the price. The quality is just amazing. It was easily the best tasting and most memorable dish that I had during my visit to Taiwan. 1280 TWD 

- Giant Prawns - As previously mentioned, you select the prawns and let them know how you want it cooked. They weight it downstairs before cooking so you know the weight and can estimate the cost.  Since I wanted to try multiple ways of cooking, I ordered one steamed with garlic and scallions and the other was fried.  It's really hard to choose which is better, but if you can only have one, the fried one has such an intensity of flavor because the shell is slightly salty and crispy, and the fresh lime is a nice accent to the prawn.  The texture of the fried prawn is a bit denser than that of the steamed one.  The steamed one is still wonderful and the natural juices with the flavor of the sea are absorbed by the cellophane (also known as bean thread) noodles underneath.  I wished I could have ordered extra noodles to go with it.   260 TWD per 100 gram

- Giant Clam - Sold by weight also, this giant clam was one of the specials of the day, so the price wasn't listed on the board.  We also ordered this steamed with garlic and scallions and you can taste how tender and fresh every bite is.  Similar to the steamed prawn, cellophane noodles also line the bottom of the plate to absorb the natural juices from the clam. I would recommend this dish too. Our clam was 250 TWD. 

- Fresh Fruit - I didn't realize that they ended the meal with fresh fruit, so the slice of watermelon and cantaloupe for each person in the party is a nice way to close out the meal.  

In general, service was a bit sporadic, maybe because of our location.  They will take away the metal buckets that you're using to hold your shells and discards as well as remove dishes, but sometimes it takes a while even if the restaurant isn't particularly full.  However, the servers do go out of their way if you are asking for help (like we asked for directions to a site and the server provided extensive directions on a hand-drawn map) and for that, I give the range of 3 to 4 stars for service.

Since they only take cash, plan ahead.  I could easily have extended our dining experience if we had more time and eaten at least another dish.  Every dish was terrific and I would highly recommend the food to anyone visiting Taipei, Taiwan.  So fresh and so affordable (by American standards), you won't want to miss this experience. Reservations strongly suggested.

Special thanks to Victor for recommending this spot - without you, I wouldn't have even known of its existence, and I'm so glad I fit it into the last day of my trip.