STONE FRESH SEAFOOD & STEAK

189, XianMing Blvd, Sec 1, 2F, Banqiao (Banciao) City, Taipei County

This California teppanyaki restaurant is upstairs at the Banqiao Grandforward Hotel. The establishment touts itself as serving the best seafood. Like any teppanyaki joint, the food is prepared and served on the spot. If you are lucky, you might catch one of the owners, Paul, doing his fly-cutting show. While interacting with customers, he shows off his "shrimp in the air" techniques. The cuisine covers a broad range and shows creativity. The Cream of Crab-Meat Soup With Spinach Puff Pastry is uniquely tempting. The Fresh Fruits Salad uses imported organic fruits and vegetables and, to make this dish even more unique, they put jams into test tubes on the side. The chefs here are skilled and the flavors to be found in their Canadian lobster and live abalone are like nowhere else. The set meal menu will fill you up for a reasonable price. --By Josie Wu, translated by Ann Lee

A. Alaskan Conch contains a slight scent of seaweed, is stir-fried with basil/ tomato sauce in olive oil, and has a refreshing, tangy taste.

B. Have you ever seen a big 40-year-old scallop? The average large Canadian scallop is about 15-17 cm long, slippery and tender, with no offensive smell.