BBQ In Taipei Review: True Gather 畜聚燒肉

True Gather 畜聚燒肉

☆☆☆☆☆ 3/5

I was looking forward to eating at True Gather 畜聚燒肉 because they hit me with a targeted Instagram advertisement for BBQ in Taipei that made the food look really good. When I checked on Google Maps, they had a 4.8 review which is outrageously high in Taiwan, since most people are very critical about the reviewing food...I am going to be honest and critical.

PRICE
RESERVATIONS
ENGLISH MENU
FOOD CATEGORY
RECOMMENDATION
GOOGLE MAPS LOCATION
TAIWANEATER RATING

$$$
Not Required
Yes
BBQ
N/A
Website
3/5

True Gather 畜聚燒肉 BBQ In Taipei Review

Overall 3/5
Service 2/5
Quality 4/5
Food 3/5
Value 2/5
Vibe 2/5

True Gather 畜聚燒肉 is located in an area with soooo many restaurants that you will be inundated with choice. There are are few places in the area that I absolutely love and have given 5/5. So of course I will be critical since there are immediate comparisons in the area.

Before going to True Gather 畜聚燒肉, I called to make a reservation because I didn't want to risk having to wait. If you go to any really good BBQ place in Taipei, expect a wait. On a Thursday, I made a reservation for Friday night with no problems...they didn't even ask for my name for the reservation, but I gave it to them anyway. I guess they don't get a lot of reservations.

The Place: True Gather 畜聚燒肉

Upon entering True Gather 畜聚燒肉 at 7pm on a Friday night, I was surprised to see only 4 people eating (2 at the bar and 2 at a table). The layout seemed strange since they had a huge open space in the middle of the restaurant that could have been used for more tables. To the right of the entrance was a little waiting area with couches and lockers. Due to the layout, the place felt empty but messy at the same time.

We were greeted and shown to the lockers to put our stuff in for safe keeping. Then we were seated at the bar.

Bar Seats 2/5
The bar seating is the highest I've ever sat at. It's uncomfortably high where most people will struggle to get on/off the seat. Once you're on the seat, it will be hard to move it closer to the bar. The seating height made it a difficult experience to move around.

The Food: True Gather 畜聚燒肉

Scallops with crab roe NT$220 (2 pieces) = 3/5
I love scallops and the dish sounded delicious. When the dish arrived, the presentation was pretty unappealing. Each scallop is cut in half (poorly) and then line with crab roe heavily mixed with wasabi. The scallops were fresh and it had a big wasabi kick to it.

Animal Rice NT$100 = 3/5
The animal rice at True Gather 畜聚燒肉 isn't on the official menu, but was on the specials board. It included an egg yolk, onions, green onions and mushrooms over white rice. After mixing it together, the rice still didn't have much flavor to it. I was looking around for soy sauce or anything to spice it up but there are no condiments at the table.

MEAT 3/5
Just to break it down, we got a few different cuts of meat. The chicken thigh (NT$180), prime sliced short rib (NT$320), Iberian pork rib strip (NT$250) and choice pork jowl (NT$220). This is pretty standard portion size and pricing for higher quality cuts, but I found most of the meat to taste in the 3/5 to 4/5 range. Most of the meat had options of salt or BBQ flavor, but I found the flavor to be lacking.

There was no salt or BBQ sauce sides if I wanted to step up the flavor. It's pretty unfortunate because the quality of the meat was pretty good. I think I wanted more flavor because some of the meat came out overcooked. I needed some flavor to distract me from that.

The Service: True Gather 畜聚燒肉

As with any higher end BBQ restaurant in Taipei, you can expect the meat to be cooked for you. That is to ensure the meat is cooked to perfection so you can taste the quality of the meat. As such, the meat is cooked for you at True Gather 畜聚燒肉, unfortunately the "to perfection" part was missing.

Most of the meat was cooked over low flame but some of it still came out overcooked. After eating 3 out of 4 pieces of the overcooked pork jowl, the server noticed and threw out the 4th burned piece. He offered to replace it, which is nice. But dang man, you just made us eat 3 burned pieces.

No water is provided without having to ask.

One of the chefs had long hair and was not wearing a hat. Every other server/chef was wearing a hat (and they had short hair). You'll notice most of the food industry wear hair nets/hats to protect from hair falling in the food. This guy had long hair and it kept getting in his eyes. While wearing the gloves to serve food with, he would use his hands to move the hair out of his eyes. Luckily, he wasn't serving me, but I'm surprised this guy is working in the food industry without knowing this?

Most of the service was pretty basic and lacked any warmth. Any requests for food/drinks felt like we were inconveniencing them.

So I don't speak any Chinese. On the way out of True Gather 畜聚燒肉, one of the servers warned us in Chinese to be careful when stepping out the door. I didn't understand and immediately slipped on the white rocks. I didn't fall, but it could have been really bad. This is an accident waiting to happen.

True Gather 畜聚燒肉 Menu And Additional Photos

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Overall Impression of True Gather 畜聚燒肉

Overall the experience was just okay. True Gather 畜聚燒肉definitely has room to improve on service, quality, taste and portion size. With all the options in the area, I will not be returning.

True Gather 畜聚燒肉 Location and Hours

Rating Guide

 1/5

It's food, but you're not going to enjoy it

 2/5

Didn't meet minimum meal expectations

 3/5

Satisfying and an adequate meal.

 4/5

So good you'll eat here again!

 5/5

You will remember this meal for the rest of your life!

Pricing Guide

$

NT$1-100 (US$0-$3.23)

$$

NT$100-300 (US$3.23-9.68)

$$$

NT$300-700 (US$9-22)

$$$$

NT$700+ (US$22.60+)

TIP

Not required or expected. Some restaurants may have a 10% service charge.

Each rating TAIWANEATER rating is comprised of Quality, Service and Value (in order of the rating's most important points).

QUALITY: The [Quality] is based on how good the food tastes and the presentation.

SERVICE: The [Service] is based on the dining experience. This includes the ambiance of the restaurant and how the interactions with the staff.

VALUE: The [Value] is based on both the Quality and Service in relation to the price. Ratings for food with a low price are a little more generous than food with a high price.

Money In Taiwan

Tax Is Included In The Price

All displayed prices in Taiwan are the actual price. Tax is already included and for large purchases, tourists visiting Taiwan can get a 5% Taiwan VAT refund at the airport Tax Refund counter. Some shops offer this service too, but they will require your passport.

Taiwan Is Cash Only (For Most Small Shops)

The primary payment method for all transactions in Taiwan is cash. It's very rare for small shops to take anything other than cash. It's more common to see places accept the Taipei Metro Card as payment rather a credit card.

Supermarkets and convenience stores in Taiwan (7-Eleven, Family Mart) do not accept credit cards (at least not American credit cards). You can only make purchases by cash or by using your pre-loaded funds on your EasyCard.

Using Credit Cards in Taiwan

If you want to use your credit card in Taiwan, make sure to check if a restaurant in Taiwan accepts credit card in advance. When a place does accept credit card, it will typically be Visa or Mastercard. It's extremely rare for a place to accept Discover and American Express. UberEats, HonestBee, Deliveroo and FoodPanda are Taipei Food Delivery Services where you can order food directly to your airbnb or hotel using a credit card.

Exchanging Money in Taiwan

You can exchange money at the airport or any bank in Taiwan. The rates vary from bank to bank and it can be a hassle to get a good rate. For additional information, check out my Exchanging Money In Taiwan Guide.

More

The purpose of this review is to give an honest opinion of the food you can eat in Taiwan. Many people come to Taipei to try out Taiwanese food and end up eating at low quality places meant for tourists. This is because they don't know where the best restaurants to eat in Taipei are or because they were recommended food by a tourist rather than Taiwan Travel Blog that has researched and tried all the best Taipei eats.

TAIWANEATER is a Taipei Travel Blog bringing you honest feedback about all the Best Food to eat in Taipei, Top Restaurants in Taipei, Best Desserts in Taipei, Taiwan Night Market Guide, Best Cheap Places To Eat in Taipei and the Best Street Food In Taipei.

If you're interested in visiting Taiwan, check out: 

• Taiwan Travel Costs
• Where To Stay in Taipei
• Things To Do In Taipei
• Taipei Airport to City Guide
• Getting Mobile Data in Taiwan
• How To Get Around Taipei
• Shopping in Taipei
• Taipei Nightlife
• Taipei Rainy Day Activities
• Taiwan Packing List
• Staying Fit In Taipei

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