If the thought of eating on and from toilets repulses you, then you are part of the majority. However, my eccentric self could not help but feel attracted to the newly opened Magic Restroom Café in City of Industry that replaces both chairs and dishes for miniature toilets. After going to the café, however, I concluded that it was simply another Taiwanese restaurant with typical Taiwanese food, just served on toilet-shaped platters.
Ambiance
When we walked in, my family and I were confused—there was no host table or employee at the front of the restaurant to welcome us. We later realized patrons must write their name and the number of people in their group on a yellow notepad laid on a ledge at the far corner of the entrance. We didn’t even notice it until we had to ask the unfriendly waiter to mark us down for our table.
Since the café had just recently opened, I was dreading a huge crowd of people and a long wait. Luckily, my family and I came after rush hour. Although this did decrease the waiting period, we still had to wait 10 to 15 minutes.
The décor of the restaurant is somewhat vibrant with color-blocked walls of blue and orange. The waiting area has little toilets for people to sit on with plungers next to each one that children can play around with. One wall also has urinals stuck on them with menus placed in each one, giving away the bizarre theme to any interested passersby. The chairs are authentic toilets that you can open (although I wouldn’t recommend it since it would be very uncomfortable to sit on) and one wall is aligned with tiles and shower heads. I must admit that these strange furnishings definitely uphold the restaurant’s even stranger theme.
Appetizer
Though my adventurous taste buds wanted to delve into the Stinky Tofu on the “Appetizers” section in the menu, I had to resist since I already had to control my gag reflex from eating out of the toilet-shaped dishes—I didn’t want to have to hold it down for the smell, too. Instead, we opted to stay safe with the $5 Fried Tofu, which was served with a sweet chili sauce. I really enjoyed this appetizer since the outside was crunchy and flavorful even without the sauce—each one was dusted with a nice salt and pepper coating. The chili sauce added a nice flavor that paired well with the smooth texture of the bean curd.
Entrée
I wanted to deviate from the standard Taiwanese-Asian dishes (ground pork rice, fried rice, etc.) so I decided to pick a dish that stood out: the Mango Fish Katsu. Mango…with fish? No matter how strange it sounded, I had to try it, and I’m so glad I did because this was by far the softest fish I have ever tasted in my entire life.
Though the dish was $10, the platter came with a generous amount of the typical panko-covered fried fish with mango-flavored dipping sauce on the side. When I took a bite of the fish dipped in the yellow sauce, I could hear the crunch of the crispy coating and my palate was immediately hit by a mango taste that gave the fish an extra oomph. The fish was a star on its own because it was so soft and flaky that it almost seemed to melt in my mouth. The Mango Fish Katsu was by far the best dish of the night.
Dessert
The image of the Marshmallow Brick Toast on the menu drew me the instant I laid my eyes on it. The $6 dessert looked like the typical Asian inch-thick toast usually topped with some confectionery condiment and fruit. The Marshmallow Brick Toast, however, had tiny puffs of what looked like browned pillows (they were actually torched marshmallows) drizzled with chocolate and caramel and sprinkled with almonds. When I cut through the thick bread, the marshmallow oozed like a s’more. The dessert was an explosion of sweet goodness in my mouth, but it was quite rich so I downed a lot of water and ended up splitting it with my sister. Interestingly enough, this dish was the only one that was not served on a toilet plate. Nevertheless, it was a delectable way to end my meal.
