Mabu Generation Downtown serves up innovative takes on Taiwanese cuisine.

This location, located steps away from the Wellesley subway station, maintains a similar aesthetic to its original counterpart.

The restaurant's walls are packed with Taiwanese memorabilia including vintage vinyl album covers and cute street signs.

The menu here is pretty diverse. While they're mostly rooted in Taiwanese cuisine, there's a significant Japanese influence too along with assorted Asian-inspired touches.

The Grilled Marinated Beef Tongue with Sea Salt and Onion Sauce ($15.99) comes already cooked but they give you a sizzling skillet to further grill the meat to get that light char. Dip it in onion sauce for maximum flavour.

The Volcano Ribs with Chili Sour Sauce and Thai Pepper ($17.99) is a must-order. Inspired by a Thai/Southeast Asian dish, this feast for your eyes is a delicious spicy mix of fall-off-the-bone ribs bathed in green chilies. 

Japanese influence can be seen in the hot plate rice dishes here, like the Sizzling Beef with Rice on Hot Plate ($14.99). It's seasoned with a lightly sweet and spicy black pepper teriyaki sauce and garlic. I wish there was a bit more cheese here, but overall the dish works well.

For some satisfying comfort food, the Taiwanese Fried Chicken Cutlet with Sichuan Pepper ($11.99) is a delicious and tender piece of chicken that has been well-seasoned with lightly spiced peppers. 

More Southeast Asian influence can be seen in the Thai Basil Chili Pork on Rice ($11.99) which brings to mind a mild version of phat kaphrao.

Arguably the most iconic Taiwanese dish is the smelly/stinky tofu and Mabu's take on this signature item is in a satisfyingly large hot pot version.

The Stinky Tofu Hot Pot ($19.99) is one beast of a meal, with everything from cabbage and tomatoes to sausages, luncheon meat, and quail eggs piled on with smelly tofu inside a small sizzling pan.

It even comes with a side of instant noodles so you can carbo-load while enjoying the feast. 

Those looking for a lighter meal might want to order the Rainbow Yogurt Salad ($10.99) with blueberry yogurt, black sticky rice, assorted fruits like strawberries and bananas as well as peanuts and Oreo crumbs.

For dessert, the Ice Cream Lava Cake with Yogurt Cheese ($15.99) is a marble-looking mess that tastes like a liquid cheesecake and is somehow satisfyingly delicious.

The Mabu House Special Grass Jelly ($15.99) comes served in the form of a hot pot except it's cold.

There's everything from chewy taro balls to raisins, tapioca, and grass jelly in here, all swimming in a lovely sweet "soup" of milk tea.

Even the beverages here look a little extra, like the Dirty Brown Sugar Milk Cheese Tea ($6.99), which is essentially an elevated take on a brown sugar milk tea. The chocolate chips are a cute touch.