I bet you can’t leave Taichung without checking out the hype of Miyahara and its fancy instagrammable ice-cream. So if you are one of us, you may also find it unbearable to pay the ridiculous price.
A street across the overrated Miyahara lies a quiet alley of tea house and a famous Taiwanese hotpot restaurant. That is exactly where we want to be.
Cross the bridge and spend at an authentic Taiwanese hotpot that is worth more of your money and fills up your belly.
Overview
- Where to eat?
- What is Taiwanese hotpot?
- How to prepare dipping sauce?
- What should you order?
- Basic hotpot dining etiquette
- Prices
Taiwan Chen Hot Pot 台灣陳沙茶火鍋
What is Taiwanese hotpot?
More than the food, hotpot itself is a culture deeply embedded in every Chinese. However, each region has their own unique style of doing it. In Taiwan, it is known to be eaten with Shacha sauce 沙茶酱 which is made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chilis, brill fish, and dried shrimp.
How to prepare dipping sauce?
A good dip is absolutely necessary for a hotpot session. The main protagonist here is the BBQ sauce, more often known as Shacha sauce. Each person will get a tiny bowl of Shacha sauce and you can add other toppings into the same bowl to make your personalised dipping sauce.
There is a condiment stand that has black vinegar, sesame oil, salt, white pepper powder, chilli flakes, cut chilli, crushed garlic and chopped spring onions.
Just add whatever to your liking but it should be slightly watery so that you can properly ‘dip’ your meat in.
What should you order?
Beancurd skin 黄金豆皮
Definitely our favourite sides! The point is to quickly dip the crispy beancurd skin into the soup for just 2 seconds and it is ready to eat.
Signature meatballs 招牌燕丸
Meat wrapped with another layer of meat. The juice flows out when you bite into one of these balls. Can’t go wrong.
Pork belly and beef slices 猪肉牛肉片
These thinly sliced meat are the best to dip in the sauce you just made for yourself! A few different varieties and grades to choose from.
Basic hotpot dining etiquette
- Only start putting in food when the soup boils and only take out once it’s fully cooked (except beef).
- Use the communal serving chopsticks to put raw meat and use your personal chopsticks to pick it up once it’s cooked.
- Start by putting in ingredients that take longer to cook such as meatballs, hard vegetables etc. Then continue with meat and leafy greens that cook fast.
- Never ramage through the soup – deemed as a rude and picky eater.
- Only add noodles/egg halfway or towards the end of the session as it may change the taste of the soup drastically.
- Lastly, enjoy it slowly like how a hotpot session is supposed to be!
Prices
The basic soup base plus a plate of vegetables is mandatory and cost 180 TWD
Meat range from 230-450 TWD
Sides are 60-120 TWD
If no special seafood or beef is ordered, it should be about 400-600 TWD per pax.
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