Four Must-Try Taiwanese Hot Pot Restaurants in Hong Kong
As the weather cools down, it's the perfect time for hot pot. Recently, many friends have been asking for recommendations on Taiwanese hot pot restaurants. Here are a few selected ones to share with you.
1. Rou Duo Duo Hot Pot
If you've been to Taiwan, you might be familiar with this hot pot chain. It has recently opened in Hong Kong, located in Causeway Bay.
Soup Base: Taiwanese hot pot is incomplete without spicy soup base. Here, there are several options, but I chose the signature stir-fried seafood stone pot. The staff will stir-fry shrimp and onions in front of you, then add tomatoes and pork slices before adding the soup. The aroma during the stir-fry is truly enticing, something I've never seen in local hot pot restaurants. The soup is rich and slightly sweet, quite unique.
Meat: As the name suggests, Rou Duo Duo offers a generous amount of meat. We ordered the meat waterfall, which is sure to make any meat lover drool. We chose a combination of Japanese pork and Australian beef. The staff will pour water over dry ice to create a waterfall effect. Both types of meat are thinly sliced and tender after a quick dip in the soup. As a typical meat-loving Hong Konger, I have a preference for beef.
Other Ingredients: We also ordered seafood and dumplings. I particularly liked the seafood, with the sea bream being very fresh and sweet, and the squid being crunchy and not chewy.
Dessert: There are traditional Taiwanese desserts like winter melon, grass jelly, taro balls, and aiyu jelly, as well as ice cream. A sweet treat after hot pot is very satisfying.
Environment and Service: The decor is not luxurious, but the entire restaurant has booth seating, which is quite comfortable, and offers an open view of Victoria Park. The staff, who seem to be from Taiwan, are polite and proactive.
2. Wu Lao Guo
Another famous Taiwanese hot pot restaurant, the Causeway Bay branch is very popular.
Soup Base: There are only three options. Since half of our group doesn't like spicy food, we chose the white soup base. It includes duck blood and tofu, and the soup has a slight herbal taste, which is quite good.
Meat: The pork shoulder is not tough and has a nice meat flavor. The pork belly is softer, but I personally prefer the shoulder.
Other Ingredients: The must-try is the ice cream tofu, which should be left in the soup for about ten minutes without stirring. It has a texture similar to fish tofu, which I really like.
Dessert: After the hot pot, they serve peach sorbet, which is sweet and refreshing.
Environment and Service: The decor is classical and comfortable. However, the 90-minute dining time is a bit rushed for hot pot.
3. Hao Jia Taiwanese Hot Pot
This is an all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant with different price levels for the food. If you're going to eat, go for the best!
Soup Base: We chose the dual soup base. The black one is the health-boosting black garlic chicken soup, and the white one is the pepper almond pig stomach soup. The soup bases are rich and can be drunk as soup. They don't dilute the soup when adding more, maintaining the flavor, which is impressive for an all-you-can-eat place.
Meat: The beef is of good quality, especially the chuck flap tail, which is far superior to the usual all-you-can-eat quality.
Other Ingredients: The seafood is also good, with crunchy prawns, tender abalone, scallops, and sandfish. Since it's all-you-can-eat, there are plenty of vegetables and dumplings to choose from. I like to finish with a bowl of instant noodles, which is very satisfying.
Dessert: The taro balls and brown sugar pearl tofu pudding are delightful surprises.
Environment and Service: The environment is tidy, but we were unlucky to be seated next to loud guests. All-you-can-eat places are usually busy, but the service is decent, with robots helping to serve the food.
4. Don't Forget
Another all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant.
Soup Base: For four people, we chose two pots. One was Taiwanese spicy with coconut chicken, and the other was tomato soup with Taiwanese herbal angelica. The inclusion of duck blood makes it more appealing than most all-you-can-eat hot pot places in Tsuen Wan.
Meat: The meat quality is impressive for an all-you-can-eat place, with flavorful American chuck eye roll, Angus beef short ribs, and beef chuck. For those who don't eat beef, there's also Kagoshima pork belly and lamb rolls to satisfy you.
Other Ingredients: The Shaoxing wine chicken is tender and pairs well with the herbal soup base. There are also some authentic Taiwanese snacks.
Dessert: The snowflake ice is as smooth as Korean shaved ice, and the mini waffles are of good quality, making you want more. Each person also gets a box of Movenpick ice cream.
Environment: The pink theme is likely to be popular with girls.
Restaurant Information:
Rou Duo Duo Hot Pot
3/F, Sugar+, 25-31 Sugar Street, Causeway Bay
Wu Lao Guo
5/F, V Point, 18 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
Hao Jia Taiwanese Hot Pot
3/F, Emperor Watch & Jewellery Centre, 8 Russell Street, Causeway Bay
Don't Forget
Shop 2032, 2/F, Tsuen Wan Citywalk I, 68 Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan