Wu Emblem Spicy Hot Pot 吳記麻辣火鍋店

Profile

Address:    台北市八德路四段143號

                   No. 143, Section 4, Ba De Road, Songshan District 
Phone #: 02-2748-0066 
Website: http://www.wugee.com.tw/

Price Range:   $$$

Accepts Credit Cards: no

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating:  no
Alcohol: yes

Rating

Food Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Decor:  2.5 out of 5
Service: 2.5 out of 5
Overall: 2.83 out of 5
Recommendation: Too expensive for what you get.

Review

Wu Emblem Spicy Hot Pot serves the popular Numb and Spicy Hot Pot with a wide selection of ingredients and sides. The store in Taipei is located across the street from Living Mall in the Song Shan District. The average meat item is around 500 NT for large plate and 230 NT for small plate. Their vegetables range from 90-120 NT, and their sides like rice and noodles only run around 50 NT. However they have a soup base fee of 400 NT, so the more people the cheaper each person needs to pay for that flat fee. The store was really packed, but the food really wasn't that special. Maybe it was because it was a cold day.

The store was really packed. I guess hot pot stores are very popular across the board no matter what. The interior was pretty dirty. The tables were peeling, the walls were greyish, and the kitchen would probably be shut down by the Public Health Department if this were run in L.A. The service was horrible as well. When we walked in, we had to find a server to seat us. The servers hardly ask what you need, and so flagging them down is a necessity here. The way the service is run here is very inefficient, they even for to bring us one of our ordered items. This store is not as good as their original store that was located near the CTS building in the east side. Because of their stinky restrooms, dirty looking tables, and sluggardly service, they get a 2.5 for decor and service.

This is what the half and half set up looks like. Most of the items you order will be placed into the soup already, you just need to cook some meat and vegetable items. Their meat was thicker and looked fresher than at those cheaper joints, so this place still beats those 100 NT shabu shabu or 168 All you can eat hot pot places in terms of ingredient quality. The only gripes I have with this place is that their hot pot soup base was not as spicy and flavorful as I would like. It had a powdery flower pepper texture to it, which made it very thick and grainy. They did not incorporate enough herbs and spices to make the soup even more flavorful, rather than just spicy. The food they provide is just a better than average quality, and since a good Hot Pot is primarily judged by quality of the soup base, this place only gets a 3.5 out of 5. I recommend you to go to Spicy in the Middle for a better all you can eat spicy hot pot experience. They have better service, cleaner environment, wider selection of ingredients, and a much better soup base. If you can get sick of a certain soup base throughout the course of a meal, then there is certainly something wrong with it. A good hot pot soup base can keep your butt on that chair for hours.