Garage Lamb Hot Pot 車庫羊肉爐

Profile
Garage Lamb Hot Pot is a mom and pop restaurant literally run out of their own garage. It is located in a small alley in the Jhongshan District. For 1600 NT, a party of 4 can enjoy a filling meal consisting of pork and kimchi lettuce wraps and a simmering pot of Lamb Hot Pot. They claim that they use year old lamb and do not add large amounts of herbal spices. The reason for this is that they want to present the natural flavor of their lamb, which proves the fresh quality of their meat. However, if you want to dine at this place you must register with your name or cell phone during peak hours (18:00-21:00). What you get is worth the price.

Address: 台北市合江街93巷10號

                 No. 10, Lane 93, Héjiāng St, Jhongshan District

Phone #: 02-2503-9503

Business Hours: 18:00-23:00
Website: Restaurant Facebook Page

Accepts Credit Cards: no

Price Range: $$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

Take out: yes
Waiter Service: yes
Outdoor seating: yes
Alcohol: yes

Rating
Food Quality: 4 out of 5
Decor:  2 out of 5
Service: 4 out of 5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5

Final Thought: Quality hot pot although not really worth the trek

Review

Ishizen 石膳日本料理

Profile

Ishizen is a surprising little Japanese hot pot restaurant located in the fringe of the Sin Yi District. The chef is an actually Japanese and a direct descendant of a famous chef family line. The chef's grandfather was the founder of sumo wrestler hot pots and his father was a famous french chef lauded by the Japanese royal family. By some twist of fate, the owner married a Taiwanese woman and ended up bringing his family recipes to Taiwan and serves authentic Japanese food to the people here. The standard hot pot set consists of many types of seafood, slices of red meat, and plenty of vegetables. They use the most high quality ingredients, their salmon and scallops are sashimi grade, so the high price is warranted. The soup base is also very special. They use white beans fermented for a year as the base of the broth, and they also place a few secret spices including red peppers. However, the meal will be rather light in flavor in comparison to spicy Taiwanese hotpots, but you can defintitely taste the freshness and the raw unadulterated flavors of their ingredients with their style of soup base and condiments. Ishizen is worth a visit for a unique Japanese hot pot experience in Taipei.

Address:  台北市基隆路一段428號

                 Section 1, Jīlóng Rd, Sinyi District Taipei City

Phone #:  02-8780-2836

Business Hours: 11:30-14:00, 17:30-21:30

Website: http://www.ishizen.com.tw/
Accepts Credit Cards: yes

Price Range:   $$$$

Attire: casual

Good for kids: yes

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

Rating

Food Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Decor:  3 out of 5
Service: 3 out of 5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5

Final Thought: Authentic Japanese Sumo Wrestler Hot Pot

Review

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.