Tasting Journey #66 - 吳記麻辣鴛鴦鍋

吳記麻辣鴛鴦鍋
台北市松山區八德路四段143號
02.2748.0666

Came here for a late night dinner around 10pm, and there were still 3 tables full of guests. I guess this is what a "老店" is like - no fancy interior decoration, nor contemporary design to attract the younger generation, yet it is able to survive amongst the bustling full of new restaurants in Taipei.  Its main guest-streams are returning guests and guests that come by word of mouth. I heard this place has been around forever.
The server told me that they will open till 3am as long as there are guests, but that they can close whenever after midnight. 

Unlike other spicy hotpot where all the dishes ordered are served on separate plates, they place many of the ingredients in the pot when they bring out the soup base.  I guess this is considered "home-style" since most people making hotpot at home would put many of the ingredients such as tofu, fish paste, cabbage...etc in the broth to start with.

Pork was OK even though we ordered high quality pork slices for the meat.  Dishes worth mentioning are: fish paste, meat balls and the pickled cabbage.  Being not a crazy fan of fish paste, I do have to say that theirs is quite tasty because it doesn't taste like typical fish paste. Bur rather, it tasted more like tofu to me.
The meat balls tasted home-made, which made it tastefully unique. Their pickled cabbage is really sour, to the point that it can probably be used to cook 酸菜白肉鍋 (sour cabbage pork hot pot). But we ate it just like that, and tastes just as good - well, if you are a fan of sour dishes.

I highly recommend this place. Price-wise, it is a bit on the higher side compared to other spicy hotpot places. We ended up spending $1,600 for 2 people (there were quite a bit of left overs) so I would say the portions ordered are more for 3 people. Like all other shared hot pots, I suggest that this place is a worthy-visit when you have a group of at least 4 people.

 
...and btw, did I mention that the owner looks just like one of my (and my mom's) all-time favourite singer - 蔡琴 (Tsai Chin). Her make-up, hair-style and the way she talks just captivates me.  While my friend places the order, I had to make multiple sneak peaks at her, trying hard not to stare and make her feel uncomfortable.  But if you are fan of Tsai Chin, you must come and take a look. hehee....:)