Taiwan IS the land of hotpot. A hotpot meal can range from NTD120 to NTD2000 (SGD$6-100) and options are abundant in Taiwan. One place I highly recommend is 雞湯大叔 Broth Master. The one I visited this week (and the one I usually visit) is conveniently located in the Eslite Building in Xin Yi district.
Here are just some of the reasons why I love this place:
They have amazing soups.
As the name of the shop suggests, the soups served are all chicken-based. They usually serve three different kinds of soups – chicken vegetable soup, brandy chicken soup, and a seasonal soup which happened to be truffle mushroom chicken soup. The chicken soup is very tasty and does not have MSG added. Upon entering the restaurant, the service crew will ask if you’d like to sample the soup and if you’d like to, they introduce each type of soup to you and let you sample the soups in shot glasses.
The soup I had this time was the truffle mushroom chicken soup which had a very strong mushroom flavour that went well with whatever I cooked in my hotpot!
They have very fresh meat and vegetable options.
This shop provides different types of meats and cuts. The beef and pork slice options are nice, fresh and have sufficient fats (you know what I mean). For those that prefer chicken, they also have both the chicken breast option or the chicken thigh option.
The chicken thighs is already half-cooked when served, so it only needs to be cooked for another three to five minutes in the soup. The chicken thigh pieces have hints of rosemary herbs and a nice tasty skin. Do note that each hotpot comes with a few slices of chicken thigh pieces so I highly suggest choosing a different meat/seafood when selecting your meats.
Each hotpot set ordered also comes with a bowl of vegetables. Each bowl has a variety of vegetables ranging from leafy vegetables to mushroom and sweet potato. If you love to have vegetables with your hotpot, you’d be happy to know that the vegetables served are fresh and the portion is pretty big!
If you aren’t too much of a vegetable lover, individuals have the option of switching it up for another plate of meat instead. This caters to meat lovers out there, or to those who prefer just eating selected vegetables.
They have many add-on options.
From deep fried tofu skin, to more plates of meats, seafood, taro and other kinds of vegetables, the options are very wide and the prices are very affordable. Half a portion of deep fried tofu skin costs NTD 19 (less than SGD$1). Extra meat slices also cost around NTD 70 – 80 (~SGD$3.5 – 4).
How to order food here:
- Select your soup
- Select your meat (the prices displayed with each meat option is the price of your entire hotpot meal (soup, meat, vegetable bowl, mains, dessert). Prices range from NTD 328 onwards (~SGD$16)
- Select your mains (rice, noodles, glass noodles, egg)
Conclusion
I highly recommend 雞湯大叔 Broth Master because the soups are AMAZING (if you’ve stayed in Taiwan for a while, you’d realize that soup options are quite limited here). The chicken soups here are tasty, meats and vegetables are fresh, and this place is welcoming. Prices are also reasonable for the quality of food.
The service level of this place is impeccable, with service staff who are approachable and attentive. They encourage all customers to provide reviews after every meal so that they can continually improve themselves. Customers also can collect rewards for their next meal with every review submitted.
With five locations across Taipei, this shop is also very accessible. Do remember to make a reservation or come early to queue as this place can get pretty packed!
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