Wu Lao Guo in Taipei
[Non-halal] Wu Lao Guo 無老鍋 is one of the most popular hot pot restaurants in Taiwan.
We really enjoyed the hotpot here at Wu Lao Gao (Wu Lao Hotpot). The soup base and Layered Tofu were unlike anything we’ve tried before – and we do recommend checking this place out if you’re in Taipei.
Wu Lao Guo 無老鍋 in Taipei
Wu Lao Guo has three branches in Taipei (as well as two in Taichung and Kaohsiung) but we decided to check out the one at Zhongshan (located close to Chifeng Street).
Note that reservations are highly recommended as the restaurants are very popular.
We were able to get our hotel receptionist to help book a spot for 3 pm on a weekday, but you could also make reservations on their website. Needless to say, Wu Lao Guo is usually fully booked out on the weekends.
Also, note that they have a dining time limit of 90 minutes.
Wu Lao Guo Hotpot is a hot spot
Wu Lao Guo literally translates to “Never get old” hotpot in English.
Hence, it comes as no surprise that the signature soup here is infused with lots of healthy properties from herbs and chicken-pork bone stock.
More importantly, the soup base was really tasty as well!
Wu Lao Guo in Zhongshan offers a comfortable space
We also found the dining space here to be very comfortable as Wu Lao Guo takes inspiration from the “Fairy Peach-blossom Village” to provide a relaxing dining experience for every customer.
Wu Lao Guo’s super delicate Layered Tofu
There are two signature hotpot soups offered here – Layered Tofu Hot Pot and Spicy Wulao Hotpot.
The Layered Tofu Hot Pot’s broth is made with chicken and pork bone which was simmered for hours with Chinese spices and aromatics such as onions, scallion, ginger, and garlic.
The broth takes its name from the unlimited top-up of soft layered tofu – which was unlike anything we’ve tried.
The tofu is essentially made with many layers of bean curd sheets which provide a really unique and tasty texture when eating. However, the tofu still remained super delicate and rich in soy taste.
Did we mention we have unlimited top-ups for the layered tofu?
The soup itself was really delicious too. It was creamy and wonderfully savoury thanks to the pork-chicken bones, with good flavours from the herbs and aromatics.
Creamy Tofu
Actually, we ordered the Twin-Sided Hotpot with Creamy Tofu (or Ice-Cream Tofu as a direct translation) and Spicy Wulao as our two soup bases.
The Creamy Tofu’s broth essentially comes with the Layered Tofu Hot Pot base with an added serving of creamy tofu.
Made with squid paste, milk, and egg – we found the creamy tofu to be super delicate and soft like marshmallows. It was really unlike anything we’ve tried before.
Spicy Wulao Hotpot
As for the Spicy Wulao Hotpot, we found the broth to be quite tolerable and not as spicy as the typical Sichuan mala pepper soup. Hence, we thought it was quite accessible for most palates.
Both soups also come with duck blood jelly – which might be off-putting for some but we did enjoy the smooth texture and light iron taste.
Beef Short Plate & Pork Shoulder
No hotpot is complete without some meat – so we ordered the Beef Short Plate & Pork Shoulder Boston Butt Combo (TWD528 or US17).
No complaints here – both types of meat were fresh with a nice meat-and-fat ratio. These were also adequately cut into thin slices, which require a short time to fully cook in the pot.
Assorted meatball platter
The Assorted Meatball Plate and Paste Combo (TWD388 or USD12) comprise a handmade fishball, squid ball, shrimp ball, beef ball, shrimp paste, and scallop pastes.
All of these were freshly made and exquisitely done but the standout was probably the shrimp balls as they actually had chunks of shrimp in them.
The paste was good too and we were really surprised by how many scallops were used.
Assorted fresh vegetables
The portion of the Assorted Fresh Vegetables (TWD188 or USD6) was quite generous. We like the variety of vegetables on the platter – which also included pumpkin, ear fungus, corn, and yam/sweet potato balls.
Summary
While we don’t eat hot pot much in Malaysia, we really enjoyed the food here at Wu Lao Guo.
The layered tofu and soup base was unlike those we’ve tasted elsewhere, and we found the paste and balls to be fresh and unique as well.
The meat slices were also fresh.
Overall, we highly recommend checking out Wu Lao Guo if you were to visit Taiwan.
Wu Lo Guo 無老鍋 Zhongshan Branch
Address: No. 36之1號, Section 2, Zhongshan N Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Hours: 11.30am-2am Daily
Website: wulao.com.tw
Phone: +886 2 2581 6238
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