All-you-can-eat spicy hotpot in Ximending, plus wild bluefin tuna!

Text and photos byBurnout Nurse

Ximending is a must-visit destination for many tourists, and of course, there’s no shortage of food. At Takao1972, you can currently enjoy an all-you-can-eat meal with wild bluefin tuna for just NT$598. In addition to the all-you-can-eat hotpot, there are also à la carte options, including Japanese-style grilled rice bowls, grilled fish, sushi, and sashimi.<饭可选择，住宿在Hotel PaPa Whale这里还可以在早餐时吃到打狗霸的火锅，平价又超值的选择加上500坪超大的优质用餐空间，真的是西门町是火锅的首选。

Visiting the Kunming branch of Takao1972 in Ximending was actually quite a surprise—this place is huge!

Yes, you read that right. Aside from hotpot, wild tuna is another major highlight at Takao1972. Not only can you enjoy an all-you-can-eat hotpot and order tuna sashimi, but you can also savor 100% wild bluefin tuna here. Takao1972 offers a variety of dishes, including Japanese premium hot pot, Japanese-style hot pot, Sichuan spicy hot pot, stone pot hot pot, Japanese sukiyaki, sashimi, nigiri sushi, and rice bowls.

This is the dining environment at the sashimi bar. Hand rolls start at NT$40, sashimi at NT$100, and sushi at NT$50.<饭或盖饭则是135元起就能吃到，价格可说是平价中的平价。

Aside from some sculptures,

The M-shaped dining space features a central courtyard for relaxation. Here, you can enjoy a delicious meal while occasionally glancing at the pool by the window, accompanied by soft music, making for a very comfortable dining experience.

For set-menu hotpot and all-you-can-eat hotpot, there are different seating areas, but the decor and seat arrangements are all very comfortable. The bar counter area feels like a personal dining space, so even if you’re dining alone, it doesn’t feel awkward.

Aside from the courtyard, the restaurant has reserved many display spaces resembling installation art, showcasing the ingredients used in the dishes as decorations.

After reading the above, you must be wondering about the prices, right? There are two-person set meals that start serving with just two people, with two different price options for couples: NT$398 and NT$498.

There’s also an individual hotpot starting at NT$238, with options including Japanese-style, Sichuan spicy, stone pot, and sukiyaki.

Here’s a look at the prices for sashimi and sushi—you’ll see they’re really not expensive at all.

For big eaters, you can opt for the NT$598 all-you-can-eat option, though the hotpot choices are limited to Japanese-style and Sichuan spicy.

Aside from the ingredient display area, even the dishes in the refrigerated cabinets are clearly visible—they’re not only generous in portion but also fresh.

During breakfast, there’s a coffee option available. I visited at noon, so the only drink option was Japanese green tea, but the all-you-can-eat menu includes add-ons like Coke, Sprite, Fanta, and lemon black tea.

Today, I’ll go with the all-you-can-eat option. The first round of dishes served had really generous portions. The vegetable platter included cabbage, corn, enoki mushrooms, onions, wood ear mushrooms, pumpkin, broccoli, and Chinese spinach. If you love vegetables, you can also choose additional items like tofu, frozen tofu, taro, youtiao (Chinese cruller), sliced loofah, and Chinese cabbage from the menu.

The pot uses a cast iron pot with excellent heat retention. Honestly, this Sichuan spicy hotpot smells amazing when it arrives. After taking a sip of the broth—wow, it’s a rich, drinkable broth. It’s not only fragrant, with a moderate level of spiciness that doesn’t get saltier the longer it cooks, but it also has a hint of sweetness.

When the pot is first served, you’ll get two large angel red shrimp. Getting angel red shrimp with an all-you-can-eat option is really a great deal. Later, the shrimp will be replaced with larger grass shrimp, which are also pretty big. Aside from the angel red shrimp, there are also milkfish, scallops, and small squid. This round of seafood is really satisfying.

Just the vegetable and seafood platters alone make the whole spread look amazing.

This plate of meatballs and dumplings includes shrimp balls, chikuwa (fish cake tubes), crystal dumplings, and pig’s blood cake.

Once all the meat plates arrive, it’s really an extravagant spread. So, with all-you-can-eat, you definitely can’t just say “whatever, just bring me one round”—that would be deadly.

This round of meat plates includes domestic pork belly, pork loin, premium beef belly, premium beef loin, Prime sirloin, and tender chicken fillet.

The spicy hotpot comes with duck blood and tofu. The duck blood is soft and tender with no fishy taste, and the tofu becomes even more delicious the longer it cooks. Most importantly, these two items, known as the kings of the spicy hotpot base, can also be ordered as add-ons.

After trying one round of meat, my favorite is the beef loin.

The rice cake cooked in the spicy hotpot for a while is also highly recommended.

Unlike Burnout Nurse’s enjoyable spicy hotpot experience, Bowl|... still? The field is quiet.

Although the Sichuan spicy hotpot is flavorful enough, I still quietly went to get a bowl of scallions.

Halfway through the meal, the restaurant serves you a bowl of sorbet—tangy and sweet, really refreshing.

Wait, what’s the green onion for in the “liver-exploding” dish? Haha, just continuously dunking meat is so boring. Before you know it, you've whipped up a whole bowl of spicy hot pot~ bowl|junhaobutai?xinquegu,?ninqishu?,?nkeshuyan?,?nitukeyan?...

Liver-exploding: No no, this is my protein-diet version of spicy hot pot！

Need more broth?

Yes please！

In the blink of an eye, wow, it’s quietly turned into a huge pot again！

The spicy pot has become brand new again, of course I need to add more base to top it up～

Besides the broth, of course it’s time for a big rescue of beef belly～

bowl|keqimide??chaoxiaoyue?,???demayaxitangjiangweidechashichulaisile！！＜/p>

One slice～two slices～three slices～into the pot they go, watching those red slices of meat cook～～～ (Cue song: Black Tornado)

Ding！Another bowl of spicy hot pot is done！Aside from the tasty meat, the tofu, rice, duck blood, and crystal dumplings really are the perfect combo！

bowl|junhangxiesuyoujiuyuanmeiweile,〖/p>

Is there any seafood in yours at all？？？ This is like a gout-inducing stroke pot！I really don’t know what would happen if bowl|kangmeyihuai?,?huichuxiantazhongshenme?，考/p>

Beef belly, piled high, just bring it all on！

By the way, the corn here is so sweet！ Ate it all on the other side, had to quietly order another serving...

This bowl of spicy hot pot is just loaded with beef belly—so satisfying～～

Speaking of which, after going to South America, hadn’t had meat in ages, that’s why I chose the all-you-can-eat option this day and ordered five big plates of beef, felt super fulfilling！

But two days after eating, when I met up with friends, “How come you didn’t lose weight after going abroad?” ＝＝

Spicy corn recommended～the sweetness is even more intense！

The shrimp balls here are also bowl|kepinglede,?hubuzhiyaoxiangyizhongkuangjiadeshiguo,?haizaiyoutanxiandeganjue,?hentingshihaochi～

After the meal, you can get up and move around, sit and digest in the courtyard or the reading room of the nearby Hotel PaPa Whale. Of course, since you’re already in Ximending, there’s a shopping paradise right next door—you definitely won’t have to worry about having nowhere to go～

With so many all-you-can-eat options, although Liver-exploding didn’t try everything, everything that was ordered and served was consistently delicious. Plus, at this price, it’s perfect for big eaters or people like Liver-exploding who’ve been abroad and are missing Taiwanese food. And this never-getting-old spicy hot pot broth, I personally really love it, sharing it with everyone. In the bustling heart of Taipei, Ximending, enjoy the diverse offerings from 【Takao1972】 such as Japanese premium hot pot, Japanese-style hot pot, Sichuan spicy hot pot, stone pot hot pot, sukiyaki Japanese cuisine, sashimi, nigiri sushi, rice bowls, and more—it’s really great value.

Takao1972 Hot Pot
Official website：http://www.takao1972.com/zh-tw/TAKAO1972
Kunming Branch: No. 46, Kunming Street, Wanhua District, Taipei City (location of this meal)
Phone: 02-2331-3677
Business hours: 11:00~00:00
Transportation: Exit 6 of Ximen MRT Station, about an 8-minute walk.

We’re the liver-exploding nurses “Meatball” & “bowl|junbao??soujiaolepianzhongdian”. We really hope everyone can come and experience the fun, atmosphere, and local food and culture here. We hope our written introduction can help friends who haven’t been to the area feel the vibe～
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