5 meats, 20 vegetables – Taichung’s affordable “sukiyaki” all-you-can-eat buffet

Text & photos by /Mika

I’ve visited this Butou Shokudo sukiyaki specialty store (Kōeki branch) twice now – I love their broth. Normally, with sukiyaki, I’m afraid the seasoning is too heavy and it gets super greasy if I eat too much, but not here. It’s richly sweet with a subtle salty aroma, and you can eat as much as you want without feeling heavy or bloated. Plus, it’s very refreshing. For someone like me who’s determined to stuff themselves silly with meat, a clean and non-greasy broth keeps my eating stamina going longer.

Also, the service here is top-notch. The vegetable cart comes around really frequently. They offer five kinds of freshly sliced meats, 20 types of fresh vegetables, 15 varieties of hot and cold drinks – all unlimited – plus a free dessert. On weekdays, lunch all-you-can-eat is just NT$359, while dinner and holidays are NT$429. The value is amazing, making it the perfect affordable-yet-luxurious sukiyaki all-you-can-eat spot loved by budget-conscious girls.

Located on Kōeki Road – one of the most competitive dining streets in town – and being an all-you-can-eat restaurant, the standards have to be high to survive Taichung’s discerning food scene.

The decor is quite unique and impressive.

If you apply for VIP status, you get NT$200 off for every NT$1,000 spent, up to a maximum discount of NT$200 per transaction – seems like a pretty good deal. Also, spend NT$500 and you get one hour of free parking at the affiliated lot: the intersection of Kōeki Road and Dàyīng Road.

The waiting area is really upscale. The design is classic and elegant, and the private rooms are even more beautiful.

We also dined in a private room last time, and honestly, stuffing your face with meat in such an elegant setting feels a bit out of place, XD.

Taichung restaurants really go all out – the designs are always so thoughtfully done. Butou Shokudo sukiyaki specialty store offers a traditional Chinese classical Zen-style aesthetic space. Even with the rich aroma of hot pot wafting through the air, the place remains elegant.

Pricing: Weekday lunch NT$359, dinner and holidays NT$429 / Dining time is 90 minutes. Unlimited meats, fresh vegetables, mushrooms, drinks, and a free dessert / A 10% service charge applies.

Drinks and desserts: Hot drinks need to be ordered separately via form but are still free; cold drinks are available at a self-serve bar with unlimited supply.

Seafood can be added for an extra fee.

Meats, hot drinks, hot pot ingredients, and rice-based items can all be ordered as add-ons, also unlimited. Since it was just the two of us and our “eating power” was weak, we realized we didn’t order anything extra – what a pity. We should’ve tried the hand-rolled meat wraps.

In addition to sukiyaki, you can also choose one from four other broths: (Hokkaido kelp broth / medicinal herbal tonic broth / tomato & vegetable broth / spicy hotpot (winter limited)) – we went with Hokkaido kelp broth paired with sukiyaki.

Since we were set on eating tons of meat, a lighter broth was better.

Before eating sukiyaki, you have to prepare the dipping sauce. Butou Shokudo uses inspected Qinyi eggs. Just crack the egg into a bowl → sprinkle with shichimi spice → add a generous amount of chopped green onions → mix well. Dip the sukiyaki-cooked meat into the raw egg sauce – it makes the meat more tender and adds an eggy fragrance. It’s the most common way to enjoy it. If you’re not into raw eggs, you can also ask the server for yuzu sauce as an alternative. The two sauces offer different flavors for a double delight.

Australian flat iron beef– high lean meat ratio, making it more refreshing. The freshly sliced beef is of medium thickness and very large, making each piece just the right size after cooking.

American premium beef– the meat is more tender with a richer fat content.

Plum blossom pork– the pork also has a rich fat content, and the slices are huge, which is super satisfying for pork lovers like me.

Tender chicken– made with freshly butchered chicken, the meat is tender yet slightly springy. Paired with the sukiyaki broth, it’s a perfect match that really brings out the sweetness of the chicken – absolutely delicious.

Seafood platter (additional NT$99)– the seafood part costs extra, but it’s not expensive. For seafood lovers like us, adding some seafood to the broth makes it both sweet and full of ocean flavor, so we went for it.

As usual, they first bring out a basic round of meat – two pieces of each type. We ordered lamb last because it has a stronger flavor, and the server recommended saving it for the end. Our “eating strength” is so weak that after finishing the first round of meats (two plates of each), we couldn’t even eat the lamb, XDD.

Right when you sit down, there’s a basic plate of veggies – my favorite being the sweet corn, along with fresh, crisp greens.

In addition to the basic serving plates, there’s also a vegetable cart that comes around. The staff on the cart are super diligent, often checking if we’d like more vegetables. I almost got full just from their attentive service—I couldn’t help but keep adding more, XD

There were a total of 20 types of fresh vegetables, mushrooms, tofu skin, tofu, and so on. My personal favorite was the tofu skin—soft, tender, and full of that delicious beany flavor. Then there was the fruit corn; why was I going crazy for it? It was so sweet and crispy. I also loved pumpkin and loofah—they pair really well with sukiyaki, turning sweet when cooked and tasting amazing.

Coming here is all about eating your fill of meat, but of course, vegetables are a must too. You need balanced nutrition; eating only meat can get tiring fast.

Sea bream NT$60Being a seafood lover, I also ordered sea bream. Its delicate texture and sweet, fresh taste were wonderful.

Squid NT$89I also really liked the squid—it had a smooth yet slightly chewy and bouncy texture that never got boring, no matter how much I ate.

Drinks are available unlimited, with over 15 hot and cold beverage options.

There was even my beloved iced genmaicha green tea!! I don’t like sugary drinks when I eat hot pot; I prefer unsweetened tea, and genmaicha with its rice aroma is my top choice.

Friends who love juice, cola, or slushies will also find plenty of options here.

Apple oolong tea—I’d recommend this as my top hot drink. It has a rich apple fragrance and is so comforting when hot. My friend reordered it five times that day, and at one point the server even brought us three cups at once, haha.

There aren’t as many dessert options as drinks, but what’s available is quite high-quality. Three winter dessert choices:Uji matcha ice cream, premium desserts (varies by season), white fungus and red date soup. The white fungus and red date soup felt very healthy—warm, sweet, comforting, and great for the stomach. The homemade cheese had a rich milky aroma and a melt-in-your-mouth texture that was delicate and delicious. The chocolate cake was a hidden birthday cake option, rich with a slight bitterness in the aftertaste, dense and moist, making it a top pick for chocolate lovers.

OREO vanilla potted ice creamThis is an occasional special dessert treat. The OREO pieces really looked like soil, and with two vanilla sticks on top, it resembled a little potted plant. The vanilla ice cream was delicious, and paired with the crunchy, sweet OREO bits, it was cool, crisp, smooth, and sweet.

Badao Shifu Sukiyaki (Gongyi Branch)
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Address: No. 162, Daguang Street, Nantun District, Taichung City
Business hours: 10:30–16:30 / 17:00–22:30
Phone: 04-23263322

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MIKA’s Foodie Adventure Journal