Hotpot Heats Up the Cold Winter ! Wang Group Launches New Spicy Hotpot Brand – First-Hand Tasting Report

"Qinghua Jiao" does not focus on set meals. All ingredients, including American Choice beef, can be ordered individually. (Photo / Yao Shun)

Following the Vietnamese restaurant "Muyue", the Wang Group has launched a brand-new spicy hotpot brand, "Qinghua Jiao". Its first branch is located at the entrance of Bayi Tong alleyway, at the intersection of Zhongshan N Road and Nanjing E Road in Taipei’s Zhongshan District. Reservations opened on January 15th. During the trial period, diners enjoy unlimited refills of the broth base and receive one portion of beef tendons and beef tripe per table upon checking in. From January 19th to 21st, the first 20 groups of guests each day will receive a "Beef Trio" worth NT$823.

Wang’s "Qinghua Jiao" spicy hotpot broth prides itself on delivering "authentic numbing flavor". Though the broth looks surprisingly oily, it is actually "drinkable". (Photo / Yao Shun)

The "Beef Trio", served on an extra-large plate with a diameter of 55 cm, includes American Choice beef short ribs, pork collar, and snowflake beef. The large platter is priced at NT$748. (Photo / Yao Shun)

"Qinghua Jiao" is the 22nd food and beverage brand established by the Wang Group across both sides of the Taiwan Strait. It is also the second Sichuan-style brand following the mainland’s "Shu San Wei", and its store design, which cost NT$25 million, represents the highest investment among new Wang brands in Taiwan over the past year. It is also the third hotpot brand under the Taiwan division after "Ju" Hotpot and "Shi Er Guo", demonstrating the brand’s ambition to capture the hotpot market. What is the positioning and unique appeal of this new brand? How does it differentiate from existing ones? These are key focuses in the market.

In addition to spicy hotpot, the other broth option in "Qinghua Jiao’s" mixed hotpot is pickled vegetable and pork hotpot. (Photo / Yao Shun)

"Ink Dance Wontons" are made with spring roll wrappers wrapped around cuttlefish sauce and diced bamboo shoots. Their neatly arranged, slender form is very eye-catching on the plate. (Photo / Yao Shun)

Pork tenderloin, also known as "golden six taels of meat", is rolled into a rose shape and served on a stylish blue-and-white porcelain plate at "Qinghua Jiao". (Photo / Yao Shun)

A reporter visited "Qinghua Jiao" before its opening and tried the food, summarizing several features of this new Wang brand:

1. Grand Store Concept: Covering three floors with nearly 200 ping (about 660 m²) and 170 seats, the space is spacious and comfortable. The second and third floors have private rooms for group dining.

2. Stylish and Modern Décor: As the flagship branch, "Qinghua Jiao" adopts a new oriental aesthetic in its interior design, featuring ample natural light and bright illumination. Elements such as blue-and-white porcelain tableware, official-hat-shaped lamps, and Taishi chair-inspired seating create a modern Eastern ambiance—fashionable and minimalist while retaining elegance.

温室栽培的"杏香菇"是香菇和杏鲍菇的混合品种，"青花骄"以整株方式上桌并附剪刀让客人自己剪下涮食。(Photo / Yao Shun)

3. À La Carte Dining: Unlike "Ju" Hotpot and "Shi Er Guo", which offer set meals, and unlike all-you-can-eat hotpot restaurants, "Qinghua Jiao" serves its ingredients à la carte, with portion sizes suitable for sharing.

4. Diverse Ingredients: The menu offers over 60 types of ingredients and dishes. In addition to spicy hotpot, diners can also order or mix-and-match with pickled vegetable and pork hotpot.

4. One Dish, One Dishware: The plates and bowls used for ingredients are carefully selected or custom-designed. The presentation of each dish is thoughtfully arranged to cater to the habits of younger, out-of-home diners who "take photos of everything they eat". The plate used for the "Beef Trio Feast" has a 55 cm diameter—an oversized platter that’s "bigger than a washbasin", making a dramatic and highly eye-catching appearance when served.

To highlight "genuine ingredients", the shrimp paste in the "Fresh Shrimp Balls" visibly contains whole shrimp. (Photo / Yao Shun)

5. Mid-Range Pricing: Lü Yizhen, manager of the new "Qinghua Jiao" brand, said the target clientele is the new generation of out-of-home diners aged 25 to 35. The average per-person spending is set at around NT$650, which is adequate for a satisfying meal when shared among 3 to 4 people.

6. More Numbed Than Spicy: The spicy broth at "Qinghua Jiao" emphasizes "numbing aroma" over "spiciness". It is brewed with Chongqing Jiangjin’s Jiuye green prickly ash—one of China’s Four Famous Peppers—along with Pixian bean paste, homemade chili oil, dried chili peppers, and bell peppers. This aims to deliver the unique fruity aroma of the peppercorns, and the broth is promoted as "drinkable".

The dining space of Wang’s new brand "Qinghua Jiao" features a new oriental aesthetic in its simple yet elegant design. (Photo / Yao Shun)

Staff at "Qinghua Jiao" use a built-in app on their mobile phones to take orders. (Photo / Yao Shun)

In cooking, Sichuan chefs often use four forms of Sichuan peppercorns—whole peppercorns, crushed peppercorns (also called dao kou huajiao), pepper powder, and pepper oil—to achieve various effects such as deodorizing, enhancing aroma, relieving greasiness, or delivering sequential numbing and fragrant sensations.

At Wang’s "Qinghua Jiao", the method of adding numbing flavor through green Sichuan peppercorns involves adding them during the broth cooking process, and also providing a mortar-like bowl—similar to Hakka "leicha"—where guests can crush the peppercorns themselves before adding them to the broth for extra numbing taste.

The spicy broth at "Qinghua Jiao" is genuinely "drinkable", with a smooth, non-irritating, and non-drying taste, offering a truly unique flavor. Judging by the "strictest standards", I’d say although this spicy soup is fine "even the next day", it tastes a bit too sweet (perhaps intentional). As for the promised "numbing aroma", remember to ask the staff for extra green peppercorns to add into the soup—the effect might become more noticeable.

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