Delicious taste from Tokyo available in Taichung too—authentic shabu-shabu here!

Text & photos byFeitian Xuan

The Japanese Tokyo-based "Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu" has always had great business and reviews. When I traveled to Tokyo last November and met up with a student in Shibuya, we originally wanted to eat at this "Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu," but there was such a long line that we couldn't get in (sniff~).

Unexpectedly, later on, "Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu" opened at the Lihpao Outlet in Houli, Taichung. That day, Stella and I brought the kids to shop and grab some food. We ate there (and almost got really upset about the service XD).

"Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu" opened its first overseas branch in 2014, choosing Taiwan at that time—probably knowing how much Taiwanese people love hot pot XD. Currently in Taiwan, there are three branches in Taipei, one at the Taoyuan Linkou Outlet, and one each in Tainan and Kaohsiung. So this "Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu" at the Lihpao Outlet is also the first branch in central Taiwan.

"Yoshinoya Shabu-Shabu" is located on the first floor of the Lihpao Outlet, right next to the famous "Hokkaido Four Kings Ramen Area." We arrived around 12:30 pm on a weekday, and the restaurant only had about 50% occupancy. However, the staff said they were currently understaffed and not accepting new customers. They helped us make a reservation for two adults and two children, asked for our phone number, and said they’d call us when there was space—around 1 pm. But we ended up waiting until 1:20 pm, with the kids getting increasingly hungry and fussy, before we finally asked the staff again. Only then did they let us in.

This is the dining area. The decor is dark-toned, with a decent sense of quality. For two diners, there’s even a “face-the-wall” booth… but we were a party of two adults and two kids, both of whom still needed child seats. Surprisingly, the staff seated us in the sofa area, making it impossible to place the kids’ chairs, so the two child seats ended up squeezed in the aisle (so frustrating!). Their professionalism definitely needs improvement!

Let me first explain how dining works here:
Weekday Lunch:
Option 1: Adults NT$409 / Children NT$200
Option 2: Adults NT$509 / Children NT$250
Monday to Friday evenings:
Option 1: Adults NT$549 / Children NT$300
Option 2: Adults NT$649 / Children NT$350
Option 1 includes: barley pork, domestic pork, domestic chicken… all-you-can-eat
Option 2 includes: premium beef, barley pork, domestic pork, domestic chicken… all-you-can-eat
So the difference between Option 1 and Option 2 is whether you get “beef”! Since we’re here, we might as well go all out—we chose Option 2… (gotta have all-you-can-eat beef!)

Counter area

Vegetable section, with refrigeration equipment, so there's constant steam coming out XD. The vegetables are washed clean and neatly arranged on shelves, giving a nice impression.

Other hot pot ingredient section

Seafood section (seems like neither Stella nor I are big seafood eaters, because we didn’t get anything from this section that day!)

Sushi (nigiri) section… this ran out and wasn’t replenished—minus points!

Self-service drinks, but no cups on the counter, so you have to ask the staff separately for cups (also kind of strange??). Besides drinks, there’s also ice cream, but the ice cream machine was under maintenance that day, so none was available.

Sauces

There are 7 types of broth to choose from. We ordered sukiyaki broth + collagen broth.

They also gave us an extra pot of collagen, which they said can be drunk directly, but we didn’t dare to try it XD.

While waiting, we started with some appetizers to keep the little ones busy and less noisy.

These tofu skin, tofu, rice cakes, and dumplings are perfect for cooking in sukiyaki.

Both Stella and I love vegetables, so we went through three refills in total (so satisfying!).

For meat, they bring out six plates all at once, and for additional orders, you just need to tell the staff which level you want.

Pork

Beef

Chicken

To be fair, the quality of the meat was quite good—just a quick dip in the broth and it was delicious. So, an all-you-can-eat hot pot/shabu-shabu restaurant is definitely a meat lover’s paradise. However, when we ordered more later, the second round of meat took a full 20 minutes to arrive. When we asked the staff, we found out... they had “forgotten”! (Speechless again~‍)

Whenever the broth needed topping up, the staff would come and add more. Some of the staff didn’t seem very professional—they didn’t even seem to know much about the broths—but their attitude was still quite good, so... we let it slide.

That day, our total for two people came to $1120. Kids under 2 years old were not charged extra, which we really appreciated. Oh, and the dining time is limited to 90 minutes.

The food was good, and the environment was fine... it’s just that the professionalism and service flow of the staff still need some improvement. PS. Dining out with a little one can be chaotic, so the photo quality isn’t great—please bear with us.

Onsen Yamamoto (Warm Vegetable)
Official Website:http://www.onyasai.com.tw/index.php
Address: 1F, No. 201, Furon Road, Houli District, Taichung City (Lihpao Outlet)
Phone: (04)2558-4050
Business Hours: 11:00–21:30 (until 22:00 on holidays)

Feitian Xuan
I record the ups and downs of my life—food, fun, and emotions—in a lighthearted tone"锛br /> Blog、FB