Sold out in just 2 hours!! A popular seafood grill in New Taipei where you can enjoy a whole lobster

Text & photos byPurple Smile

This Mao Ga Seafood Grill is seriously amazing. It opens at 5 PM on Sundays, and there’s already a long queue forming outside. By 7:30 PM, all the ingredients prepared by the shop are sold out—completely sold out!! Better come earlier next time!! They were sold out in just two and a half hours of business!! Since the focus is on fresh seafood, to strictly control the quality of ingredients, the shop doesn’t overstock!! That’s really insane!!

Mao Ga Seafood Grill is really no joke. The original seafood grill has already attracted tons of foodies, but now they’ve added a secret weapon—the laksa hot pot base imported from Sarawak, Malaysia. This is a flavor you’ve never tried before, and it’s quite different from the usual rich coconut milk taste you’d expect. Even the cooking-savvy friend at our table couldn’t stop praising it. It’s seriously amazing!!

Mao Ga Seafood Grill is run by Lin Daoyuan, who previously starred in “New Soldier Diary” and appeared on “Super Star Avenue.” It’s located near Jiangzicui Station on the Banqiao section of the Ban-Nan Line. Since we didn’t drive that day, it took about six or seven minutes to walk from the MRT station!!

The shop mainly has an open layout, and all customers sit casually at small tables. Although the decor isn’t fancy, this setup is actually pretty nice because you don’t have to worry about dressing up. Just wear something comfy, hang out with friends, drink, chat, and enjoy the great vibe (don’t drink and drive, and minors should not drink alcohol)!

People were already queuing up before opening time.

The shop’s decor is also very simple, so operating costs aren’t high. They offer genuine prices so customers can enjoy fresh and delicious food.

There are lots of celebrity autographs in the shop!!

Wow, this is a great idea—using Facebook to share hidden dishes

Prices are displayed on the blackboard

They even have crab species like the red king crab here. Because of the ingredients, they try to sell all the seafood they receive each day, so the quality is well controlled

Grilled snails!! At first glance when taking photos, they might not seem special, but turns out the grilled snails here are quite a craft. Regular grills just cook them through, but every single one here is seasoned!!

Freshly grilled oysters!! The sight of all those oysters is seriously satisfying

So many people, the entire area under the arcades of the three storefronts is packed with diners!!

What a rare sight—a great price, 100!! Don’t assume that 100 NT means a tiny portion. The serving sizes you’re about to see will blow your mind

White shrimp (200 NT, per serving)These white shrimps are super fresh and natural. Simply boiled, they fully showcase the sweet flavor of the shrimp

Squid (200 NT, per serving) This squid is also simply boiled and then drizzled with sauce. Taiwanese often use five-spice sauce or Haishan sauce. With simple seasoning, it’s incredibly delicious

Fresh oysters (100 NT, per serving). These are the ones freshly grilled right there on the rack!!

The sizes vary a bit, but after a simple grill, they have the natural briny taste of the sea, so they’re delicious without any extra seasoning

Salted pork (100 NT, per serving)This is a fantastic drinking snack. Grab a few beers with your buddies, add this plate, and it’s both satisfying and flavorful (don’t drink and drive, and minors should not drink alcohol)

Happy Encounter (100 NT, per serving)We really love Happy Encounter because it has fish balls, which give it a unique texture. Plus, you can eat the whole thing!! It’s a tasty and nutritious dish. Since we were with a big group of friends this time, next time we’ll order a whole plate just for ourselves to fully enjoy it.

Chicken leg steak (100 NT, per serving)This dish really shows off their grilling skills!! The whole chicken leg is grilled to be crispy on the outside and juicy inside, and it’s super flavorful. The skin, thanks to the seasonings, has a great taste and texture

Whelk (100 TWD, per portion)Just mentioned earlier that the whelks here are different because each one is seasoned — that’s because the chef adds a special sauce during preparation. As a result, it not only eliminates the slightly bitter taste inherent in whelks, but also delivers a deliciously fragrant and spicy flavor. It’s really fantastic.

This is the first time I’ve had such flavorful whelks. Turns out this method makes them even tastier.

Water bamboo shoots (100 TWD, per portion)These are actually really tasty just grilled like this too!! They preserve the nutritional value of the ingredients while maintaining the natural sweetness of the water bamboo.

Baby corn (100 TWD, per portion) Haha, compared to water bamboo, I like these even more. Remember the corn silk on the side is edible too — Koreans even use it to make tea. Don’t waste it.

Red snapper jaw (200 TWD, three pieces per portion)Tender and delicious red snapper jaw meat. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice and dip it in pepper salt — pure heaven.

Clams (100 TWD, per portion) When it’s served at the table, hey — why aren’t they open? Turns out there’s a technique to it. The heat and timing are carefully controlled so they’re brought to the table just before they open. That way, all the juices are preserved.

Once you open them, you’ll see juices overflowing. Be sure to put a bowl underneath or you’ll lose all that delicious broth.

Limited Edition Seafood Hotpot

(1280 TWD, large portion, includes a large seafood platter and two vegetable plates, soup base options include Laksa or original pork bone, suitable for five to seven people)
(690 TWD, small portion, includes a seafood platter and one vegetable plate, soup base options include Laksa or original pork bone, suitable for two to four people)

Winter has arrived — hotpot is just the thing. This time, I was invited to come and share it with a few friends, which made it even more fun.

This hotpot is amazing too. There’s a big crab in it — looks like a blue swimmer crab.

It comes with fresh shrimp, oysters, squid slices, red snapper slices, scallops — a whole big plate, very impressive visually.

The vegetable platter is great too!! Pumpkin, imitation crab sticks, fish cake, meatballs, cabbage, wood ear mushrooms.

A huge plate like this for just 1280 TWD, perfect for five to seven people — great value.

Boston lobster(Grilled: 880 TWD each, Hotpot: 800 TWD each, prices subject to change, clearly indicated on the blackboard in-store)

Compared to a 5.5-inch smartphone, you’ll get an idea of how big it is.

Hehe, we had two pots — one with the original soup base and one with the Laksa base. When this pot first arrived, someone insisted we try the original broth. And wow, once we did, it was astonishing. It has indescribable spices, but the dominant note is pepper, and it’s incredibly refreshing and flavorful. It’s honestly a rare taste in Taiwan — most Laksa has the thick coconut milk flavor typical of Singaporean versions, but this one’s different. It’s from Sarawak, Malaysia, made with over 30 spices and slow-cooked with golden chicken bones. It's also promoted by celebrities Ai Cheng and Wang Tong as their version of Laksa. Paired with seafood, it actually enhances the natural sweetness of the seafood.

It’s really great!! Our group even wanted to buy the broth in bulk on the spot. I bet it’d be great with noodles too.

Plus, when cooking in the hotpot, the broth becomes richer and more mellow as you add more ingredients. If you like it, the restaurant’s hotpot set (seafood with both soup bases) can also be taken away, though the Laksa broth costs an extra 200 TWD — it comes with an additional concentrated soup pack that you can dilute and adjust the saltiness of at home.

The sweet and springy lobster — we divided it between the original broth and the Laksa broth. But the Laksa broth definitely gave the seafood the edge.

Rose gum crab(Hotpot: 600 TWD each, prices subject to change, clearly indicated on the blackboard in-store) This crab is also huge.

We were busy eating when we looked up and realized there were quite a few people waiting outside to be seated. Hehe, you’d think something big was going on.

A group photo of Lin Daoyuan, Ai Cheng, and Wang F?!

The main boss is Lin Daoyuan, who started from competing on Super Star Avenue and later transitioned to acting. He has worked very hard all the way. Since he is also a food lover, especially of seafood, he created this restaurant, Mengga Seafood Grilled Dishes, aiming to let everyone enjoy the happiest meals at the most reasonable prices.

Tickets for Sunday sold out in just two and a half hours!! It was truly an amazing meal. I believe very few restaurants would prepare such signature dishes!!! And it’s not that the restaurant prepared a small amount—just look at the three arcade-style sales spaces plus the long queue outside, and you’ll know how amazing Mengga is!!

Even if we ignore that this is a celebrity-owned shop, the ingredients are fresh, the prices are fair, and with the newly added hot pot broth, as soon as its popularity spreads, you’ll know this will be a successful restaurant!! No fancy decor, just an emphasis on fresh ingredients and fair pricing!! That’s the guarantee of success!!

Come on, let’s show you the true face of the laksa hot pot broth again.

The orange-red broth in the picture is it (the hot pot ingredients behind don’t count), and it’s pure broth!! There are no other ingredients inside—it totally wins with its broth alone.

Mengga Seafood Grilled Dishes
Address: No. 196, Section 2, Changjiang Road, Banqiao District, New Taipei City
Phone: 0980-898882
Business Hours: 17:00–22:00 (Closed on Mondays)

We are Purple Smile Ben & Jean, who love food, travel, photography, and 3C.