Cooking meat or seafood at the table for guests, but Danmaya Shabu-Shabu has a dedicated food service chef.

▲ American ultra-black wagyu beef short ribs.

Reported and photographed by Huang Shiyuan / Taipei

Following the launch of Thai & Thai Thai Restaurant in 2015, MWH Hotels' key focus this year will be on building a shabu-shabu, teppanyaki, and Japanese cuisine brand under the Danmaya name. Among them, Danmaya Shabu-Shabu officially opened on October 7th after a period of trial operation. To best highlight the original flavors of the ingredients in shabu-shabu, the order of ingredients and cooking time are important. Danmaya has specially assigned professional food service chefs (one per table as a principle) to cook meat, seafood, and seasonal vegetables at the tableside for guests.


▲ Hungarian Mangalitsa pig (sheep pig).

To ensure quality, MWH Hotels Chairman Lin Ming-chun invited renowned Japanese chef Tomio Sato to serve as the culinary consultant for Danmaya Shabu-Shabu. The restaurant carefully selects premium seasonal ingredients from Japan and Taiwan. The set menu's chef’s selection appetizers use different ingredients daily, while the seasonal vegetable platter features daily selections of in-season vegetables from Japan and Taiwan such as Hokkaido yam and sweet corn, Kagoshima chestnut pumpkin, Tokushima Beniimo sweet potato, Taiwan Dajia taro, and Lishan cabbage, with 70% of the vegetables imported from Japan. As for the main course meats, options include Australian wagyu, U.S. Prime-grade ribeye, American ultra-black wagyu beef short ribs, and Hungarian Mangalitsa pig (sheep pig) — all high-end ingredients.


▲ The beef can be eaten just lightly dipped.


▲ Chef’s selection appetizers.


▲ The seasonal vegetable platter uses daily selections of in-season vegetables from Japan and Taiwan.

The traditional broth for Japanese shabu-shabu is made by simply boiling water and adding kelp to bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients. Considering the eating habits and taste preferences of Taiwanese diners, Chef Sato adjusted the broth to a Japanese pork bone and kelp soup. It is simmered for two hours using vegetables, pork bones, and chicken bones with pH 9.5 weak alkaline, fine-molecule healthy remineralized water, and then enhanced with Japanese kelp and katsuobushi for umami. Additionally, the signature Thai sour and spicy soup from the neighboring Thai & Thai Thai Restaurant is offered as another broth option for the seafood pot — making this another unique feature of Danmaya Shabu-Shabu.


▲ The food service chef cooks meat, seafood, and seasonal vegetables at the tableside, adding ingredients in the correct order.

For seafood, Danmaya currently uses about 80% Japan-grade sashimi-quality seafood. Other offerings include same-day fresh catch supplied by Taiwanese fishing boats and direct-from-Penghu seafood. The mixed seafood platter varies daily depending on fish supply, featuring abalone, sea cucumber, thick-cut wild large white pomfret, red snapper, octopus, and wild king prawns.

In addition to renowned chef Tomio Sato, Danmaya Shabu-Shabu also has a dedicated dessert chef and sommelier. Sommelier Li Ting-wei has won the Taiwan Best French Wine Sommelier Championship two years in a row.


▲ Danmaya uses about 80% Japan-grade sashimi-quality seafood.

To best highlight the original flavors of the ingredients in shabu-shabu, the order of ingredients and cooking time are important. Danmaya has specially assigned professional food service chefs (one per table as a principle) to cook meat, seafood, and seasonal vegetables at the tableside for guests, adding ingredients in the correct order. This prevents interference between the unique flavors of the ingredients and helps control cooking time, maintain proper temperature, add broth when needed, and skim foam to avoid overcooking.

The restaurant has 64 seats, including semi-open dining areas and four private rooms.

Address: 5F, MWH Boutique, No. 166, Dunhua N. Rd., Taipei City
Tel: 02-2712-1606