Enjoy 8 different types of rice cakes at this newly opened Korean hot pot buffet in Taipei!

Text and photos byXiao Hu’s Dream Food Blog

In recent years, following the Japanese trend, Korean culture has made a massive influx. One after another, well-known Korean restaurant groups have been introduced to Taiwan. Most receive extensive media coverage before opening, but some are incredibly low-key—so low-key that no one even notices when they open... Take this place, "Liang Can" (Two Meals), for example. Interestingly, before our meet-up, I had no idea what kind of place it was, let alone that it actually has quite a reputation in Korea, reportedly visited by many celebrities.

Finding Xining South Road wasn’t too hard based on the address, but figuring out how to get into this department store branded with Korean fashion brands was a bit tricky. The challenge wasn’t really about locating the place, but rather because I thought it was a department store—it wasn’t that I couldn’t find the way there. Anyway, just look for a small department store, go in, and head up to the fourth floor.

As my friend had only mentioned meeting for a meal, I didn’t know exactly what we’d be eating. It wasn’t until I arrived that I realized it was a Korean restaurant—and a buffet at that (laughs). I’m usually not keen on writing about all-you-can-eat places. But I later found out this place has quite a bit of charm and high interest on social media, so I decided to share it with anyone interested, despite having a pile of unfinished articles. “Liang Can” means turning one meal into two—in short, there are two ways to eat here: start with hot pot, then finish with fried rice.

The dining space in the restaurant is fairly bright, which is somewhat rare for a restaurant inside a department store. The decor, however, isn’t particularly noteworthy.

On one side of the dining area, there are mostly four-person tables, and on the other side, there are also eight-person tables (two tables pushed together).

The self-service food area is in the middle. This row is the main battleground. It may not seem like there are many choices, but it’s actually enough to eat. Most of the items are typical Korean hot pot toppings. However, notably missing are Taiwanese people’s favorite meats—especially beef. Upon asking, I was told that meat options will be available starting in May.

There are eight different kinds of rice cakes—some firmer, some softer, some square-shaped, and some noodle-like. In terms of flavors, the yellow ones are carrot-flavored, the purple ones are taro-flavored... the green ones seem to be mugwort-flavored or something similar. But honestly, once they’re thrown into the sweet and spicy soup, you can’t really taste much of a difference, haha.

Other toppings include bean sprouts and more common vegetables, tofu, meatballs, mushrooms, tofu skin, Chinese sausage, and boiled eggs. For seafood, it seems there’s only clams.

Aside from rice cakes as the main staple, there are also three different types of Korean noodles and instant noodles.

You can adjust the hot pot broth ingredients yourself according to your preference. There are seven different broths to choose from.

Before cooking the hot pot, you can start with some fried snacks. Since I usually don’t have much of an appetite at lunch, I only tried one that looked a bit special.

I chose it because I initially thought it was my favorite eggplant. Only after my friend told me did I realize it was glass noodles... Overall, it might’ve been because it had cooled down, but the outer layer was a bit tough to bite into. The inside, though, was chewy and sticky, like fried glutinous rice. The outside was wrapped in seaweed before frying, so I imagine it would’ve been really tasty when freshly fried.

Besides the fried items, there’s also this stew-like pot reminiscent of oden, with a dedicated dipping sauce available for self-service. I took a look inside, and there was only one type—but I wonder if more options will be added later.

This skewer resembles slightly thicker chicken skin. The texture is a bit like the outside of a fukube (a traditional Japanese lucky bag), and it’s juicy and plump like tofu skin, but the flavor is closer to that of fish cake. It’s better when dipped in a bit of light soy sauce for more flavor.

The drinks were surprisingly not Korean-style at all, and they don’t sell Korean soju either.

Basically, you just pick your preferred sauces and toss whatever ingredients you want into the pot... the menu is just for reference.

Pricing-wise, the Korean rice cake hot pot is 299 NTD per person (150 NTD for kids), and adding cheese costs an extra 139 NTD per pot.

As someone who loves cheese, how could I not add it? Once combined, it ends up looking like this. I’m sure friends who love Korean food have seen pots like this before. Though usually there’s kimchi and a fried egg, this version doesn’t have those—just two types of cheese.

The flavor of this pot is pretty much as everyone imagines—spicy and sweet. For me, it was tasty. The rice cakes were very chewy. Those who prefer them softer might need to cook them a bit longer. The other ingredients were all pretty solid.

The boiled egg yolk mixed with the broth was especially delicious. I really wanted to have a bowl of rice to mix it with, haha.

The added cheese topping was very generous. Besides the two types of cheese, there were also plenty of diced carrots and corn. When I scooped with a spoon, I found it super sticky and hard to dig out, haha. Seriously, this pot with cheese added was twice as delicious—the whole flavor just came alive and was super tasty... Even though I bet the calories probably skyrocketed... But that spicy-sweet rice cake with cheese is just irresistible, and the contrast between the two different textures in your mouth is so satisfying.

One thing worth mentioning is that you shouldn’t finish the cheese right away—leave a little to let it get a bit burnt. It’ll develop a rich, toasty aroma, and the texture will become even more chewy. It’s super delicious....

After finishing the hot pot, scoop out all the ingredients from the broth, leaving a bit of the soup, then add your choice of the five fried rice toppings provided by the restaurant.

White rice, ham, corn, kimchi, seaweed flakes... There’s also raw egg available for self-service.

If you added extra cheese earlier, remember to save some to add into the fried rice at the end!

This gives the fried rice a pleasantly sticky texture. If you like your rice with a bit of a crisp, charred crust, you can wait a bit longer.

The texture is somewhat like risotto but a bit stickier. The spicy, sweet fried rice with a cheesy aroma is pretty delicious—I highly recommend trying it after the hot pot!

Just in case… you’re still not full even after that, you can also cook some Korean instant noodles to finish off the meal. There’s a pot underneath for the noodles—you can help yourself. Just get the water yourself, just like cooking instant noodles at home.

If you like, you can also toss in some of the other ingredients nearby to give the noodles more flavor. Honestly, I think it’s been ages since I’ve had such a filling lunch—I was so full I didn’t even eat dinner XD.

Does that mean you can take some home to cook yourself?

Two meals of all-you-can-eat Korean tteokbokki hot pot
Address: 4F, No. 123, Xining South Road, Taipei City (inside SPAO Korean brand clothing store, Aman TIT Building, Ximending)
Phone: 02-23119736
Business hours: 11:00–22:30, extended to 23:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

"Xiao Hu’s Dream-Eating Net
If “eating” is just about filling your stomach, then “food” is simply too boring~~~"