Taiwanese are mad for spicy hot pot. The bubbling pots of broth are filled with all sorts of Chinese herbs and spices to create a rich flavor for all the raw, fresh ingredients that diners will dip into it. New hot pot places pop up in Taiwan every day, each with a gimmick to attract insatiable hot pot diners.
There's all-you-can-eat hot pot and yakiniku served at the same table; there's bubble tea hotpot for the jaded. But the traditional local darlings with ginger chicken soup base or lamb-themed hot pot are still going strong.
While Taiwan's spice levels don't come close to Chongqing's, they're pretty piquant. In the perennial hot pot favorite and celeb-magnet, Taihodien, you'll find a glam Taiwanese hot pot experience.
Yue Yin Xuan, No. 80, Wenzhou St., Daan Dist, Taipei Taiwan;