Foodholic Nakoko @ Taipei

“Gagou Taiwanese Chao Hotpot” is a personal hotpot brand under the Wang Ping Group, and I eat here quite often because I can choose the vegetables I want to eat by myself, which lets me skip the hotpot ingredients and just pick vegetables. I used to go to the Taipei Nanjing East Store near Zhongshan Station more often, but this is the first time dining at the Taipei Ximen Store near Ximen Station.

The space inside the restaurant is relatively large, but I find the tables a bit too close together. For instance, today we shared a table with customers next to us, separated only by one of those panels used for pandemic prevention, making the table feel quite small. We had to fit the pot, the meat platter, the vegetable platter, along with our individual small plates and bowls, which made everything feel very crowded and not convenient for dining.

We ordered a pork and chicken combo for $349 + gold and silver garlic clam chicken soup for $69, and fresh fish from the treasure island for $289 + stone chicken soup for $0.

Additionally, we used a meat coupon recently given away in a Gagou LINE promotion to get an extra platter of snowflake beef for free. So we ended up having beef, pork, chicken, fish, and clams—all of it! What a perfect plan!

As for the soup bases, the stone chicken soup is actually not oily and is quite light, a basic option. The garlic clam chicken soup has a strong garlic flavor; I felt it was pretty good just on its own.

In terms of the meat, overall I’d rate it about 70 points. The chicken initially had a slight gamey taste, but it was fine once dipped in the sauce. The pork and fish were decent, while the beef had a fair amount of marbling, which was quite tasty, but it wasn’t anything top-tier since it is an affordable hotpot and expectations weren’t too high.

I think the variety of vegetables offered by Gagou is quite plentiful. There were cabbage, bok choy, Napa cabbage, Chinese spinach, and more, along with cucumbers, carrots, tofu, and taro. They also have hotpot ingredients available, providing a lot of options!

For drinks, my favorite is the winter melon lemonade, which is sweet and tangy, super refreshing!

As for desserts, there is free ice cream. I always recommend the soy milk ice cream, which is Gagou’s signature item. It’s not too sweet and has a light soy milk flavor. Regardless of what the other flavor is every time, I still find the soy milk one the best! (Today's other flavor was peanut, which is also quite good~~~)

Summary: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

Located between the Ximen MRT Station and the Beimen MRT Station, this place offers hot pots!
A brand new creation from the Wangpin Group (?)
I've heard about it for a long time and it seems quite famous,
finally came to visit with a few friends.

Indeed, when we arrived that day, there was quite a long line! 🫠🫠🫠
The waiting was intense.
The three of us waited nearly 40 minutes to be seated.
If it wasn't that amazing, I would be really upset! 😠😠😠

Food: 🌕🌕🌖🌑🌑
Drinks: 🌕🌕🌖🌑🌑
Atmosphere: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑
Service: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Price: 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑
Location: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

The menu is quite flashy and luxurious,
with a strong sense of aesthetics from the Republic of China.
From spicy peppered chicken hot pot to clam chicken hot pot,
whatever flavors or ingredients you want,
the menu is very detailed and offers everything you can think of.
Whether it's pork, beef, or seafood,
you can mix and choose your desired hot pot.

Additionally, the restaurant provides drinks and appetizers like salad,
which you can help yourself to. Highly recommended! 👍👍👍

The space and decor inside are spacious,
and the distance between tables is okay.
No wonder it's from Wangpin; it at least maintains a certain standard of quality!

Unfortunately, for personal hot pots, the prices are slightly high.
However, considering the focus on fame and trendiness,
and the richness of the hot pot offerings,
the prices are still somewhat acceptable.

But the key point still lies in the content and flavors of the hot pot itself.
Compared to the glamorous and varied menu, the actual experience was somewhat lacking. 🥲🥲
It felt more like a basic personal hot pot,
paired with different soup bases and ingredients.

That day I ordered a garlic broth with beef,
it felt like the soup base was just garlic water
with basic hot pot beef.
The impression of the garlic pot was quite weak.

On the other hand, the seafood platter we ordered additionally that day
left a slightly stronger impression—it had great fish slices and clams.

However, it felt like the venue's reputation overshadowed the actual dining experience,
especially with such a long wait time
but not receiving an equally rewarding experience.

It left a bit of emotional trauma~~🥲🥲

🤪🤪Dickson's Rant🤪🤪

Ximen District is a prime battleground for personal hot pots and mini hot pot restaurants.
Just look at the several well-known hot pot places next door!

I'm not here to advertise for them! 🤣🤣

Of course, bringing a girl to Ximen offers plenty of activities to enjoy.

Hey! Did you say Ximen is just for kids?
Well, I didn’t say that! Ximen is moving towards a youthful concept.
Look at all the trendy shops here!
You can happily stroll around Ximen with your girl in the afternoon,
enjoying a visit to Japanese-style stores! 🥹

Then slowly make your way towards Beimen,
where you can come and savor our hot pot place!!

But be aware that there's a long wait time here~
For some unknown reason, it’s very popular, so if your girl isn't fond of waiting,
we should look for another place!
This could also be a good opportunity to gauge your girl’s patience with lines!

When you finally get to eat and drink,
note that this place serves individual hot pots~
And the flavors can be quite strong,
so be mindful of whether your girl is okay with this!

If you want to deepen your emotions and share a pot,
that mutual experience of enjoying hot pot together would be more ideal. 😍😍
If not, we should actually look elsewhere!

Finally, after finishing your hot pot,
you can head back to Ximen or walk towards Beimen and Dadaocheng
for your next round of date ideas.
There are plenty of bistros and bars nearby for a casual drink,
or head to Dadaocheng for a lovely night view—both would be good options to transition to!

In summary,
this place is a good choice for trying out something famous or a pleasant stop while passing through Ximen!