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Restaurant: Da Hong Pao 大紅袍

By Yu Sen-lun
STAFF REPORTER
Friday, Aug 08, 2003, Page 19

A mixed fondue gives you plenty of options at Da Hong Pao. PHOTO COURTESY OF DA HONG PAO

Spicy hot pot is nothing unusual in Taiwan, but the recently introduced Sichuan-style spicy fondue (麻辣燙), brought in by Da Hong Pao, offers a variation that makes all the difference to taste and quality.

As with regular spicy hot pot, the soup in the pot is red and fragrant with chili peppers, but instead of boiling the meat and vegetables in the soup, you instead dip in skewers. This way, you get the spiciness without any danger of the food overcooking.

"In hot pot places, people tend to mix everything up in the pot. Different kinds of vegetables and meat cooked together in the soup, so too many different flavors get mixed together, affecting the taste of the broth," said Kevin Wang (王偉德), manager of the restaurant.

According to Wang this new way of having hot pot has been popular in China for three years. Two months ago Da Hong Pao introduced it to Taiwan.

The broth is more like a dipping sauce than soup, because there are a lot more red chili peppers and more chili oil floating on top. Apart from a dozen kinds of Chinese herbs, three unique ingredients make up the broth: a special kind of dried chili pepper called the lantern chili (because of its short and puffy appearance), a kind of Sichuan pepper called "da hong pao," and a special spicy bean paste. These ingredients are all imported from Sichuan and are currently not available in Taiwan.

Beef tripe and intestine go particularly well with the rich spicy sauce. For meat lovers, there is also the boneless beef slices. The peppery flavor and the fragrance of red chili bring out the juiciness of the thin slices of beef.

For meat ball lovers, there is a new way of eating this dish: a bowl of three kinds of freshly minced meat -- fish, shrimp and spicy pork -- is offered and the customer scoops out some of the meat and dumps it in the broth, effectively making his own multiflavored meat balls.

If the broth is too spicy, cool down with a side dish Chinese salad, including julienned cucumbers, carrots and celery served with sesame paste. You can also try the white broth fondue as a change, which is made from non-chili ingredients: apples, tomatoes, onions and seaweed. Or you can ask for a half-and-half pot and try both kinds of flavor.

Da Hong Pao also offers a business lunch menu: a mini spicy fondue for one person. There is a choice of tripe, beef, chicken, seafood and lamb priced from NT$180 to NT$250.

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