Ode to 石二過, The Hot Pot Restaurant That Soothed My Soul
Hi friends, it’s been a while. I’m back after a few years of hiatus - a lot of life changes in the meantime. I’m happily married - going on two years now - and wanted to revisit this beloved blog and update it with some of my fondest memories and favorite bites. As I am currently getting over a really bad cold, it’s made me so nostalgic for one of my absolute favorite hot pot chains in Taiwan - 石二鍋 (Shierguo), part of the Wangpin Group (王品集團 - Wow Prime: Wang Steak, etc) which is one of Taiwan’s largest restaurant groups.
Most visitors to Taiwan may not seek it out as one of the “must-visit” food destinations when visiting, and truthfully, I haven’t taken many visitors there either since it’s not considered a very “WOW” kind of place. But when you live in Taiwan, you grow to appreciate it so much as one of the CP值很高 (value is very high) kind of places. When I lived there (granted, this was a few years ago of course) - the basic set menu of fatty beef cost approximately $6-7 USD, about 210 NTD for a plate of sliced hot pot beef, veggies, noodles/rice, unlimited dashi broth and unlimited winter melon slush.
The dashi broth - don’t get me started on this. I could rave about it for hours. The depth, the little onions on the bottom, the “char” in the bowl that created a rich, hearty flavor. The unlimited refills I would get when I wasn’t feeling well, simply because it nourished my entire soul. But it also was my little secret - I used to go by myself, biking over to the nearest location to my house, whenever I didn’t feel well. I used to see others with their cell phones propped up on a little stand, watching the latest drama on their unlimited cell phone plans (iykyk). During the COVID times, everyone had a little booth with clear plastic “walls” on either side, creating a little privacy nook if you will.
I celebrated American holidays here by myself - which sounds lonely, until you realize that I was just simply enjoying myself and learning to be comfortable eating alone. I spent many a Thanksgiving, a Christmas, a sick day, and just a cheer-me-up kind of day here by myself, or with a great book. I think I probably ate here several hundred times over the years, first falling in love with the Houshanpi location near my apartment, and then the Minquan Longjiang location once I moved to a studio by myself. Whenever I needed to visit Carrefour, I would make sure that I put myself on the list at the 石二鍋 within each of the Carrefour branches - the wait time was always so long that it would be time to eat only after you finished browsing the aisles of Carrefour.
Once they launched an app, I learned to “game” the system - I would promptly put myself on the waiting list about an hour or so before I wanted to eat, and then You-biked over to the branch just in time for my number to be called. Now that I’m typing all of this out, it really sounds like I had no life. But I swear I did - I was just thinking about this hot pot joint almost every day. Once you go and try it for yourself, you’ll see what I mean. Try the broth - you’ll understand. I hear that they are selling the broth in to-go packs now, I must track that down to bring it back to the USA for my friends and family. Or if anyone knows of a good broth recipe for me to try - please let me know. For now, I’ll leave you with this. Photos of my intimate time at 石二鍋. Certainly not the most aesthetic, but it’s not really about the aesthetic here - not the vibes, just the value. My little secret - and now, yours too. Cheers!
PS - with great thanks to my dear friend Alice, who first introduced me to this place when I moved to Taipei. Love you!
