天涼要吃鍋 / When the weather gets cool, it’s time for hot pot!

我前陣子才在抱怨，秋天的天氣，也是又悶又熱的，讓人感覺到夏天還未遠離，不過，悄悄地，還是開始變天了，最近，不但開始下雨變多了，而且氣溫也下降了，氣候不再有夏日的咄咄逼人，也還未到寒冬的冷冽刺骨，正好是吃熱呼呼火鍋的好天氣。

找了好友，一起去他的愛店，一起回味小火鍋的美妙，這次的湯頭，我點了沙茶鍋，因為我沒吃過，想試試看沒吃過的口味，結果店家就是在火鍋中加了一大匙的沙茶醬，我真的認輸了，在店內的佐料區，就有免費的沙茶醬了，早知道我就不點沙茶鍋了，應該點其它口味的湯頭，比較划算，不過，這點小插曲，並不影響我用餐的心情。

看著肉片、蔬菜、金針菇、豆腐等火鍋料在鍋內慢慢地沸騰，肉片從粉嫩轉為熟透，鍋邊冒出的熱氣帶來了濃郁的香味，真是讓人食指大動，然而，我在沙拉吧看到了鍋燒麵後，就突然想吃點鍋燒麵，想把鍋燒麵吃到新高度，因為我想吃到脆脆的口感，於是，我把鍋燒麵煮到半硬半軟的程度，再將麵拌入我用火鍋沾醬調成的特製醬料，哇！真是美味，這種「自己動手」的樂趣，讓食物更加好吃。

吃完正餐之後，我一邊吃著冰淇淋，一邊喝著熱拿鐵，享受那種冷熱交錯的感覺，讓平凡的生活，有點不一樣的變化，我真的享受和朋友邊煮邊吃、邊聊邊笑，這種沒有壓力的放鬆感，這點也是我們總是一來再來這家店的原因之一。

Not long ago, I was just complaining that autumn still felt hot and stuffy, like summer wasn’t ready to leave yet. But quietly, the weather started to change. Lately, it’s been raining more often, and the temperature has dropped. The air no longer has that aggressive summer heat, yet it’s not as freezing as winter either. The perfect time for a hot pot meal.

So, I called up a friend and we went to his favorite hot pot restaurant to relive the joy of eating our own little pots. This time, I ordered the satay broth since I’d never tried it before and wanted to give it a shot. But when the pot arrived, I realized the restaurant simply added a big spoonful of satay sauce into the soup! I had to laugh. There was already free satay sauce at the condiment station. If I’d known, I probably would’ve picked a different soup base. Still, that small mistake didn’t ruin my mood at all.

As the meat slices, vegetables, enoki mushrooms, and tofu simmered in the pot, I watched the pink meat slowly turn tender and cooked through. Steam rose with that rich aroma that made my mouth water. Then I noticed some instant noodles at the salad bar and suddenly craved them. I decided to take the “pot noodles” to another level. I cooked the noodles until they were half firm, half soft, then mixed them with my own special sauce made from the hot pot condiments. Wow, it was delicious! That “do-it-yourself” touch made the food taste even better.

After finishing the main meal, I treated myself to some ice cream while sipping on a hot latte. I loved the mix of cold and warm sensations. It gave my ordinary day a fun little twist. Sitting there with my friend, chatting and laughing as we cooked and ate, I felt completely relaxed. That easy, stress-free atmosphere is exactly why we keep coming back to this place again and again.

For the best experience view this post on Liketu