夏天也可以吃吃鍋 / Hot pot isn’t just for winter

雖然說，一說到火鍋，許多人可能腦中就會浮現，在寒冷的冬天，和朋友一起吃熱呼呼的火鍋的畫面，冬天吃鍋，不但暖心又暖胃，但是，想吃火鍋的話，其實一年四季都可以吃的到，這次和朋友吃的火鍋店，比較特別的是，它是一家重新又營業的火鍋店，之前開店的地方，因為都市更新計畫，整個區域要拆掉重建，所以，店家只好暫時關店，另覓新址開店，過了一年之後，它終於重開了，所以，我就和朋友迫不急待前來吃看看。

新店家的位置在二樓，很多店家為了節省房租，都會選擇在二樓開店，而缺點就是，引客的效果比不上開在一樓的店家，店內裝潢採簡約風，用餐的座位很多，有很多單人座位，看起來，就算是一個人來用餐，也不會收開鍋費，當然也有四人席及六人席。

店家採吃到飽方式，肉品分別有299、359及399三種等級，差在肉品的品項，當我看到我點的肉片，由送餐機器人送來時，發現店家把肉片切的真薄啊，不過，吃不夠的話，一直點就好，反正是吃到飽的，火鍋食材區有萵苣、高麗菜、茼蒿、水蓮、杏鮑菇及各式的火鍋丸餃類，比較特別的是居然有提供烤番薯，我是第一次在這類火鍋店看到店家有提供烤番薯的。

現今，火鍋已經不再是圍爐取暖的象徵，反而更像是一種放鬆、暢快的社交儀式，我就趁吃火鍋的時候，和朋友敘舊，我也得知朋友近期因為健康問題，即將去醫院開刀，朋友開完刀之後，可能還要休養個好幾個月，還好我們有出來先聚聚。

其實，我對這家店的餐點品質及服務方式，覺得還不錯，但是，朋友卻覺得只有合格而已，首先，朋友認為肉片太薄，品質普通，其次，店內提供的滷肉飯，水準稍差，比不上同等級的其它火鍋店，但是這家店的火鍋食材種類多，這點還不錯，我認為只要店家食材新鮮，用餐環境舒服，餐點價錢合理，我會選擇再次光顧，總之，在和朋友抬槓及吵架中，結束了這快樂的一餐。

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When people talk about hot pot, most probably imagine eating a steaming meal with friends on a cold winter day. It warms both the stomach and the heart. But honestly, if you’re craving hot pot, it’s something you can enjoy all year round.

This time, I went to a hot pot place with my friend that was a little special—it had just reopened after being closed for a while. The original location had to shut down because of an urban redevelopment project; the entire area was being torn down and rebuilt. So, the owners had to temporarily close the shop and look for a new place. After about a year, they finally reopened, and my friend and I were excited to go check it out.

The new location is on the second floor. A lot of restaurants open on the second floor to save on rent, but the downside is that they don’t attract as many walk-in customers as ground-level stores. The interior is pretty minimalist, and there are a lot of seats, including quite a few single-person spots. It seems like even if you come alone, you won’t be charged extra to start your own hot pot, which is nice. Of course, they also have four- and six-person tables for groups.

The place runs on an all-you-can-eat system, and you can choose between three meat tiers—$299, $359, and $399 NTD—depending on the quality and variety of meat. When my order arrived, delivered by a robot server, I noticed how thinly they sliced the meat. But hey, it’s unlimited, so you can always order more if you’re still hungry.

The ingredient section had lettuce, cabbage, chrysanthemum greens, water spinach, king oyster mushrooms, and all sorts of meatballs and dumplings. One surprising thing was that they even offered roasted sweet potatoes! That’s honestly the first time I’ve seen a hot pot place include those.

These days, hot pot isn’t just about staying warm in the winter anymore .It’s become more of a casual, feel-good way to hang out with friends. While we were eating, my friend and I caught up on life. I found out that she’ll be going in for surgery soon because of some health issues and might need a few months to recover. I’m really glad we managed to meet up before that.

Personally, I thought the food and service were pretty decent. But my friend said it was just "okay." She felt the meat was too thin and average in quality. Also, the braised pork rice they served wasn’t that great. It is apparently not as good as what other hot pot chains offer at a similar price point. Still, the variety of ingredients was a plus. For me, as long as the food is fresh, the place is clean and comfortable, and the prices are fair, I’d be happy to come back. All in all, between friendly arguments and catching up, we wrapped up the meal with lots of laughter.

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