Stone Hotpot (石頭火鍋/石头火锅)
Post walk.
We decided to go back to the same restaurant for dinner from the evening before. The 2 lady bosses were starting to recognise us. In fact, when we walked past the next morning, they were asking if we were going to return for the 3rd night but alas, we were leaving Alishan.
My mate suggested having the hotpot as he had noticed them from the previous evening and was tempted. I usually hate having hotpots because I perspire easily and sweat up a storm. But it was a cool 18C outside up in the mountains, the evening was turning foggy and a rewarding hotpot would be a fitting way to end the day. Plus, my mate is useless against the cold. 18C and he was whinging that it was cold.
And we went for the ultimate hotpot of everything - the bountiful special. I think the restaurant threw everything it had at us. It was so full, the owners warned us not to throw everything into the pot in one go to ensure that food gets cooked properly. Not that they need to warn us - we are pros. In goes the stuff we can sacrifice for taste and umaminess (tomatoes, sweetcorn, mushrooms etc), then the meat, the greens and then the delicate seafood and tofu.
It was a lot of fun as we noticed the weather changing outside our window as the fog lifted and descended multiple times, before it surrendered to the sun but only to have night arrived to shoo Apollo off to sleep. In the meantime, the food bubbled and simmered while we chat plans for the next part of our travels and eventually off to other topics. We did finish everything and the rich brothy sweet umami soup that was the end product of that close to one hour of cooking was an enriching reward to finish the meal.
Probably one of the most enjoyable Hotpot I ever had.
Stone Hotpot (石頭火鍋/石头火锅)
Post walk.
We decided to go back to the same restaurant for dinner from the evening before. The 2 lady bosses were starting to recognise us. In fact, when we walked past the next morning, they were asking if we were going to return for the 3rd night but alas, we were leaving Alishan.
My mate suggested having the hotpot as he had noticed them from the previous evening and was tempted. I usually hate having hotpots because I perspire easily and sweat up a storm. But it was a cool 18C outside up in the mountains, the evening was turning foggy and a rewarding hotpot would be a fitting way to end the day. Plus, my mate is useless against the cold. 18C and he was whinging that it was cold.
And we went for the ultimate hotpot of everything - the bountiful special. I think the restaurant threw everything it had at us. It was so full, the owners warned us not to throw everything into the pot in one go to ensure that food gets cooked properly. Not that they need to warn us - we are pros. In goes the stuff we can sacrifice for taste and umaminess (tomatoes, sweetcorn, mushrooms etc), then the meat, the greens and then the delicate seafood and tofu.
It was a lot of fun as we noticed the weather changing outside our window as the fog lifted and descended multiple times, before it surrendered to the sun but only to have night arrived to shoo Apollo off to sleep. In the meantime, the food bubbled and simmered while we chat plans for the next part of our travels and eventually off to other topics. We did finish everything and the rich brothy sweet umami soup that was the end product of that close to one hour of cooking was an enriching reward to finish the meal.
Probably one of the most enjoyable Hotpot I ever had.