A Winter Warm-Up in Taipei: Discovering Taiwanese-Style Lamb Hotpot

Taipei’s winter isn’t harsh, but once the temperature dips and the drizzle rolls in, locals know exactly what to eat: lamb hotpot, or yáng ròu lú.

This time, we visited a popular neighborhood spot near the link you shared — nothing fancy, nothing touristy. Just the kind of place where the tables are slightly crowded, the burners are slightly loud, and the food comes steaming and honest.

A Pot That Smells Like Winter

The star of the night was, of course, the Taiwanese lamb hotpot — a bubbling metal pot filled with:

Taipei has no shortage of incredible restaurants, but 85TD (捌伍添第) stands out for its refined blend of traditional Cantonese craftsmanship and modern presentation. Located in the elegant 85 Sky Tower, the restaurant offers both a luxurious atmosphere and a stunning city view — perfect for a special celebration.

This year, we chose 85TD for a quiet yet memorable birthday dinner — and every detail, from the dishes to the service, felt carefully orchestrated.

🥂 The Atmosphere

85TD is the kind of restaurant where time seems to slow down. The interior combines dark marble, gold accents, and soft lighting — elegant without being overwhelming. The service is attentive but never intrusive, and the evening began with a warm welcome and a surprise birthday cake prepared by the staff.

🍽️ The Dishes

A Small Japanese Restaurant That Truly Stands Out

Taiwan is full of little Japanese eateries — the kind tucked in quiet neighborhoods, run by a single chef behind a wooden counter. You see them everywhere.
But every once in a while, you find one that feels genuinely special.

あめ辰鮨・小料理 is one of those places.

If you've never been to a Taiwanese night market, imagine this:
a lively maze of food stalls, sizzling woks, bubbling soups, and the irresistible smell of fried snacks filling the air.
Locals come here after work for a quick dinner, friends gather for late-night bites, and travelers discover flavors they've never tasted before.

Ever since I met my wife, I've been going to the gym — partly because she likes strong, muscular guys 😆, and partly because I wanted to build the kind of strength that can protect and care for the people I love.

But the real motivation came during my MSF missions.
In Africa, I met men who could lift heavy water buckets and move debris with ease — their bones felt like iron, their resilience born from necessity.
I thought, maybe I should train a little harder too — not just for muscle, but for endurance, for life. 💭

Today we headed down to Taichung for an MSF (Doctors Without Borders) talk.

Funny thing — it’s actually the first time my wife and I took the high-speed rail together. She always feels like we’ve travelled to so many places, maybe ‘cause we’re always out for post-work activities… but at the same time, she also says we haven’t really gone anywhere.

We bothhave a dimple, she's got it on her left, I've get it on my right.

Kamana, as always, loves to socialise — super friendly and full of smiles.
She laughs when she sees people, laughs when we go out, basically just laughs at everything 😄.

Since both my wife and I have work, our weekdays are pretty packed — and my nights usually belong to the hospital.
After work it's either gym, seminary, classes, or catching up with friends.
So when we realised our Thursday night was finally free… of course, it called for a date night ❤️

Sharing my birthday dinner with you all 🎂

Last Christmas my wife booked this place — Celebrity Cuisine (名人坊) at Xinyi.
There're a few branches around, but she specifically likes this one in Xinyi District.

Last time we had the char siu and roasted suckling pig.

If you’re a small group of two or three, I’d say come try this HK-style hotpot spot and order their signature Hong Kong chicken pot.

Funny thing, though — I’m a Hongkonger recommending Hong Kong chicken pot in Taiwan 😅. Truth is, I never even had this dish back home! It only got popular after I’d already moved to Taiwan for university and work. Judging by the flavor, I’d say the style probably came from Mainland China and later took on a “Hong Kong” name somewhere along the way.

My wife’s really into seafood — especially anything with shells, like whelks 🐚 or crab 🦀. So this time, I booked in advance and went all in with two dishes: the spicy drunken whelk chicken pot (辣酒煮花螺雞煲) and the Typhoon Shelter–style fried crab (避風塘炒蟹).

Spicy Drunken Whelk Chicken Pot — rich, fiery, and fragrant. The kind of heat that wakes you up from the inside out.

 Typhoon Shelter–style Fried Crab — a storm of garlic, chili, and crunch. The kind of chaos every seafood lover secretly craves.

Both of us are always busy — between work, talks, and on-call nights, we hardly get time to chill. Last night my wife suddenly said she wanted lamb 🐑, and lucky enough, we both happened to be free the next evening. So I booked a Moroccan spot.

Turnover was fast — those spiced stews are all about reheating. Good thing she’s done with confinement, because half the dishes were loaded with saffron

We ordered a lamb shoulder and a lamb shank to share. Both came with totally different sauces — the shoulder had a thicker base with chickpeas and potatoes, while the shank was more like a red wine stew, lighter but full of savoury aroma.

My wife preferred the lamb shank — probably ‘cause the meat was softer and pulled apart in nice strands. It had that gamey kick like the shoulder, but also a deeper, aged flavour. Maybe it’s the tendons she likes too.

Funny thing — whenever something’s really good, she always just takes one bite and leaves the rest for me.

第一次去東京，飛成田機場，真的有點遠。
下次飛羽田好了。
這次排了幾個行程，其他就現場再說了。
在東京都是坐捷運，下飛機就買了捷運卡，很方便。

終於放假，出發前讓太太先考完潛水執照。

我們一大早出發，去松山機場，坐飛機去台東。

一小時左右的飛機就到了。

到台東還是很早，如果坐火車要5小時。

我們就到台東市區走走。