We have a lot of Hot Pots all over Manila but Double Tasty Taiwan Hotpot 台灣蒸火鍋 is the first to distinguish itself as Taiwanese.

Actually, we've have a lot of Taiwanese in the Philippines.  One of my childhood neighbor is Taiwanese and the grade school and high school I attended was run by Taiwanese nuns and priests.   But, it is only recently that we see Taiwanese Cuisine in Manila demarcating itself from Chinese Cuisine. 

Truth be told, the difference is not that big since Taiwanese Cuisine is mainly influenced by Chinese Cuisine, most notably from the south of Fujian (Hokkien/Fukien) where most Filipino-Chinese or Tsinoys like me descend our ancestry from.

Let's track back the Taiwanese Cuisines we've shared here in the past:

• Chicken Chops
• Dimsum especially Xiao Long Bao  
• Egg Tarts
• Milk Tea 
• Shaved Ice  (Baobing 刨冰 / Tsuabing 礤冰)
• Street Food

Now let's continue with the addition of this Taiwanese Hot Pot entry with Double Tasty.  The casual appeal is similar to usual the typical Chinese restaraunts in Manila China Town (Binondo). 

Food



Seafood 海鲜

♥ Shrimp Steam Pot (980 php)

This is our first time to try a seafood served in a layered Steam Pot style.    It was a very good experience.  This method of cooking is capable of preserving the natural flavors of the fresh seafood ingredients.

Steamed Lapu-Lapu Pot (1,180 php)

Of course, Steamed Lapu-Lapu has always been a staple order for Tsinoys.



Others 其他 

♥ Home-Made Dumpling (180 php)

Although Double Tasty specializes Hot Pot, it also offers a must try Home-Made Dumpling.  Because it is included in the checklist for Hot Pot, we ordered this intended to be an add-on to the broth but it turns out that its best eaten on its own.

Mixed Vegetables (238 php)

Adding Mixed Vegetables is the secret to a sweeter broth.

Lobster Ball (178 php), ♥ Juicy Beef Balls (188 php), Celery Meatball (178 php), Urchin Dumplings (178 php)

You can't go wrong with any of their selections.

Fish Dumpling (168 php)

We were suppose to order the Crab Claw but I guess we got the Fish Dumpling instead.



Imported Meat 进口肉类

♥ Beef Superior (668 php)

Just by looking at the Beef Superior, you can see the beauiful marbling.

♥ Beef Premium (398 php)

But, strips of fats of Beef Premium are well-appreciated as bang for the buck too right?

♥ Best Sate Hotpot in Manila!

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
The satisfaction of a hotpot relies mainly on the broth and the ingredients.  Since they have fresh and  and quality ingredients  and hands down the best sate broth in Manila, we really loved our dining experience at Double Tasty Taiwan Hotpot 台灣蒸火鍋.

Being an eldest sister (achi), I usually treat my shobes (little sisters) from time to time.  Each of my sisters have a different personality as well as preference.  So how did we end up in Shabu Shabu Ichiban?

My youngest shobe loves playing games so if you recall, I brought her to Table Taft.  My second youngest shobe is a fashionista and into beauty so its usually pampering session with her.  Finally, my oldest shobe who is the only foodie among my shobes,  loves two things: Coffee and Eat All You Can.  Over the years, we've tried several eat all you can restaurants but this is the first time I've brought her out for an eat all you can shabu shabu.

As soon as we arrived, we were ushered to a seat.  Table set up was almost instantaneous.


The dining area is divided into two parts.  The common dining area has tables that can serve around 4-6 persons with one large hot pot cooker.  On the other hand, they also have a group dining area that can serve up to 15 persons with each person having a small individual cooker.

Food

Set B

Chinese Cabbage Kimchi and Edamame

To our amazement, they've been open since last year.  But, we just discovered it recently.  They have 3 sets for the eat all you can.  Set A, Set B and Set C.  We opted for Set B believing that it is the most "bang for the buck" option.

If you're seating in the casual dining area, your group will have a choice of two soup broths.  The broth is refillable.  It was a tough choice to make for us since we could only choose 2 out of their 24 soup brothers.  I wanted a spicy one but shobe doesn't like spicy foods so we compromised with the Tonkotsu (non-spicy) broth and Spicy Miso Kimchi broth.  We also had a choice of refillable drink each. 

Set B offers refillable Chinese Cabbage Kimchi, Edamame, Sushi and Sashimi Platter, Vegetable Platter, US Angus Chuck Eye Roll, US Beef Short Plate, Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt), Chicken Leg Quarter, Ground Chicken & Pork, Assorted Balls and Dumplings, Shrimp Tempura, Japanese Style Fried Chicken Wings, Kushikatsu, Japanese Rice, Udon, Raw Egg and Home-made Ice Cream.

Sushi and Sashimi Platter

While shobe and I agree that the Sushi and Sashimi Platter is not one of their strengths, at least they offer it as an addition to the already wide selection.  You don't get this if you opt for Set A.

Japanese Style Fried Chicken Wings

I'm usually not a fan of fried chicken wings.  I really liked the Japanese Style Fried Chicken Wings.  Shobe loved it too.  We would have eaten more of this if we weren't overwhelmed by the other options.

Kushikatsu

Most Kushikatsu we encounter is oily.  But, this one isn't.  It's very crunchy on the outside and the beef roll filling is so tender and juicy.  We were impressed!  If you choose Set A, you only get either Japanese Style Fried Chicken Wings or Kushikatsu.

Shrimp Tempura

The Shrimp Tempura is the reason why many would upgrade from Set A to Set B.

Pork Shoulder (Boston Butt), US Beef Short Plate and US Angus Chuck Eye Roll

The highlight of the meal is the meat!  Look at the beautiful marbling of these imported meat.

Vegetable Platter, Udon, Raw Egg and Assorted Balls and Dumplings

You can choose more dumplings for refills.

Chicken Leg Quarter and Ground Chicken & Pork

This is actually my first time to try shabu-shabu with Ground Chicken & Pork.  It's a really good way to enhance the flavor of the broth.

Assorted Mushrooms, Assorted Dumplings and US Angus Chuck Eye Roll Refill

Shobe ordered the Assorted Mushrooms, Assorted Dumplings and US Angus Chuck Eye Roll.

It's so good!  Try dipping it just for a few seconds until cooked so you can savor its beefy goodness.

We really loved the quality of their ingredients especially the US Angus Chuck Eye Roll.


Shobe decided to drop her Raw Egg on the broth and had it hard boiled.  Did you know that their Raw Egg is especially brushed so you can just drop it in.  On the other hand, I prefer just cracking it raw and using it as a dip.

Home-Made Strawberry Ice Cream

We tried all three flavors of their Home-Made Ice Cream.  We loved the Home-Made Strawberry Ice Cream the most.

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We haven't enjoyed shabu-shabu as much as we've experienced in Shabu Shabu Ichiban.  In fact, we've actually recommended this to family and friends who have tried and gave the same feedback as we did.  You should try it too! 

For my uncle's birthday celebration, we were supposed to dine at Four Seasons Hotpot City but when we arrived at around 7 pm, we got the queuing number of 168 so we decided to head elsewhere.  Learning from our experience, we tried to call for reservation for my cousin's birthday celebration.  But, the reservation slots were full.  Finally, for my cousin's graduation celebration, he successfully book a reservation by calling days ahead (and knowing the right person).

Four Seasons Hotpot City is located just next to Movie Stars Cafe, you can't miss the bright lights, huge signage and long lines.

For the main dining area, there were two kinds of tables: (1) tables of 2 sharing 1 yin and yang hotpot and (2) tables of 4 to 6 sharing 1 yin and yang hotpot.  I like that the place looked very clean and fresh.  It looked like a high-end supermarket except that you are equipped with white trays and plates instead of carts and baskets.  I liked the idea of there plant boxes on the dividers, it adds to the fresh vibe of the place.   Floor are clean as I can see the staffs wiping the floor spills non-stop.

On the left side are the function rooms which they call VIP rooms.  Fortunately, dear cousin booked us for VIP Table 4 and 5 which had a nice window view of the bay.  But, what may the VIP tables cool is that we each had our own pot.  This is quite convenient for me since I have seafood allergy.  It's also more spacious!  Believe me, our table is not this clear or organized as soon as we started.  I'm not sure though if we had a space problem or a service problem since we found it difficult to call the attention of the servers to remove our empty plates.  Some of them would affirm from our calls and then neglect us after.  That didn't make us feel like VIPs...  I wish they would also orient us on how to use the electric stove.  We had to call for assistance to find out the pressing the power button twice would switch it on.  Good thing too that it was in Chinese characters so we understood what was low, medium and high.  Each table could seat 12 people.  We're exactly 24 so we were able to avail of the big group promo and had 2 persons free.

There were various stations all with a large heading on top.  I noticed that many don't pay much attention to what's written on the chalk boards though.

Upon being seated, we were asked for our soup broth: Chicken, Pork, Vegetable or Sinigang.  You can get a refill but changing broth would be difficult. 

Bread Station
The buffet doesn't limit itself to a shabu-shabu buffet.  There's a Bread Station which only had a baguette and butter.

Sashimi Station

There are lots of Sashimi and Maki options.  For Sashimi, there were Salmon Sashimi (always emptied fast!), Squid, Kani, Tuna and Tamago.  Makis include Crunchy Salmon Roll, Futo Maki, Kani Tongga, Pink Maki Roll, Ebi Tempura Roll, Four Seasons Special (this is a must try!) and California Maki.

Sushi

From the Sushi section, I recommend the Spicy Tuna.  Other options include: Salmon Sushi, Tuna Sushi, Saba Sushi (I wished they had a Sashimi version of this), Squid Sushi, Tamago Sushi, Kani Sushi and Mango Sushi.


Sushi Bar
Unnoticeable to many, there a sushi bar with a chalk board label of Salmon Sashimi by the cooked dishes and the Fish Station where you can request for fresh slices of Salmon Sashimi.

Salad Station
There's a do-it-yourself salad bar with three choices of dressing: Caesar, Dijon Mustard and Thousand Island.

Appetizer Station
There was an assortment of Canapes and Cold Cuts including Ngoyong Roll, Beef Shin, Smoked Chicken, Century Egg, Kimchi Raddish and Spicy Pork Mask.


Tofu Station

Not much variety at the Tofu Station so the Noodle Station occupied half the chiller.  The Mochi Shio looks enticing in its pink wrapper.  We initially thought it was for dessert, but we were informed by the staff that we're supposed to cook it.  It's actually just plain mochi and its cooked version tastes like bilo-bilo.  If you like the Peanut Balls eaten during Chinese Lantern Festivals like I do, go for the Mochi Shio (Peanut) in brown wrapper.


Noodles Station
Lots of noodle variants.  There are usual ones we encounter elsewhere like the Bihon, Shanghai Noodles, Udon Noodles, Hongkong Noodles, Sotanghon (my nephew feasted himself with this!), Korean Noodle, Dried Hofan, Ramen Noodle (the instant type), Shelled Macaroni and Macaroni.  I'd suggest trying more of the specialty ones like the Spicy Noodles, Mushroom Noodles (the family loved this!), Carrot Noodles, Polonchay Noodles and Squid Ink Noodles.

Vegeterian Station
The Vegetarian Station has more tofu items than the Tofu Station.  Tofu variants here are: Fresh Tofu, Japanese Tofu (We loved this as it's silky and smooth!), Black Tofu (Couldn't tell the difference fro other tofu really...), White Tofu, Brown Tofu and Beancurd Stick.  The other interesting stuff I meant were Fried Tao Pao, Water Chestnuts, Guso, Black Fungus, White Fungus and Seaweeds.

Dumplings Station
While I'm not fond of dumplings, I was intrigued by their extensive selection of Beef Balls, Pork Mushroom, Squid Ball, Chicken Ball, Lobster Ball (looked like balls with kani sticks), Chicken Dumplings, Green Beijing Dumplings, Beef Curry Dumpling (A bit spicy and I enjoyed it!), Chili w/ Meat Dumplings, Kuchay Dumpling, Shanghai Meat Dumpling and Beijing Meat Dumpling.  I was looking for the Mozzarella Balls raved by many.  I spotted Richard of Tales From the Tummy and Abet of the Food Alphabet coincidentally dining there too or rather they were surprised to see a lot of versions of me (my little sisters=p) and figured I was there too.  Richard explained to me that it was there during his first visit but it isn't available this time due to supplier problems.
 
There's more dumplings on another chiller like Shrimp & Scallop Balls, Shrimp Ball, Cuttlefish Noodle, Ebi Shrimp Paste, Squid Paste, Shrimp Egg Dumpling, Shanghai Meat Wanton, Shanghai Dumpling, Hongkong Wanton and Sharkfin Dumpling.  Since none of these enticed me, I skipped these for better options. 

Pork Station
 The Pork Station is one of the most expansive station aside from the Dumpling Station.  It includes parts that you usually find in the streets but you can have them here very clean.  There's Pork Isaw, Pork Feet, Pork Skin, Pork Tito, Pork Blood, Pork Ear, Pork Lung Tube, Large Intestine, Pork Egg Isaw (This is a first time for me and I liked it!)...

Pork Liver, Pork Slice, Pork Tendon, Pork Intestine and Pig's Kidney.  Did they miss any part? 

Beef & Chicken Station
There's not much of the Beef Selections as they were limited to the Marinated Beef, Beef Shin, Beef Tito and Beef Tripe which I'd suggest to skip.  Chicken selections include: Drunker Chicken and Chicken Liver.  There's also Fried Quail Egg which I don't get the point of because you'll be cooking it again...

Sliced Meat Station (Only Available During Dinner and Weekends)

Beef Short Ribs (center), Beef Striploin (right), Pork Jowls (down), Lamb (left) and Pork Belly (up)

I'm so glad we ate during dinner time because the Sliced Meat Station was the best part of the buffet.  To order simply feel up the order slip with your table number and what you want.  Choices are: (1) Beef Short Ribs (You must order this!  I had a plateful of this all for myself.)  (2) Beef Striploin (3) Beef shortplate (4) Pork Jowls (5) Pork Neck (6) Pork Belly (If you like bacon, get this!) (7) Lamb (If you like lamb, definitely order this!  It was very clean-tasting).  Upon ordering, the server will bring plates of your order to your table.

Fresh Seafood Station
I was expecting interesting items from the Seafood Station from the blogs I've read like Baby Squid, Lobster and Frog Legs.  But, I guess we weren't as lucky.  Selections available during our visit were Fresh Shrimp, Leather Jacket, Sea Mantis, Fresh Alimasag (these were skinny but good thing there's a bigger crab among the cooked dishes), Imelda Head, Clams, Squid Ring, Yellow Eel (Ugh! This had a very very fishy taste even when cooked well), Gindara (later on replaced by Cream Dory), Talakitok (the big center fish) and Mussels.  I tried everything here and the Gindara was the only item I found worthy of the stomach space.  I somehow wished I grabbed more before they ran out of it.

Vegetable Section
My favorite station is the Vegetable Station because it had my favorite vegetables: Polonchay and Watercrest.  And, it also has so many kinds of mushrooms which I'm crazy for like the Golden Mushroom, Straw Mushroom, Oyster Mushroom, Beijing Mushroom and Shitake Mushroom (These were rubbery for some reason).  It also includes some add-ons like Sampalok for the Sinigang Broth.


To enhance the broths or create your own dip, there's a lots of condiments and sauces available.  They are two stations like this with similar content.  You can be adventurous by adding Peanut Butter or go with classic options like Hoisin Sauce, Oyster Sauce and Sate Sauce.

Cooked Station and Tempura Station
Aside from the Steamed Crab, I skipped the rest.  As usual in every buffet, the Tempura Station with Ebi Tempura and Vegetable Tempura is popular and quickly emptied.  There's also Fried Wanton HK Style, Fried Beancurn Roll and Fried Rice.

Dessert Station
Dessert Selection is similar to its sister company Vikings.  It includes Colorful Cakes, Fresh Fruits...

Kakanin, Frozen Yogurt, Chocolate Fondue, Ice Cream and Crepe.


I'm always a fan of their Green Tea Ice Cream.


Drinks are also the same as Vikings but this had an addition of Arizona Iced Tea and Chang Beer (Thailand Brand).

Tsinoy Foodies Verdict
We all had fun with the individual pot but still in the same table together experience that Four Seasons Hotpot City offered.  Having tried, several eat-all-you-can shabu-shabu in the past, that was a first-time for us.  Quality-wise, I thought it was a good bargain with the Sliced Meat included.  Without it, I'd rather pass even at a lesser rate.  We're eager to see more they were to offer with their Premium Station (which is still closed at the moment)