Qunba

Qunba (滾吧鍋物)
No. 148
Section 1
Jianguo North Road
Zhongshan District
Taipei 104
Taiwan

https://www.facebook.com/QUNBA.pot/

Hot Pot Meal

Excellent Hot Pot Experience

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 8
Food & Beverage: 7
Service: 9
Value for Money: 8
Spent about NTD $644 / SGD $29 per person.

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Opening in August 2017 and quickly gaining a following, Qunba (滾吧鍋物) is a Chinese Taiwanese hot pot restaurant, known for their wide range of ingredients. Positioned as a upper mid-range dining destination, Qunba offers a fusion hot pot and shabu shabu style experience, with individual pots for each diner.

Ambience at Qunba is bright, cheery, and comfortable. The vibrant green, blue, white, and wood colours lend character to the place, while the comfortable cushioned chairs are lined neatly against wide and sturdy tables. The drinks, desserts, and DIY sauce counters are easily accessible, and kept clean. There is a faint cooking odour, but it isn't a big concern here.

Service at Qunba is friendly, proactive, and helpful. Staff converse mostly in Chinese Mandarin, and the menu is completely in the language. I note that staff display good product knowledge when questioned, and helpfully make recommendations. They come around regularly to check on diners, and clear away empty / finished plates and dishes. They also teach you how best to cook the ingredients, and will offer assistance for photo-taking.

Food at Qunba is focused on individual hot pots, served with a wide range of ingredients. While their vegetables and seafood are fresh, I note their meat is mostly frozen. Quality of ingredients is decent enough, as is taste. Portions are incredibly generous, and must be shared. Consider ordering less than the actual number of diners in your group. Prices are upper mid-range, budget about NTD $644 / SGD $29 per person for a meal here. Overall, Qunba (滾吧鍋物) has decent food, but memorable service and ambience.

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Qunba (滾吧鍋物) Signage

Qunba Exterior

Qunba Interior

Seating

Menu - Ala Carte

Menu - Soup Base, Set Meals

Menu - Set Meals

Menu - Monthly Special (June 2018)

Table Setting

Ice Cream Counter

DIY Sauce Counter

Good range of options for the DIY Sauce, I usually get a base of sesame sauce with chili, spring onions, and ginger.

DIY Sauce

We sampled several soup bases. The Soup Base Kombu Seaweed (NTD $0 / SGD $0 - Complimentary With Any Order) is the default, and has a light vegetal earthy sweet flavour. The Soup Base Tomato (NTD $50 / SGD $2.30) has a light floral fruity sweet flavour, while the Soup Base Herbal (NTD $50 / SGD $2.30) is naturally herbal earthy sweet in flavour. The Soup Base Miso (NTD $70 / SGD $3.20) has a light savoury sweet salty flavour.

Soup Base Kombu Seaweed (NTD $0 / SGD $0 - Complimentary With Any Order)

Soup Base Tomato (NTD $50 / SGD $2.30)

Soup Base Herbal (NTD $50 / SGD $2.30)

Soup Base Miso (NTD $70 / SGD $3.20)

The standard Raw Vegetable Pot served in a set is overflowing, with 14 ingredients. We couldn't finish it by ourselves, as every diner has their own serving. The worst item was the frozen Raw Bone-In Chicken, which was tough and tasteless. However, the various Raw Beef and Raw Pork items are great, being thinly sliced, of good quality, and tasty. The Raw Seafood Platter was a highlight, with a variety of fresh seafood, including premium items like Raw Spot Prawns and Raw Lobster.

Raw Vegetable Pot - Corn, Chinese Cabbage / Bok Choy, Golden Mushrooms, Lotus Root, Carrot, Calabash / Bottle Gourd, Kombu Seaweed, Tofu Beancurd, Blood Rice Pudding, Pumpkin, Yam Taro Cube, Beancurd Skin, Tempura Fish Paste, Cabbage

Raw Egg

Raw Bone-In Chicken

Raw Pork Collar

Raw Pork Belly, Raw Pork Collar, Raw Pork Jowl, Raw Udon Noodles

Raw Beef Top Sirloin

Raw Beef Flank, Raw Beef Chuck, Raw Beef Top Sirloin

Raw Seafood Platter

Raw Tiger Prawns, Raw Oysters

Raw Spot Prawns, Raw Clams

Raw Squid

Raw Lobster

Each diner has their own individual hot pot, making cooking really easy and convenient.

Cooking

Good variety of ice cream for dessert here. Our favourite is the unique Ice Cream - Green Mango, with a zesty sour sweet flavour that is so refreshing.