Taipei restaurant – 下港吔羊肉專賣店 Heartwarming Mutton Hot Pot that Won’t Dissapoint!

Lamb hot pot is a cherished culinary tradition in Taiwan, especially comforting during the cooler weather months between November – February. This hearty pot typically features thinly sliced lamb simmered in a flavorful broth enriched with medicinal herbs like Angelica (當歸, dāng guī), known for its health benefits. The communal nature of hot pot dining not only warms the body but also fosters a shared dining experience among family and friends. But this place doesn’t mess around with thin slices of lamb.

Nestled near Minquan West Road station in Taipei, 下港吔羊肉專賣店 (Xià Gǎng Yē Yáng Ròu Zhuān Mài Diàn) has established itself as a spot for mutton (lamb doesn’t cut it here) enthusiasts. The restaurant’s signature fatty mutton hot pot (三層肉鍋, sān céng ròu guō) showcases thick cuts of mutton, including skin, fat, and meat, creating textures that explode in your mouth from delicate meat to silky fat and chewy skin. Mutton hot pot – has a Taipei hot pot ever been better than this? The broth, infused with Angelica and complemented by ingredients like tofu, fish meatballs, tomatoes, mushrooms, ginger, and cabbage, offers a rich and nourishing flavour profile sure to satiate your need for a delicious hotpot in Taipei.

Beyond the hot pot, the restaurant offers other notable dishes such as the dressed lamb stomach (涼拌羊肚, liáng bàn yáng dù), a chilled appetizer tossed in a tangy garlic, ginger, and soy sauce vinaigrette, providing a refreshing start to the meal. Additionally, the stir-fried lamb noodles (羊肉炒麵, yáng ròu chǎo miàn) combine the tender lamb with thick, al dente noodles, greens, chilli, and satay sauce, delivering a satisfying blend of flavours and textures. Read more below to see what we ordered on our latest (of many) visit.

The streets around Minquan West Road station are swarming with delicious places to eat, and this mutton hot pot is just one of the many places I love to eat when I am around the area.

It gets busy, so I would strongly recommend you to book in advance, you can call using this number taken from their Google Maps – 0225367922

The menu (price updated)

If you struggle with reading the menu, then check out my previous post on how to attack this potentially daunting issue. We only ordered 3 things here at this hot pot spot, simply because we didn’t know quite how much was going to be in the hot pot itself…

Lamb stomach

I get that this is a rather opinion-dividing dish. This is not something that you will see everywhere, certainly you would be hard-pressed to find it in a western country.

This lamb stomach was cut thinly, cooked, chilled, then dressed with a garlic, ginger, and soy sauce vinaigrette. It was lip-smackingly tangy with the vinaigrette being quite strong, but it was really refreshing as a starter before our hot pot actually arrived. In terms of the lamb stomach itself, it didn’t have any discernably strong lamb flavour, but more acted as a vessel for the vinaigrette with a crunchy chewiness.

I would definitely get it again.

Cold Sliced Lamb

Thinly sliced lamb has been balanced quickly and likely plunged into cold water/ice to rapidly cool it down. The result is a chewy, yet fresh-flavoured lamb dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, onions, and coriander (cilantro). Another great appetizer that I would certainly order again at this busy Taipei restaurant just next to Minquan West Road MRT station.

Stir-fried noodles with lamb

The stir-fried lamb noodles were right on the money. They were stir-fried with some greens, chilli, and satay sauce. There was plenty of sauce with the delicate meat, and the noodles were also really good, too. The noodles were thick, yet cooked really nicely in that they still retained a little ‘bite’ to them – al dente, so they say.

BBQ Lamb Skewers

I would never have thought that the best lamb skewers I’ve had to date in my life would be from a Taipei hot pot restaurant around Minquan West Road MRT station… These were juicy, smokey, full of delicious lamb flavour, and bursting with punches of cracked black pepper.

I was skeptical when I saw that they arrived with slices of pickled ginger, but it weirdly worked a dream. While every time I come here I have to order the hot pot below, if they were sold out of that incredible mutton hot pot, I would gladly take down a few plates of these lamb skewers. Give me a beer, and watch me work.

Lamb hot pot

The main event arrived, and I was excited to see the thick fatty lamb taking pride of place! The soup base is a Chinese medicine style – 當歸 dāng guī – Angelica. Angelica is a type of herb that is often used in herbal medicine.

So, why did we go for fatty lamb? Honestly, I have never seen this on a menu for hot pot before, so I felt almost obliged to give it a go. I love lamb, in every form. I’m one of those that you’ll find sucking the marrow out of the lamb bones when given them at a restaurant.

Inside the hot pot, you will find tofu of various forms, some fish meatballs, tomatoes, mushrooms, ginger, cabbage, and plenty of lamb. Other than the lamb itself, the rest of the ingredients are all good, but nothing stands out. I’m quite glad of that, really, as it allows the lamb to take center stage.

Look. At. That. That is some epic lamb right there. That’s not two pieces of lamb sandwiched together, that’s 1 thick piece of lamb including the skin, fat, and meat. What was great about this, is that the meat itself was delicate, the fat was silky smooth, and the skin was chewy. All of those three textures together result in an incredible mouthful. I really cannot recommend this enough.

The bottom line

Is it worth lining up for? Yes. I would happily line up for this.

Is it somewhere to take family and friends in a big group? I don’t really think so. If I am with a big group of family or friends I want somewhere slightly quieter and less busy. This is more suitable for smaller groups so that they can be seated more easily.

Where is it?