All You Can Eat SEAFOOD Buffet & LUXURY Dim Sum in Taipei Taiwan: Taiwan Food Tour

Next stop, it's going to be really cool. Come on. Taipei 101. And I'm staying here. Hey guys, it's Mike Chen here in Taipei, Taiwan. As you know, I do have this sort of love affair with all-you-can-eat buffets. And it really is sort of a love-hate relationship. Every single time we meet, it starts off really well. We're excited to see each other, we have a great time. But somehow, it always ends up with me being in a coma afterwards. But regardless, my love for the buffet will never die. Every single city I visit, I always look for the best buffet that place has to offer. That's why I'm here at the W Hotel in Taipei. And I've heard good things. Let's see what they got. Alright, just by walking from the door to this table and just getting a very general glimpse at this buffet. This is no typical seafood buffet. I mean, I've been to so-called seafood buffets that has some crab legs, maybe a little bit of cocktail shrimp, maybe a lobster bisque. But this place, there's a lot of seafood here. And not only that, there's just a ton of... You know what? Let's just go explore together. This is Josh, he's the executive chef. He's going to show me around. Tonight is our seafood night. As you can see, we have Boston lobster, Alaskan king crab, snow crab claws, scallops on the half shell, snails, abalone. So we have a little bit of everything. And this, look how beautiful this is. I'll bring you over here, this is our sushi station. Every day we make around 226 kinds of different rolls and sushi menus for customers. Also with the hot food, everything is inspired by seafood with our signature dishes of the spicy lobster claws. Spicy lobster claws, that's amazing. This is where I'm going to be spending a lot of my time. Oh wow, what is this? This is awesome. This is really cool. They make you fresh juices here. So whatever you want, they make it into a juice. And this, not only a noodle bar, check it out. They grill ginormous, and I mean ginormous prawns for you. That looks amazing. Oh my goodness. What goes on there? Oh nice. I don't know about you guys, but this is more beautiful to me than fireworks. Salads and desserts. Alright, now that we scattered everything out, let's go get some food. Right as I was about to go get round one, I noticed this on my table. This is fried rice sitting on the shell of a king crab. Fried rice with what looks like flower petals inside. Crab meat and some caviar. And look at this awesome serving tray. Happy entry to seafood heaven to me. Oh yeah. This is making me feel real good. Ridiculously flavorful fried rice. Do you get that beautiful crunch from the corn and the caviar? Slightly sweet from the soft succulent crab. I'm not big on eating fried rice at buffets, especially seafood buffets. But I'll eat 20 of these. Great little preview. But the main attraction, oh that's coming up. I'm hitting right for this section right here. And I've been eyeing this pizza. Again, something I don't typically get at buffets. But seafood pizza at a seafood buffet, I'm getting it. I've never seen lemon on pizza before. And I think shrimp with butter garlic is coming out. And I need some of that. Garlic and shrimp pizza. Definitely getting a slice of this. Spicy stir-fried shrimp with pork belly? Whoa, shrimp and pork belly all together. I told you they were friends. Baked scallops, yes. Roasted prawns with citrus and herb. I'll take a few. Ah, yeah, perfect timing. This is the signature dish here. Sauteed lobster clogs, spiced garlic and shallots. And I'm the first one in line. Alright, I'm getting a massive claw here. On my already over-populated plate. Yes. This is really cool guys. The chef is actually going to show us how he made the lobster clog with spicy sauce. So he's going to do one of our signature dishes here in the restaurant on seafood night. He's going to do the spicy garlic and shallot lobster clogs. Yeah, I'm in after my own heart. Wow, that is looking good. And then some fried garlic goes on. If you guys are not drooling at home, I don't know what else I can do for you. I really don't. This is Stong. He just cooked this beautiful, I mean, just gorgeous dish. This is for me, right? Yes, of course. Appreciate it. I think this is the first time in all my years of eating buffet that everything on my first plate is something to do with seafood. This is soft-shell crab. There's some kind of citrusy ponzu sauce. I mean, you guys heard that, right? Wow, here. Wonderful little crunch, tender, delicate soft-shell crab. I'm loving this sauce. Definitely been eyeing these scallops. I don't know what kind of sauce they have on this. Yeah, I know what kind of sauce this is. It's heaven. This sauce is so good, I want to lick it. I really don't want you to see me like this. Hang on. Spicy, smoky, garlicky. I don't think I've ever seen shrimp cooked with pork belly before. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm loving that it's happening. I've just never seen it before. Yeah, we need to see that more often. I don't think you can go wrong with anything with pork belly. No, what is going on? Okay, sorry about the light change. For some reason, the restaurant light went really dim, and I gotta use my external light. Now, this. I've been waiting for this. The Signature Spicy Lobster Claw. Excuse me while I lick my lobster. This sauce is amazing. It's garlicky, it's onion-y, spicy and sweet. Lobster, obviously super fresh. And to eat this, you really can't be afraid to get messy. And don't be ashamed. Just suck on the outside of this lobster. I mean, if people walk by and they see, and somehow I end up with the nickname Lobster Licker, I'll word that proudly. There's a big old claw here. Wow. This thing. This is a hard claw. I mean, this lobster is putting up a fight. Which I like because I'm working hard to eat it. That means I'm burning calories. That means I can eat more of it. Mike Chen logic. That meat is so sweet and succulent. And the outside. That sauce goes so well with this. I've been eyeing this guy too. Seafood pizza? Truffle pizza. I love this seafood pizza. A lot of salmon in here. I love fish on my pizza. You guys might think I'm weird, but the tuna pizza I ate in Sweden, one of the best pizza I've ever had. They brought this over because, in addition to the buffet, the kitchen also cranks out dishes that they just bring around to the different tables. And apparently they went to the ocean and killed a sea monster size of a shrimp and brought it to my table. The sauce is... Oh, that's awesome. Oh, wasabi. Little mayonnaise. That might have been the first time I took a major bite out of a shrimp and it was only like 20% of it. Shrimp and a little watermelon cracker. This is another dish from the kitchen. It looks like seaweed with some shrimp inside. It's fried and a little dandelion. Oh, it's fish meat in here. Wrapped in seaweed. Beautiful, light little crunch. What a fantastic round one. Let's keep this going for more of this. Oh! I think it's massive. Let's take this sauce. Okay, this next round, I'm going for the knockout. Plate of lobster and crab. Another plate of the spicy stir-fried lobster claws. And, you know, just a general plate of mixed underwater happiness. And I'm really excited about this. Three ginormous ocean prawns. Freshly charred, grilled, and barbecued. Oh, yeah, you got me. I haven't seen prawns this big since I was in Thailand. Oh! Hang on. I gotta have another one. Oh, good God, this is smoky. And the shrimp itself is already just so sweet. I mean, the flavor is not complex. It's not seasoned with, you know, 11 secret herbs and spices or anything. It's just a natural, awesome flavor of the prawn. Cooked perfectly. I mean, the blowtorch, the ponzu sauce, everything just highlighted this. Put this front and center. And it tastes Hollywood good. I'm about to pick that up from the floor and eat it. We need to try one of these mussels. Oh, yeah, I spoke too soon. I'm sorry, prawn. Yeah, the mussel's way better. This is really good. I feel like I'm in a Pringles commercial right now. You know, once you pop, you can't stop. Have you had the mussel? You like it? Huh? Salty? Oh, this is great. I don't know what it is. I mean, the mussels, they're fresh. I really feel like it's that wine sauce. That gave the mussels a nice little wine-y flavor. And usually, nobody likes things that are wine-y. Except for those mussels. You're not gonna mind that they're wine-y. Wow. That salmon is all sorts of tender. The way this salmon is cooked. First of all, you can taste the smoke right away. And it's been sitting under that buffet lamp of death for a long time before I got it. And I'm thinking it's gonna be dry and kind of gross. That's one of the highlights of my evening right there. These little neck clams are awesome. A little corn. Had to go back for another plate of the mussels and clams. These are definitely the surprising stars of tonight. The mussels are so good. They're massive, too. These little clams cooked with corn and sausage. Absolutely delicious. I might need to go back for another plate of just these little clams. That needs to happen right now. Be right back. Round number 5, 6, 7... Round something. These clams. These little clams. Alright. I think I'm at that point. Oh my. I was so distracted by the mussels and clams I forgot I had a whole plate of lobster and crabs sitting there. But I'm so full. Alright, you know what? I think it's time to switch to the stomach that only consumes lobster and crabs. Yes, all Asians have one. Luckily, these are like one biters. Dip that in a little Thai chili. Can't go wrong with lobster. A little saffron mayo. I'm so glad I got the extra stomach. So useful. We're like the Energizer bunny at Seafood Buffet. We just keep going and going and going. Finally wrapped up the lobster tail and the crab. And I just saw... I got another plate of the lobster claw stir-fried with garlic and spice. How do I just keep forgetting that plates of stuff exist on my table? Well, I guess it's time to switch to my other stomach that only consumes stir-fried lobster claws. Yes, all of us Asians have that one too. I made sure this one is extra saucy this time. Oh, here we go. Gotta be gentle. Surgical even. Slowly. Steady. And there you go. An entirely intact lobster claw. Dip it in the chili sauce. Yeah. At first I was kind of afraid because I got a big plate of this. But now after tasting it and my thirst stomach starting to kick in this thing is so good I wish I had another plate. Alright, time for dessert. What? Pops are sweet? Like a mango popsicle. And like a tiny matcha donut from a donut tree. Oh, this is fantastic. Wow, I think the outside is just pure mango puree. Oh, that melon ice cream is delicious. Whoa. Mmm. If you like honeydew and cantaloupe in ice cream, this is gonna make your life. This is some of the best ice cream I think I've ever had. Oh, that ice cream was so good. And what looks like a fig on top of something looks like a Pokemon. Whoa. This Pokemon looking thing with a fig on top? This is amazing. It's like a raspberry mousse over the lightest little sponge cake. This is a chef's special cake. Ah, I need more of that ice cream. Couldn't leave here without getting some more ice cream. Mmm, just fantastic. And you know what? Thanks to my like third, fourth and fifth stomachs, I feel pretty good right now. Lobster's done, ice cream's done. I think finally, finally, I'm done. Hi. I feel like a peasant right now. I don't know what these two chopsticks do. One is translucent and purple. And then there's this spoon, long spoon. I'm not sure what this does. Is that this? I'm kind of confused right now. Um, I'm just gonna ask. Okay, so here's what you do if you ever run into a two chopstick situation. This is the common used chopstick. So you don't get, you know, saliva on food and gross people out. And this is your personal chopsticks. And this is a communal, communal spoon. That's what it's for. It's also used as a weapon. If somebody is reaching for that last piece of dim sum that you want, you smack them with this. Everything here is just so fancy. Look at this teapot. Who's here? This is a fried turnip cake with cheese inside. Kind of looks like a tied up Spam. Or like the body of Mr. Planters. I use my communal chopsticks, so I'm not considered a barbarian. And they tied this up with, uh, I think a little seaweed. Oh. Hmm. I think this is like a play of a traditional turnip cake. That's a very classic dim sum item. Except for this is like taking it to the uber luxurious level. I mean the outside is flaky, it's crispy. Like I said, it's tied with seaweed. You taste a shred of turnip mixed together with cheese, creates this like, just this gooey, warm center. I don't usually even like the turnip cake. This is fantastic. Hmm. Hmm. Flakiest turnip cake I ever had. This is abalone xiaomai. And it is absolutely exquisite. Beautiful, tender little pieces of xiaomai. Oh, and you see that little pool of sauce just sitting there? This is a kind of a crude comparison, but it reminds me of like a slice of New York pizza with a curved up pepperoni. Like a little pool of delicious spicy grease in the center. Cheers, guys. Hmm. I've eaten a lot of xiaomai in my day. That is the best xiaomai I've ever had, and it's not even a close comparison. Wrapper, soft, thin, steamed perfectly. The inside, I can taste the pork, the shrimp. The flavors are all very distinct. It doesn't mush together. And that abalone just adds that fresh seafood balance to the whole thing. It's chewy, seasoned perfectly. It's just like playful on your tongue. You ever had a playful abalone? That's a playful abalone. Also, it's really rare to see Cantonese places with actual hot oil. Usually you see garlic hot sauce and not hot oil. Oh, wow. That hot oil is delicious. Not just spicy, savory, flavorful, nice black bean sauce. This is prawn spring roll wrapped in steamed rice noodles. And I just want to point this out right away. Do you guys see that glisten? Yeah, you could use that as a mirror. No problem. In fact, someone actually should make this into a mirror. Think about it, guys. You get up in the morning, you look at yourself, you fix your hair. Ladies, you fix your makeup. Then you just eat the mirror. Depends on soy sauce first. I am so impressed with this place right now. I know these dimsums here, they're supposed to be intricate. They're supposed to be like very fancy versions of dimsum. But to make it look so good and taste out of this world without needing any sort of sauce, hot oil, vinegar, nothing. This is art, my friends. Nay, a masterpiece. Beautiful, chewy outer layer. Then you're going to get a bite of the crunch. And then the tender prawn meat. And little crispy scallions on the inside. So it's chew, crunch, chew, crunch. That's also like my favorite dance move. Yeah, don't ask. You know what? My second piece, I'm going to dip it in some hot oil. Let's see what happens. This is a lifelong love affair. People are going to write books about this. There it goes again. Chewy, crunch, chewy, crunch. And the last crunch, the chives they used. That just adds another layer of garlicky flavor. It's my favorite item so far. It's out of this world. Vinegar was just brought over. Red vinegar. So I'm assuming some sort of soup is coming up. Seafood soup dumpling. Wow, thank you so much. I mean every word of that is making my mouth water. Seafood, soup dumpling, king crab, Hokkaido. Let's just taste the soup on its own first. It's subtle, but it's that beautiful kind of subtle. You know what I'm saying? You taste the soup and at first you're like, okay, it needs something. And then you're just like drowning in that beautiful seafood flavor. This thing, this thing really teases you. Since they brought this over, I am just going to add a little bit of red vinegar. I don't think it needs it. I really don't think it needs it. Oh, that's so good on its own. All right, time to break apart the soup dumpling. Skin is so light and thin. Even the skin is delicious. I don't even know how they accomplished that. It's kind of like the softest, gentlest little noodle. Let's just see what's underneath here. There is the crab and big chunks of it too. Some mushrooms in here, pork. This thing is complicated. I think the best thing to do is just take a spoonful of a little bit of everything. I'm just going to sit here in silence because I feel like words just do not do this soup dumpling any justice. It just can't. But inside that light, delicate dough, it's Poseidon's feast. It's like I just took a bite of everything that's good about the ocean. That crab meat is so distinct. You get that wonderful crunch from the mushrooms. I'm eating a soup right now, essentially kind of like a noodle soup with meat inside. I'm not even thinking about hot oil. Nothing but you and me in this moment. Now, I know this is probably Phranapon here. It's a nice place, but I'm not letting a drop of that go to waste. This they call snow-capped mountain roast pork bun. This kind of reminds me of what I had at Temho One. Their char siu ball also has a really nice crispy outer layer. And the bottom, ooh. That's a huge contrast. Crispy, gentle, beautiful, soft. It's kind of like me. I seem tough and hard on the outside, but underneath, I'm a softie. Oh, that's gonna be a flaky bite on top. Look at that. Crack open the outer shell, and inside you're gonna find treasure. In this case, porky sweet treasure. Hang on a second. Are you guys hearing this right now? The first time I had roast pork bun that was kind of like this, with a nice crispy outer shell, was at Temho One in Hong Kong. I'll tell you right now, it's no comparison. The reason is the airiness of this bun. For some reason, when you're eating this, it doesn't taste like you're eating a bun. Because usually, buns are heavy, and they fill you up. But this, you take a bite, you get through that beautiful, sweet crunch you just heard, and then it's as if you're eating just this beautiful, light, fluffy, slightly crispy cloud, with the most deliciously sweet, tender roast pork on the inside. This thing is so light, I feel like eating this will actually help me lose weight. I've never had a roast pork bun even remotely as good as this one. This might be my favorite thing on the menu. What's kind of crazy about this place is every time a new dish comes, it just becomes my favorite. Snow cap mountain? More like mountain in the clouds. Delicious clouds. Crispy, delicious clouds. Yes, they do exist. Ooh, Chinese barbecues here. Crispy black pig, and honey roast pork. Oh, and look! The pig is organized into the shape of the constellation Cassiopeia. Oh, actually, sorry, that's a W. Which would make more sense, yes. And this is supposed to be dipped here. A little mustard. You guys heard that, right? I mean, that was loud and clear. Do I even need to say anymore? Oh, that meat is deliciously good. I'm gonna try a little bit without the mustard. That is roasted so well. That pig, that pig cleaned itself. That's a showering pig. Always a fan of char siu. Oh, char siu meat is usually not tender. The texture is almost like a jerky. This is by far the most tender piece of roast pork I've ever encountered. Not only is it tender, this thing is juicy. Look at the juice come out of this. You guys see what I'm saying? I think I'm done with all their savory dishes. Dessert. Yeah, you gotta have dessert at dim sum. If you guys think this is a shiitake mushroom, well, you'd be wrong. Because this is a custard bun. Look at this. This is the most beautiful bun ever. We've struck gold, ladies and gentlemen. What's so genius about this is, the outside, that's chocolate. And it's bitter chocolate, so it really balances that sweet, creamy custard. Tell me this is not the most beautiful, adorable looking bun you've ever seen. I feel like calling this beautiful is even an understatement. So clever. What an absolute, just fantastic dim sum meal. This and the dim sum buffet I had in Singapore, top two dim sum experiences of my life. Both places were really innovative. The flavor's just outstanding. I've eaten dim sum all around the world. And what I've had today, and what I had in Singapore, makes all the other dim sum places taste like to-go food. Guys, trust me. If you are ever in Taipei, and you love dim sum, you gotta come here. I highly recommend everything I got today. Highly recommend. And if you try something different that's awesome, let me know so I can come back and eat it later. Well, my stomach is full, and my soul is warm. That's how you should feel after a great dim sum meal. As always, guys, all the places I went to in this video is listed in my description box below. Thank you all so much for watching. And until we eat again, I'll see you later.