"All you can eat" and "hot pot" are two of the key words that Hong Kong people searching for restaurants. This year, the highest honor of OpenRice Best Restaurant Awards, Prestigious Awards goes to Master Beef (King Wah Centre) which is always crowded with people. Master Beef honored the Best Restaurant in Cuisine (Hotpot) and Table Booking categories at the same time. Congratulations.
Master Beef started their business in Hong Kong since 2019, and they open 8 branches in Hong Kong now. King Wah Centre’s one was their first branch. It is appreciated that their popularity is always keeping well throughout all those years. It is almost impossible to obtain a table there if you don’t have a booking in advance.
This Taiwanese all you can eat hotpot restaurant is managed by a Taiwanese chef and serves 9 types of hotpot soup bases made from all natural ingredients, including the Master Beef Spicy Soup, the Master Beef Roasted Bone Soup, and the Taiwanese Pineapple and Chicken Soup. Among them, the Spicy Soup is made with more than 30 kinds of Chinese herbs, including dried chili and red pepper. The variety of ingredients makes the flavour of the hot pot mellow and varied, with a rich layer, and strong aroma of beef bones, making it a popular choice for spice lovers. The selection of beef and hotpot toppings is also extensive, including American Angus beef, Australian Wagyu beef and a variety of Taiwanese delicacies.
Jerry, the Regional Manager of the restaurant said, "We were already very happy when we were nominated for this award, and we were delighted and surprised that we won the Prestigious Awards.” Jerry believes that the award was achieved through the combined efforts of everyone, so he would like to thank not only the frontline and kitchen staff, but also the other staff in the office, as well as the cleaning lady. "Without their efforts, we would not have been able to achieve what we have. He also thanks OpenRice and the customers for their support, as the online booking function has helped the restaurant to reach more different customers.
"I believe that if you put your heart and soul into it, your customers will feel it.” From the supply of ingredients to the choice of menu, and also the preparation of the soup base, the restaurant's dedication is evident in every aspect. Most of the restaurant's ingredients are delivered directly from Taiwan, and the Taiwanese chefs are obsessed with providing high quality and authentic Taiwanese food, so the team go to Taiwan and search for the ingredients time by time.
Jerry explains that the menu is designed to help customers who are full to the brim with dessert and drinks. Most of the restaurant offer icecream, soft drinks and beer only, but they include the popular Xian Cao Jelly and a range of home-made cold brew tea and hand-cranked tea as well, that you can seldom find in other all you can eat hot pot restaurant.
As for the soup base, it is one of the restaurant's most confident and dedicated aspects, and is even seen as a winning key for Awards. "I'm confident in our soup base because it really takes a long time to make it, and it's full of ingredients, so the reputation is built after the customers tried and spread out.” Compared to Hong Kong-style hot pot, Taiwanese hot pot places more emphasis on the cultivation of the soup base. In addition to the spicy hot pot mentioned above, Jerry also uses Beef Roasted Bone Soup as an example, which uses a large amount of beef shank bones. The beef bones have a rich flavour and the slow stewing method preserves the nutrients in the bones. Jerry also recommends that customers have a sip of the soup before adding the ingredients to the hot pot.
To throw back, the restaurant team decided to start their own restaurant because they loved Taiwanese culture and hot pot, but they felt that the prices for Taiwanese hot pot in Hong Kong were too high and the quality was mediocre, so they decided to open an affordable, all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant. And after 4 years, the initial idea is still there.
For more information and the result of Awards 2023, please click (here):
Master Beef (King Wah Centre) 
Address: 9/F, King Wah Centre, 628 Nathan Road, Mong Kok
The other branches: (click here)