Business at Xiabu Xiabu's recently opened sibling CouCou seemed brisk even before it officially began operations on the last day of June.
虽然6月底才开始正式营业，但是呷哺呷哺的一家名为湊湊“姊妹店”看起来异常火爆。The new restaurant offers hotpot and tea-culture elements. The average cost per person is 120-150 yuan.
这家新店以“火锅加茶憩”的形式向顾客提供服务。人均消费在120至150元左右。The dimly lit setting, wooden partitions and flowing evaporating steam make for a cooling environment and create a strong sense of privacy. The soothing ambience seemed to magically dissipate the heat from the boiling pots.
店内幽暗的灯光，木质的板壁以及袅袅的火锅烟气营造了一种十分安静的氛围，让人感到十分自在。这种舒缓的气氛仿佛有一种魔力，于无形中驱逐了沸腾火锅带来的热量。
Soup offerings include Taiwan-style spicy, lamb spine, beef shank with tomatoes, Sichuan-style numbing spice and mushroom. We opt for beef shank with tomatoes and Taiwan-style spicy bases, and we're surprised at how much treasure is hidden under the bubbling surface.
该店提供了包括台式麻辣锅、羊蝎子锅、番茄牛膝锅以及川式珍鲜菌菇锅等各种口味的锅底。我们选择了番茄牛膝锅以及台式麻辣锅，并且吃惊的发现锅底里面还隐藏着众多配料。
Don't be fooled by the dark red color of the Taiwan-style soup: It won't paralyze your tongue and make you jump up and down the way Sichuan and Chongqing hotpot can do. Instead, the soup offers a slight tingle.
不要被台式火锅底料的暗红色油汤所吓倒，这种汤不会像四川和重庆的火锅那样，让你的舌头麻痹，让你上蹿下跳。相反，这种汤底只是微辣。Big chunks of translucent beef tendons are immersed in the tomato-red soup and emerge soft but resilient. I try handmade Da Hong Pao (a rock tea from Fujian's Wuyi Mountain) with no syrup and no ice, and a special Taiwan drink integrating white gourd and black tea. Both were very refreshing and complemented the meaty and slightly oily hotpot foods.
大块的牛腱浸泡在番茄汤中，晶莹剔透，吃起来肉质松软但却弹性十足。我还尝试了不加糖和冰的自制大红袍（产自福建武夷山的一种名茶）和混有冬瓜和红茶的一种台湾饮料。两种饮品味道清新爽口，恰好祛除了吃火锅的油腻感。The noodle-like spinal cord of deep-ocean cod is an eye-opener, served in a bowl on a bigger plate filled with flowing white smoke. It melts in the mouth and carries no unpleasant fish odor. Our server says it's full of collagen and thus a dream food for girls who long for fair skin. One 50g portion of spinal cord requires 150 kilograms of deep-ocean cod, which is in limited supply and thus not always available.
该店推出的面条状的深海海鲜菜品鱼骨髓更是让人大开眼界，这道菜被盛放在碗锅中，用盘子呈上，打开盖子之后白烟袅袅。品尝时入口即化，肉质鲜美，丝毫没有任何鱼腥味。服务员表示，这道菜富含胶原蛋白，非常适合女孩子食用，有利于保持肌肤白皙嫩滑。这道50克的骨髓大餐每道需要300斤的深海鳕鱼才能加工出一份，每天限量供应。The scampi from New Zealand steals some limelight from the hotpot feast, because I don't put it in the pot but eat it raw - it is delightfully sweet with an edge of salty seawater.
来自新西兰的龙虾在这场火锅盛宴中也是必不可少的一道名菜。当时我并没有将其放入锅内，而就是生着吃，味道也十分鲜美，带有一丝咸咸的海水味道。The seafood "lollipops" made of ground fish and shrimp mixed with fennel and carrots were springy, with very little starch added.
此外，该店还推出了一种海鲜棒棒糖，这种糖以鱼虾作为原料，混有茴香和胡萝卜制成，再裹上少量的淀粉，尝起来非常有嚼劲儿。Just like the owner promised, I don't leave with a nasty hotpot smell, which might be proof of the soup's natural herbal ingredients or the restaurant's very good ventilation system. Either way, it's a nice dining experience and a bold break from its Xiabu Xiabu siblings.
正如该店老板所说，吃完火锅之后不会留下难闻的火锅味，这要归功于这家店纯天然的草本汤料以及良好的通风设施。在湊湊吃火锅是非常愉快的一次用餐体验，其在原来呷哺呷哺火锅基础上做出的大胆创新非常成功。