Secrets to Yado's thirty years of success

YaDu(IDo) Hotpot restaurant was formed in 1989, in a prime location in Taipei. The current owner Bin purchased YaDu(IDo) from its former owners in 1992. Initially there were no customers at all. Today however, it has an established clientele, including celebrities, many of whom have been returning for the past twenty years. What was the secret to YaDu(IDo)’s turn around? What makes customers frequent YaDu(IDo) up to three times a week?
Nobody would have guessed that as passionate and outgoing as the owner, Bin is today, he was actually an abandoned child. A 50 year old grandmother purchased Bin as her son for $2400 NT. Feeling that it would be strange to have a child at her age, she raised Bin as her grandson, while her real daughter, who already had three kids, was regarded as his mother.
As Bin grew up, there wasn’t enough money to support his entire family.
He was accepted into Chenggong High school (one of Taipei’s top 3 high schools) but since he couldn’t afford to go, he went to a vocational school instead. At the of age 14, he started working to fend for himself. He got a part-time job at a cram school. To save money, he offically left home and moved into the cram school.
At age 17 he enlisted in the military, and later became a company commander. However he became discouraged when he found that his hard work didn’t translate into higher pay.
As a result, he switched careers and became an assistant manager in an international trading company. In one instance, he created an order which generated over NT$600,000 profit for the company, but yet only received NT$1,000 in commission. Once again he became discouraged that his hard work wasn’t paying off and decided that he wanted to go into business for himself.

It was at this time that Bin met YaDu(IDo)’s former owner by chance. At the time, the previous owner had a very bad liver and had to sell his Hotpot restaurant. Bin spent 27 days learning how to run the restaurant from the old owner. He went from not knowing how to cut vegetables to having to go to the market everyday to pick the best ingredients. After this time, YaDu(IDo) Hotpot restaurant was officially handed over to Bin.

Even to this day, Bin still insists on going to the traditional market on his own to buy the freshest ingredients. YaDu(IDo) Hotpot restaurant only uses vegetables and seafood that have been purchased on the same day. When making broth, fresh fruits are added, with no processed products, to give a natural, sweet flavor. Mustard is used, instead of chemically processed salt, to bring out the flavor. They create their own sauces, with their secret XO sauce being a favorite of many foodies.

YaDu(IDo) Hotpot restaurant insists on providing:
• A place customers can trust, whenever there’s an industry food safety issue.
• Amazing broth and ingredients with an equally amazing and warm staff to serve it.
• A great, authentic, gourmet dining experience for all, with reasonable prices
• A dining environment that makes patrons feel at home.

Lessons Learned

“One time I fried a taro a minute too long. As a result, its color became a bit dark. It would be a shame to throw it away. I thought to myself that it wasn’t a big deal that it didn’t look good, as it would still taste the same. So I served it anyway. To my surprise, the customer reacted with “Don’t serve anything that’s not good enough, to your customers.” This is one lesson I will never forget.
I treat all my customers like my own friends. I will chat with them for 3 to 5 minutes to make them feel more at home. I also treat my staff like my family. I believe if I share my profits with them, they will stay longer and be more willing to devote themselves here.”
It was because I experienced some unfairness, wondering why I had worked so hard and yet didn’t earn enough money, that I decided to become an entrepreneur, to earn what I deserve.

Fresh and delicious

 warm and friendly atmosphere

loved by celebrities from all around the world

I have been eating YaDu(IDo) Hotpot since I was five years old. My youngest son is now turning five soon. YaDu(IDo) has always been my favorite hotpot restaurant. The prices have remained moderate, while offering the same quality and flavor over the past 30 years. I love the warm and fuzzy feeling I get when the owner and staff come over to chit-chat with me. Going to YaDu(IDo) warms up not only my tummy but also my heart. That’s why I now bring my kids here. I wasn’t suprised to see that they’ve fallen in love with YaDu(IDo) too. “Totally love their broth’ my boys say. Really really hope YaDu(IDo) will be there as my kids grow up ~

Media Reports

Famous Thai Youtubers Zeh Zeh and Bobo visited Ido hotpot when they were in Taiwan

CTITV Channel 36: Cover story on Yado hotpot: Using fresh and sweet ingredients to make food that warms your heart.

TTV: Amazing fruit based broth attracts superstars like Jolin Tsai.

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