Duck Blood. Old Sichuan Hot Pot Restaurant. Kaosiung City, Taiwan.

Blood sugar. It's like candy.

Duck blood is one singular sensation. Not at all like what you might expect a bowl of blood to be like ― thick and wet ― but also not quite like coagulated pork blood cubes with its stiff construction and oddly arid interior. The blood of duck, when cooked and set, is extraordinarily mercurial ― a solid and a clumsy liquid at once.

It ebbs and flows like a plasma engorged sea slug. The mouthfeel is unsettling yet provacative, both alien and comforting.


Blood you can sink your fangs into.

Duck blood's texture is so strange that there really is no comparison to anything edible but plenty of comparisons to things that aren't. Its one of a kind texture is similar to that of a bloody water balloon, and, upon biting, releases subtly the flavors of the hot pot's brew, in this case, a lava flow of spicy Sichuan peppercorn. The intense broth penetrates the bloody, muddy-brown blob just enough to flavor the mostly bland duck blood.

It's like having a slippery, savory toy in your mouth that satisfies your palate with the nuances of life's essence plus the fury of Sichuan peppercorn and plenty of garlic.

Blood and garlic together. A genius combination that keeps the vampires at bay while feasting at your own blood banquet.

Old Sichuan Hot Pot restaurant website.


Time to feed.