Tai Ke Will Rebrand and Relocate to Olivette This Fall, Bringing a Shabu Shabu Experience to St. Louis

Taiwanese eatery Tai Ke will soon change locations and re-concept nearby in Olivette. Tai Ke Shabu Shabu debuts this fall, combining the brand’s traditional Taiwanese fare with shabu shabu, or individual hot pots. The concept fills the strip-mall space previously occupied by Lulu Asian Kitchen on Olive Boulevard.

Tai Ke originally opened five years ago in University City to critical acclaim, offering popular dishes like sizzling tenderloin beef, crispy oysters, steamed sea bass and braised pork belly with pickled vegetables. The full menu will still be on offer in the new location, along with a variety of Taiwanese-inspired hot pot options.

The concept comes from Taipei native chef-owner Calvin Koong and business partners Cheng Zhang, Yi Jun Chen and Zheng Lu Sun. The team hopes to bring the full shabu shabu experience – the first of its kind in the city – to St. Louis. The traditional individual hotpot dish, which originated in Japan but is also popular in Taiwan, consists of thinly sliced meat and vegetables, cooked piece by piece at the table and served with dipping sauces.

The new restaurant brings a new facet of far-east fare to St. Louis.

The menu is currently in development and includes options such as ma la spicy hot pot, seafood hot pot and dishes with bases such as ginger duck, mushroom, lamb and beef.

Tai Ke Shabu Shabu will tentatively open for walk-in dine-in services later this month with a total of 17 shabu shabu stations available at the bar. Social distancing via city of St. Louis guidelines will be put into place. Carryout options are also available, including an instant self-heating hotpot to-go. 

Carryout for Tai Ke’s current menu is currently available via online and phone-in ordering. Delivery is also available through DoorDash, Grubhub and Chowbus. Once Tai Ke Shabu Shabu opens, operations will resume at the new location.

Tai Ke Shabu Shabu, 9262 Olive Blvd., Olivette, Missouri, taikestl.com

https://www.feastmagazine.com/st-louis/article_4cac8068-0a68-11eb-a683-576198ce469e.html