HOT STUFF
AS THE temperature drops, families and friends are gathering round the warming hotpot. Although many Hongkongers might think of hotpot only as simple plates of sliced seafood, meats and vegetables to be poached in a clear broth, restaurants are now serving soup bases, fancy dishes and dipping sauces that take their influence from other Chinese cuisines.
The idea of cooking in soup goes back a long way in northern China, probably originating in Mongolia. This spread south during the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD). Part of its appeal is huddling around the pot with friends or relatives, sharing the food. At the end of the meal, the broth can be slurped as a tasty soup.
Locally, the Cantonese style - shacha - is the most popular form of hotpot, generally characterised by a clear soup base and a satay dipping sauce. Kowloon City is a favourite haunt for shacha. Two of the best-known restaurants are Tung Wing Seafood Hotpot and Fai Seafood Hotpot, both famous for their celebrity clientele and fresh selections.
However, other varieties of hotpot featuring spicier soup bases are growing in popularity, including the Taiwanese and Sichuan styles.
Fans of the Taiwanese hotpot swear by Lin Kee Hotpot, with outlets in Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui. They're also one of the best bargains in town, costing $79 for an all-you-can-eat hotpot buffet. After 9.30pm, the price drops to $69. And after 11pm, it's only $48. But if the idea of Lin Kee's dark red Taiwanese spicy broth - thickened with pork blood - is not for you, it also has less scorching soups, including one with Chinese herbs.
A good bet for the Sichuan style is the New FF Hotpot, which is known for its fiery chilli broths created from Sichuan peppercorns, chillies and secret ingredients.
'We don't offer Taiwan spicy soup because that's mixed with so many ingredients and spices,' says manager Chan Wing-che. 'Sichuan hotpot is clearer and it has different levels of taste.'
The restaurant offers many other soup bases (including ginger black chicken, spicy tom yum and sweet corn with fish bones), as well as a variety of ingredients, so customers can customise their own dipping sauces.
Another Sichuan specialist is Man Jiang Hong in Causeway Bay. In addition to hotpot, it offers other fiery Sichuan dishes. It has a large range of dipping sauces and condiments, which lets customers mix their own blend in individual bowls. Ingredients include Sichuan broad bean paste, spicy satay, white sesame, preserved bean curd, chilli, Sichuan peppercorns and salted preserved vegetables.
For even more variety, Yau Gwat Hei Hotpot - with locations in TST, Causeway Bay and Happy Valley - gives diners a choice of 11 soup bases. Popular styles include Beijing (with chicken, shark fin and fish maw), winter melon and Thai tom yum. Yau Gwat Hei also offers hotpot dim sum, which allows diners to cook an array of dumplings normally served in bamboo steamers.
The Royal Garden Hotel in TST East recently opened a local outlet of Beijing restaurant Dong Lai Shun, offering an authentic northern version called shuan yang rou. This gamier northern hotpot is known for its thinly sliced mutton, as well as the savoury Beijing-style condiments used for dipping.
'In the dining culture of the Chinese, we like to eat in harmony and in a warm environment,' says Michael Au, Royal Garden's director of food and beverages. 'With hotpot, we can eat, chat and still maintain the freshness and the temperature of the food. Also, most hotpot dining is with round tables, which represent reunion in Chinese culture.'
Dong Lai Shun
B2 Royal Garden Hotel, 69 Mody Rd, TST East, 2733 2020
Fai Seafood Hotpot
G/F, 82-84 Fuk Lo Tsun Rd, Kowloon City, 2382 2000
Lin Kee Hotpot
3/F-4/F, Pohon Bldg, 24-30 Percival St, C'way Bay, 2834 0998; 3/F, Tern Centre, 5 Cameron Rd, TST, 2721 8171
Man Jiang Hong
1/F, Thai Kong Bldg, 482 Hennessy Rd, C'way Bay, 2838 8811
New FF Hotpot
G/F, 340 Jaffe Rd, Wan Chai, 2838 9392
Tung Wing Seafood Hotpot
G/F, 62-64 Fuk Lo Tsun Rd, Kowloon City, 2716 7338
Yau Gwat Hei Hotpot
G/F, 415-421 Jaffe Rd, C'way Bay, 2366 2266; G/F-3/F, 11 Humphreys Rd, TST, 2312 1616; 84-86 Morrison
Hill Rd, Happy Valley, 2312 1212
