BUBBLING stock, fresh greens, wild mushrooms, succulent beef . . . yes, it's time for dunkin' dinners. The Swiss have fondues, but, when temperatures drop, it's hard to beat the traditional hot-pot for a warming meal.
A recent trend in the territory is to offer hot-pot buffets. As well as the usual pork, chicken and seafood, restaurateurs are throwing in exotic meats such as frog, ostrich and deer (Chiuchow Garden Restaurant).
But, in an effort to stand out even further in the crowded restaurant business, hot-pot houses have been spicing up the usual boil-and-eat routine.
Kam Lon Mix Hot Pot Restaurant on Cameron Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, is among many enterprising eateries interpreting fusion cuisine in its own way.
Two popular cooking styles have been mixed in the form of a barbecue-pot imported from Taiwan. Customers sit around a small pot resting on top of a flat, round pan, which allows them to boil and grill at the same time.
'I brought in the concept from Taiwan, where the mixed hot-pot and barbecue is very popular,' says owner Yau Yeung Ngar-ling.