appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Lisa Cam

Over the weekend, social media was set ablaze when a clip of a couple at a hotpot restaurant bagging raw ingredients to take home went viral.
While this is an obvious no-no at most hotpot restaurants, the episode might have you wondering about other dining etiquette points when it comes to cooking and eating hotpot.
There are a few golden rules that, if broken, can lead to scorn from fellow diners and, worse, illness.
Read on to see whether you have been a hotpot hero or heretic.


1. Be aware of others
Hotpot is a shared experience. Be mindful not to monopolise the pot by dumping an entire plate of ingredients into the pot without consulting your fellow diners.
People might want to cook different ingredients in different ways, so unless you are willing to cater to everyone’s needs, it is better to stick to the script and let everyone serve themselves.
2. Do not mix utensils
You may be aware of the practice of separating “public” and “private” chopsticks at Chinese restaurants – the former is to transfer food from the shared plates in the middle of the table to your personal one, and the latter is to feed yourself.
This is the same at hotpot restaurants, but there is a different rationale behind the rule. Diners generally use separate serving chopsticks or tongs to put raw food into the pot.
Avoid using your personal eating chopsticks or silverware to handle raw ingredients or retrieve cooked food from the communal pot, as this can cause cross-contamination and lead to stomach bugs and even food poisoning.

3. No double-dipping
Avoid dipping partially eaten food back into the pot. While the boiling water will technically sanitise it, no one likes someone else’s half-eaten pieces of food in their hotpot.
It is also important to use the communal utensils when spooning the dipping sauces.
4. Keep plastic away

This one is common sense, but sometimes things need to be spelled out.
Make sure you do not put any plastic utensils into the boiling broth that could melt or leach chemicals into it.
While many restaurants hand their diners plastic chopsticks and do not differentiate between personal or communal use, responsible establishments should have at the very least bamboo disposable chopsticks for when diners are cooking their food in the communal pot.
Alternatively, a metal or mesh ladle is just as good for cooking your food.
5. Wait for the water to boil

It might seem like ages before the water or broth boils, especially when you are hungry. However, it is prudent to wait until it has reached a simmer or a boil before adding food to ensure it cooks safely and quickly.
Not following this rule risks biting into partially uncooked food, which means it goes to waste or gets double-dipped – or worse, gets eaten as is and leads to upset stomachs.


Japanese, Vietnamese, Cantonese – where a Hong Kong food critic likes to eat

Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for May 21-24

Thailand’s Singha beer dynasty rocked by sexual abuse allegations

Your Hong Kong weekend food guide for May 22-25

Food and Drinks

5 hotpot dos and don’ts after Hong Kong buffet bagging video goes viral

Hotpot is enjoyed throughout Hong Kong, mainland China and Asia, but how can you eat it without offending your fellow diners? Photo: Shutterstock

Although hotpot is a communal dining experience, it is easiest to let everyone serve themselves. Photo: A Smoking Affair

Dipping plastic utensils in hotpot is a big no-no, as it can lead to contamination of the broth. Photo: A Smoking Affair

It is highly recommended to wait until the hotpot broth is bubbling before adding food, so it cooks safely and quickly. Photo: Shoo Loong Kan Hot Pot 

How Hong Kong dim sum restaurant Metropol kept Cantonese food tradition going for 35 years

Mamoru Hayashi, managing director of the Heichinrou Group, which owns Metropol, chooses dim sum dishes at the Hong Kong restaurant in Admiralty on August 26, 2025. Photo: Elson Li

Hayashi chats over dim sum at Metropol on August 26, 2025. Photo: Elson Li

A still from a video from 1990 shows “aunties” pushing dim sum trolleys among diners at Metropol. Photo: Metropol

Heichinrou restaurant was founded in Yokohama, Japan, in the 1880s. Photo: Heichinrou

Diners pack Metropol in July, after it was announced the restaurant would close on September 27. Photo: Jelly Tse

A customer picks dim sum dishes at Metropol. Photo: Elson Li

Food name tags are seen on a dim sum cart at Metropol. Photo: SCMP

Why dishes from China’s Yunnan province can taste so much like Thai food

A dish of Dali wild fruit sour soup, a favourite in China’s Yunnan province. The dish is very similar to Thailand’s tom yum soup. Photo: The Mushroom

Dali roasted rushan with rose sauce from The Mushroom in Hong Kong. Photo: The Mushroom

Dali’s old city, where many people from the Dai ethnic minority live. Photo: Getty Images

Wrapped mixed mushrooms from The Mushroom. Photo: The Mushroom

Sun Hao is the founder of The Mushroom restaurant in Hong Kong. Photo: The Mushroom

Hong Kong Instagram star Uncle K on making viral food videos and being ‘a normal person’

Kent Wong, aka Uncle K, at Lok Yuen, a traditional Hong Kong-style cha chaan teng cafe in Kowloon City. The content creator has risen to Instagram fame in recent months with his videos about Hong Kong restaurants. Photo: Sam Tsang

Wong enjoys a dish at Lok Yuen, in the Kowloon City Market and Cooked Food Centre. Photo: Kylie Knott

Kent Wong’s videos exploring Hong Kong’s food scene have made him a reluctant social media star. Photo: Kent Wong

Wong with Hong Kong-born Canadian actress Grace Chan in Chungking Mansions, in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. Photo: Instagram

The cover of Wong’s book. Photo: Kent Wong

6 of Singapore’s best hidden speakeasy bars that will take you back in time – and how to find them

Bartenders at Chandu create drinks with a narrative that are loosely based on history. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

A bartender mixes a drink at Chandu, one of our picks of six of the best hidden speakeasy bars in Singapore. Photo: The Robertson House by the Crest Collection

The Mizuwari whisky highball at Live Twice uses Hokkaido soft water rather than soda to accentuate the malt notes of the Japanese Nikka whiskies. Photo: Instagram/@livetwicesg

Chandu is inspired by Singapore’s colonial era, when opium dens flourished in the city state. Photo: The Robertson House by The Crest Collection

Chandu’s Mata Hari cocktail is named after a Dutch dancer and courtesan. Photo: Facebook/Chandu

Oriental Elixir, located in a Peranakan rowhouse, is a dimly lit watering hole for nonconformist cocktails. Photo: Philipp Meier

Oriental Elixir’s Malabar Tamarind cocktail combines the sour ingredient with roasted cherry tomato gin, dry vermouth. Photo: Instagram/@oriental.elixir

Junior the Pocket Bar is a small, 25-seater speakeasy that tasks itself with changing the menu completely every few months. Photo: Philipp Meier

A cocktail titled Sesame from the Korea-inspired menu at Junior the Pocket Bar. Photo: Junior the Pocket Bar

Jade Harbour is part of The Bund menu currently offered at Junior the Pocket Bar, inspired by the Shanghai district. Credit: Junior the Pocket Bar

For its Korean Joseon dynasty-inspired menu, the interiors of Junior the Pocket Bar featured dragons. Photo: Philipp Meier

Roxy is a hip-hop-inspired speakeasy hidden inside the Miss Fitz restaurant in Singapore’s Marina Bay. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

The drinks at Roxy are based on classics, but are given their own spin. Photo: Facebook/Roxy

Last Word has finessed tipples that were invented in the 1920s. Photo: Philipp Meier

Last Word’s eponymous cocktail is a classic, blending gin, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse and lime. Photo: Instagram/@lastwordsg

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

Health & Wellness

A clip of patrons bagging a hotpot joint’s ingredients to take home has social media bubbling. Are you enjoying the dish civilly and safely?


5 hotpot dos and don’ts after Hong Kong buffet bagging video goes viral

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A clip of patrons bagging a hotpot joint’s ingredients to take home has social media bubbling. Are you enjoying the dish civilly and safely?

1. Be aware of others

A clip of patrons bagging a hotpot joint’s ingredients to take home has social media bubbling. Are you enjoying the dish civilly and safely?