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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.


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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?