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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

Soothe the soul with a delicious hotpot meal

By Xu Wenwen | December 11, 2014, Thursday | Print Edition

CIRCLING around a fireplace symbolizes warmth and home in the West, and this feeling is best represented in China by hotpot meals.

In a nation where eating is nearly a religion, having a meal with family or friends is often considered a divine experience. Thus in winter, eating different hot foods with others is a good way to pass several hours when the biting wind is howling outside.

This is the attraction of hotpot meals, where a large boiling pot of soup sits in front of diners and numerous uncooked dishes from meats and seafood to vegetables and dumplings are stationed nearby waiting to be plopped into the pot of wholesome goodness.

Typical hotpot dishes include thinly sliced meats, leafy green vegetables, mushrooms, fish balls and tofu. The cooked food is usually dipped into a sauce, which can be spicy, salty or savory — it’s up to you.

There are dozens of hotpot restaurants in Hangzhou. Here are some that are slightly different.

 

Pot Guy

This restaurant has been launched by Grandma’s Kitchen Group, a leading local catering franchise, and has made a strong first impression as it dares to be different.

For starters, all chopsticks are longer than normal so it’s easier to reach into and pluck food from a deep pot. Raw food comes in drawer-like boxes that can be stacked so table space isn’t wasted.

“Few hotpot restaurants have tried to make the experience more convenient for customers like Pot Guy,” says one diner.

The new restaurant has generated good reviews even though the menu is essentially the same as its competitors.

Other thoughtful details include interesting menu names like Vegetable Boat (it comes in a long dish). Each table also features a lamp only 50 centimeters from the table so the food is easy to see and the tables are softly partitioned.

Address: B1, 124 Pinghai Rd

Tel: (0571) 8763-2850

Yunnan Pot

This restaurant is one of few Yunnan restaurants in the city dedicated to the province’s version of a hotpot.

Yunnan cuisine is tougher to categorize than most branches of Chinese food due to its diversity. Like Thai food, it’s sour and spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. Yunnan cuisine also uses a wide range of vegetables, fruit and seasonings, including chili, and incorporates a variety of cooking techniques.

The Tom Yam Gong Pot is different from Thai cuisine in that it’s more sour and has less curry. The Pig Feet in Sour Soup Pot features a strong lemongrass flavor. Another popular item is the Wild Mushroom Pot. It includes several types of mushrooms grown in Yunnan. The Preserved Ribs Pot includes preserved Yunnan pork, another specialty in the province.

The chefs are from Yunnan and many ingredients come direct from the province.

Address: No. 32, Donghexia, Xiaohezhi Street

Tel: (0571) 8518-6003

Zhang Sheng Ji

The Old Duck Pot is a traditional Hangzhou dish known by most housewives in the city.

It consists of duck and dried bamboo shoots cooked in a large clay pot.

Making the soup requires patience. First boil a duck for several minutes to remove its blood, then put the boiled duck in the clay pot with dried bamboo shoots, sliced ham along with ginger, rice wine and salt. Simmer for three hours and then collect the compliments from happy family members and friends.

The recipe is so simple that any housewife can make a good soup for a family. The duck becomes soft and tender while the broth is flavorful. The bamboo shoots add a nice crunchy texture.

Zhang Sheng Ji is the most popular local restaurant for Old Duck Pot, selling about 300 a day at each branch.

The restaurant insists on using shelducks from Shaoxing, bamboo shoots from Lin’an and Jinhua ham. This restaurant has turned the ordinary Hangzhou home dish into a famous Hangzhou dish.

The half-piece duck pot is 98 yuan (US$15.83), it is 168 yuan for the whole duck.

Address: 77 Shuangling Rd

Tel: (0571) 8602-3333

Address: 158 Shaoxing Rd

Tel: (0571) 8581-7773

Address: 91 Jiefang Rd

Tel: (0571) 8735-5187

Hangzhou


 

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