6 of the best places to go for hotpot in Hong Kong and Macau
From J Pot and Quan Alley in Hong Kong to Lotus Palace and Ping in Macau, we found the coolest restaurants with the hottest deals in both places
Asians have been developing, reinventing and localising hotpot for centuries. In Japan, there is shabu-shabu, in Korea, hotpot is known as jjigae and in Thailand, jim jum, which usually has a sweet and savoury pork broth with lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves as its base. In China alone, there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of different versions ranging from the famous chilli-laden mala hotpot from Chongqing, to the heavy seafood style in Guangzhou.
What we do know is that the ingredients used in the hotpot usually reflect the culture and class of the diners. Historically, everyone – from the most impoverished villager to the emperor of China – would use hotpot as a medium of feasting, the former for sustenance, the latter for savouring delicacies. This is perhaps another reason hotpot is so popular: it crosses class boundaries and is accessible to all in one form or another. But given a choice, we would all be gorging ourselves on Kobe beef slices, lumps of fresh lobster meat and tender pieces of geoduck.
Macau
In Macau, where fancy food is at its finest, there is no shortage of hotpot restaurants. Here are the latest ones we have tried.
Lotus Palace
Lotus Palace at The Parisian Macao is a seafood lover’s dream. Try one of its premium sets and savour succulent Canadian lobster, fresh abalone and prized baby fish maw. Choose from the cornucopia of delights to dip in the supreme soup stock of your choice. Usually for higher-quality ingredients and seafood, a gentler, more subtle stock is ideal such as fish maw with chicken soup or white and bone with sweetcorn. Also, make sure you don’t overcook your seafood or it’ll turn quite rubbery. Razor clams, for example, only need about five seconds in a boiling pot for its desired texture.
Shop 3316, Level 3, The Parisian Macao, Estrada do Istmo, Lote 3, Cotai Strip, Macau
Ping
If you want to kick it up a notch and try something more spicy, head over to Ping and try its signature Sichuan spicy broth. Order the finely sliced Iberico pork and Wagyu beef and dip them into the red-hot brew for five to 10 seconds for an optimised texture. No hotpot is complete without some bouncy balls so order handmade cuttlefish balls with pâté or briny shrimp balls mixed with dried scallop. Also, don’t forget to ask for the fried bean curd to mop up the soup for a truly explosive spice experience.