Hot Pot King

[Authentic Chongqing Hotpot]

This devilish concoction is none other than the famous spicy hotpot of China. Mind you, your spice tolerance level has got to be 5 chili peppers and beyond. Otherwise you're gonna suffer.

We savored this particular hotpot dinner in the city of Kunming, located in the Southwestern province of Yunnan, in the company of an old friend Qingqing. It was supposed to an authentic Chongqing-style hotpot from the ex-Szechuan province, made out of a sort of butter and lots of different spices including the tongue-numbing Szechuan pepper.

Notice the little partition in the middle, that's the non spicy broth for those without an acquired taste of all things spicy. The usual practice is for a group of people to sit around a table, order numerous plates of sliced meat, seafood, mushrooms, vegetables, tofu products, cook the food in the bubbling pot and dip them in their own custom-made dips. Indeed, the highlight of every hotpot place in China is the huge buffet-style dip section. You can make you own dip with every kind of sauces, spices and herbs such as vinegar, satay sauce, cilantro, sesame oil, sesame seeds, 5 different kinds of soy sauce, and 10 different kinds of chilli paste or sauce.

I was told by my chinese colleagues that the hotpot phenomenon is more of a winter get-together thing so I would suppose that hotpot restaurants would be less busy when the days get sunnier. In Shanghai, we like to frequent this less chaotic and more upscale chain - Hotpot King, at their two locations, one in the west side of the city and one in downtown.

Shanghai Eats

[Xiao Long Bao]

It's unbelievable, we've been in kungfuland for almost six months now! When I first got here I found that I wasn't able to add new posts to this blog. Friends and readers have emailed me to inquire of my whereabouts and realizing it's been almost a year since I've posted anything, I decided to post this picture I took of my first xiaolongbao in Shanghai. Notice it has a little opening on top!

I had just saw some friends in Singapore over the weekend and all of them have asked how we've been adapting here. It' s been really easy considering there are so many comforts in this city. Massages are 7.70 euro per hour, housekeeping services are 2 euro per hour, and taxi fares are 1.10 euro. Food-wise, there are so many interesting restaurants around that I've probably got all the weekends for the rest of the year to check out new places to eat.

Before I pen off, here are two addresses to try out xiaolongbao while you're in Shanghai.

Ding Tai Fung
2/F, South Block, Xintiandi
6385 8378

Lynn
99-1 Xikang Lu
near Nanjing Xi Lu next to the Portman Ritz-Carlton on Xi Kang Lu
西康路99-1号, 近南京西路
6247-0101