Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Header image courtesy of Canton Pot
Featuring a huge simmering pot of broth at the centre of the table, hot pot is as much a group activity as it is a meal, with diners ordering fresh produce, meat, and various dumplings, meatballs, and other accoutrements to poach in the soup.
Given the scale and interactive nature of hot pot, it is one of those things—like karaoke—that is almost always enjoyed with a group. Whether you’re partial to spicy Sichuan “chicken pot,” a light broth swimming with Chiuchow fishballs, or a phở-inspired hot pot complete with rice noodles, and lime, here are our recommendations on where to hot pot.
Hot pot and canton pop go together like… well, dumplings and hot pot. This local hot pot restaurant in Mong Kok serves all the classic hot pot delights, with an à la carte menu available and five new comprehensive sets made to satisfy all tastes. The Seafood Adventure set includes sea prawns, abalone, Irish razor clams, Atlantic scallops, some meats, and dumplings. The Beef Bliss and Meat Fiesta will please the carnivores of the group, with prime cuts of Wagyu or Mongolian lamb to name a few. The Fresh & Light, as well as the Garden Delights sets offer lighter options and an array of vegetarian items.
But what really sets Canton Pot apart are its private rooms equipped with karaoke! Hot pot was made to be enjoyed as a group, and now you can add in some fun entertainment too. All while poaching your food and enjoying a few drinks, you and your friends can belt out to the best canto pop hits. Canton Pot will even occasionally bring the excitement to the rest of the restaurant by hosting Cantopop-themed nights.
Canton Pot, 2/F, Lodgewood Mong Kok, 1131 Canton Road, Mong Kok
With 17 restaurants currently in operation across Hong Kong, chances are there’s a 616 Hot Pot near you. At any of this beef hot pot specialist locations, you can choose soup bases which range from beef bone broth to the spiced green pepper soup, all paired exceptionally well with 616’s extensive cuts of beef. Other hot pot essentials are also available to add to your feast, including vegetables, meatballs, seafood, and noodles.
Established in 2006, Megan’s Kitchen has long been considered one of Hong Kong’s best hot pot specialists, with a coterie of celebrities and socialites included within its wide fanbase.
Happily, we can report that this hot pot giant has maintained its quality many years on with top-notch produce and a regularly updated menu of innovative soup bases, dumplings, and meatballs, all of which is made in-house. While we will always have a place in our hearts for the signature tom yum goong-flavoured “cappuccino” broth and tomato and crab soup in soufflé finish, the Korean galbitang beef short ribs and radish soup is an absolute delight.
For the full Megan’s experience, throw in a few orders of the unique Korean-inspired handmade dumplings and meatballs—if you don’t know where to start, the octopus and cuttlefish balls and a serving of the spicy seafood dumplings always do the trick. The japchae dumplings wrap stir-fried noodles with veggies while innovative creations like the budae jjigae army stew dumplings will also satisfy.
For vegetarians, the kimchi rice cake tofu soup pairs perfectly with a selection of meat-free items. The bean sprout and spinach kongnamool and sigeumchi namul Omnibeef meatballs, spicy cheese and corn konchijeu dumplings, and kimchi and rice dumplings are not to be missed.
Megan’s Kitchen, 5/F, Lucky Centre, 165–170 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai
While this Tai Hang hot pot spot may seem like it’s named after the word for disorder and confusion, its moniker actually refers to Chiuchow—or “Chaozhou”—people. Inspired by the fresh flavours of Chiuchow cuisine, Chaos offers lighter takes on hot pot, with bases like the humble yet delicious peppercorn, pork belly, and pickles soup and Shantou beef and turnip soup among richer options like the satay soup and Chongqing spicy broth.
Do as Chiuchow people would by complementing your broth of choice with plenty of fresh seafood—Hokkaido scallops, fresh clams, and squid paste—along with some fish balls and fish skin dumplings.
Chaos Hotpot, 22 Wun Sha Street, Tai Hang
Far above the bustling ramen-yas on Tang Lung Street, you’ll find this cult-favourite retro hot pot restaurant, which evokes the Hong Kong of yesteryear with its old-school tiled floor and walls, tear-off calendar, made-in-Hong Kong vacuum flasks, pawnshop-style neon sign, and pistachio-green fridge. In keeping with the restaurant’s look, the food is also informed by Chinese tradition, with soups like the fish maw, white jade chrysanthemum, and chicken broth and papaya, tomato, and coconut chicken soup reminiscent of home cooking.
As for the additions that actually go into the soup itself, you can’t go wrong with the crispy fried fish skin, hand-cut local beef, spicy soup dumplings, and seafood platter. If you enjoy the bouncy texture of meatballs, check out the Suppa beef balls with soy sauce and the liuxin corn balls.
Suppa, 2/F, 28 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay
Cloud Nine Hotpot offers a selection of soup bases that best represent the authentic flavours of Southeast Asian cuisine. The Vietnamese beef-bone broth has a complex flavour profile, while the tom yum goong broth gives an extra kick to your meal. Throw in a selection of fresh meat and seafood and you are good to go.
Cloud Nine Hotpot, Shop A, G/F, King Inn Mansion, 13–15 Yik Yam Street, Happy Valley
The Drunken Pot offers 10 different soups—including classic chicken pot, Teochew-style satay, Sichuan-style numbingly spicy soup, and the black truffle with assorted mushrooms broth. Of the additions, we like the homemade deep-fried fish cracklings, Japanese botan shrimp, and The Drunken Pot selected beef platter with hanging premium sliced and diced Angus beef, Korean beef, and local hand-cut beef.
Drunken Pot, 2/F, 8 Observatory Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
While the typical hot pot format is to order uncooked ingredients to poach in the soup of your choice, another popular option is the Sichuan-style “spicy chicken pot,” which arrives at the table as a pot of mostly cooked chicken in a thick, flavourful sauce. After heating the chicken until it’s cooked through and eating it as is, a hot, clear broth is poured into the pot and mixed with the sauce and ingredients to create a lighter soup, which you can then add other ingredients like vegetables, noodles, or fishballs into.
One of our favourite places to experience this popular dish is JKJ Pot 2.8, a cheery, no-frills hot pot restaurant in Wan Chai with laminate tables and cat posters adorning the walls. If you can’t rally a crew to join you, the half chicken pot is a good fit for an individual portion, featuring flavourful pork rind covered in coriander. Of the additions, the Dragon King platter with its generous assortment of seafood is among our favourites, but there is something for everyone on the extensive menu.
JKJ Pot 2.8, G/F, Cheong Hong Mansion, 1–3 Thomson Road, Wan Chai
Editor’s note: JKJ Pot Tsim Sha Tsui is under renovation until further notice.
What do you get when you add hot pot and fondue together? Running Chicken, that’s what. This local chain’s signature golden cheesy chicken pot may seem like a bit of an odd bird, but it strangely works, with bone-in chicken, melted cheese, minced onion, Chinese celery, and coriander all coming together to create a gooey, deeply satisfying dish.
After you’ve enjoyed the chicken, you have the choice of diluting the leftover sauce with a selection of pots—including Sichuan spicy soup, preserved egg and coriander broth, or a Medicinal Beauty concoction—in which you can poach Australian M7 Wagyu beef, assorted meatballs, udon, seafood, and vegetables.
First published on 5 November 2021. Written by Annette Chan. Last updated by Lily Valette.
Covering the hottest new eats, the best places to play, offbeat takes on local culture, and so much more, Localiiz is every Hongkonger’s destination for how to live a well-rounded life in our vibrant city. Why the strange spelling? Well, Localiiz is designed to be your “local eyes”—and for that, you need two i’s.
Top