Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to get our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
Header image courtesy of The Drunken Pot 酒鍋 (via Facebook) and 十下火鍋Suppa (via Facebook)
Originally published by Annette Chan. Last updated by Celia Lee.
In Hong Kong, the cooler months are synonymous with a few things: hawkers roasting chestnuts on the street, aunties clad in Uniqlo puffer jackets as soon as the mercury dips below 25 degrees Celsius, and—our favourite—hot pot (打邊爐; da1 bin1 lou4) dinners.
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 this winter.
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 da bin lo 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 fiery Sichuan tofu soup, the new 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 handmade dumplings and meatballs—if you don’t know where to start, the best-selling rainbow cuttlefish balls always do the trick. Alternatively, give the new range of Korean-inspired dumplings a try. The gochujang haemul dumplings wrap fresh prawns, scallops, and octopus with spring onions 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 japchae dumplings are not to be missed.
Megan’s Kitchen, 5/F, Lucky Centre, 165–170 Wan Chai Road, Wan Chai | (+852) 2866 8305
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 Chiuchow-style pig stomach and white pepper soup and Shantou beef and turnip soup among richer options like the satay soup and Chongqing spicy broth.
Do as Chiuchow gaginang (自己人; “our people”) would by complementing your broth of choice with plenty of fresh seafood—live ocean prawns, fresh clams, and squid paste—along with some fish balls and freshly fried fish skin.
Chaos Hotpot, 22 Wun Sha Street, Tai Hang | (+852) 2890 9308
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 nostalgic look, the food itself is also informed by Chinese tradition, with soups like the fish maw, fish stomach, and chicken broth and papaya, tomato, and fresh fish soup reminiscent of home cooking.
As for the additions that actually go into the soup itself, you can’t go wrong with the deep-fried bean curd puffs, hand-cut local beef, deep-fried fish skin and bones, and nostalgic fruit peel fishballs. If you enjoy the bouncy, “QQ” texture of meatballs, check out the Suppa trio of patties featuring a minced cuttlefish patty with salted egg yolk, a dried shrimp patty, and a beef tendon patty with vegetables and oyster sauce.
Suppa, 2/F, 28 Tang Lung Street, Causeway Bay | (+852) 3520 4111
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.
While drinking and hot pot go together like… well, dumplings and hot pot, this local restaurant brand takes things further by offering boozy “bombs” to complement its soup bases. The eponymous The Drunken Pot offers four different soups—tomato lobster bisque, beef brisket in clear broth, Sichuan-style numbingly spicy soup, and Chiuchow-style satay, at the centre of which is a hollowed-out whole papaya.
Besides alcoholic “bombs” like black beer or sake, you can also add numbingly spicy, cream, or coconut milk bombs to dial up—or mellow out—the flavour of your soup. Of the additions, we like the typhoon shelter-style fish crackling and softshell crab, Korean army pot fortune bag, hanging premium sliced Angus beef short ribs, and black truffle, shrimp, and crabmeat dumplings.
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, a cheery, no-frills hot pot restaurant in Tsim Sha Tsui with laminate tables and cartoon characters adorning the walls. If you can’t rally a crew to join you, the chicken thigh pot comes in individual portions, featuring flavourful chicken thighs covered in coriander. Of the additions, the homemade fried beancurd puffs and cuttlefish topped with crab roe are among our favourites, but there is something for everyone on the extensive menu.
*JKJ Pot Tsim Sha Tsui is under renovations until further notice.
JKJ Pot, G/F, 23 Hillwood Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | (+852) 2470 2668
JKJ Pot 2.8, G/F, Cheong Hong Mansion, 1–3 Thomson Road, Wan Chai
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 either clear broth or a cheese soup—we won’t judge you if you choose the latter—in which you can poach sliced snowflake beef, assorted meatballs, and udon. There’s plenty of seafood, vegetables, and—for the truly dairy-mad—molten cheese meatballs and pieces of cheese.
Annette is an editor and copywriter with a lifetime of experience in hunting out the most interesting, odd, and delightful things about her beloved home city. Having written extensively about everything from food and culture to fashion, music, and hospitality, she considers her speciality to be Hong Kong itself. In her free time, you can find Annette trying out new dumpling recipes or playing Big Two at her favourite local bars with a cocktail in hand.
Top