For those of you who are not familiar with this authentic Chinese meal – it’s a fun communal way of eating. A simmering metal pot of broth is placed at the center of the dining table, and it is heated throughout the meal. Various ingredients are placed into the pot and cooked at the table. You then fish them out with a slotted spoon onto your own plate, and eat them with a dipping sauce.
The hot pot we had at Hot-Pot House in Heidelberg is unmistakably Chinese with “má là” (Chinese for hot and spicy) being the highlight of the meal. We went for two different types of broth – a chicken broth, and a spicy one. Both were full-flavoured, and the spicy one was not overly spicy. The menu offers a decent range of meats, seafood and vegetables and there was a buffet of 8 different sauces from which we could assemble our dipping sauce (don’t skip this step, the sauce completes the meal).
The Mapo Tofu from the à la carte menu deserves special mention – just the right level of “má là” numbness, and it goes great with white rice.
We have been here a couple of times already – in general, service is friendly and attentive, and English is spoken. Bring friends, time and an appetite – a hotpot meal is best enjoyed at a leisurely pace, and in good company!
Hot Pot House, Rohrbacher Straße 16, 69115 Heidelberg
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