Hot Pot City
Drop the ingredients into the boiling stock, let ’em bob up and down while you watch and chat, tak’em out and whack’em on top of a wad of noodle, pour a ladle of broth, and inhale the sweet steam… So what constitutes a good hot pot? Well, the stock is of course the key, then it’s common practice to have some meat, seafood, vegetables (some kind of leafy greens and mushroom), some noodle for the starch base. But there is no set rule. Whatever you want in your mouth, you can put into the hot pot. We opted for the half-and-half stock: Vietnamese lau and Japanese shabu. The two are quite similar, but the Vietnamese lau has tomato and is slightly more seasoned. Both stocks contain green onion and sweet onion, the taste is neutral, neither too salty nor too sweet, just downright savory. In increasing order, you can add more tomatoes, pineapple, or tamarind to make it sour, and any kind of chili pepper until your eyes water.
Canadian style thin egg noodle went well with everything. As for the add-ons, we also picked the moderate route, with beef rib eye, beef meat ball (hidden behind the Napa cabbage), broccoli and spinach, fish ball and tiger prawn, a garlic sesame oil sauce (suggested by the waitress but did little to enhance the flavor). Opinions split about the fish balls: Mother and Mudpie like their soft, almost gummy texture, while the rest of the crew voted for the firm and definitive beef balls, which I believe contain ground bits of tendon.
We forwent beansprouts and mushrooms to make room for the yau ja kwai (or dau chao quay, Chinese deep fried bread sticks, usually accompanying soups and porridge). Its misleading name in the menu, “Chinese donuts”, gave the impression of sugar glaze, perhaps even rainbow sprinkles and chocolate? Asian cooks are inventive, but we are not that Picassoesque. No, they are just simple crispy oily sticks of dough to jazz up yet another texture in the variety. Their fluffiness soaks up the broth, delivers it to your mouth packaged and speedy. I remember dau chao quay in Saigon are a tad more salty and less flaky than those served here. The owner of this restaurant is Chinese, so perhaps he prefers it the original way.
Address: Hot Pot City
8300 W. Sam Houston Pwy
Sugarland, TX 77478
832-328-3888
Price:
1 Half-n-Half soup base for 6: 8.95
3 Noodle: 3 x 3.50
+ beef rib eye slice, beef meat ball, fish ball, tiger prawn, napa cabbage, spinach, broccoli, dau chao quay, garlic sesame oil sauce
= total +tax: 57.72
The bill is softer (~$35) if you order the pre-selected combinations and let the kitchen surprise you with what goes into your bowls. Either way, hot pot might just be the easiest solution for a small gathering, as everyone can pick their favorite ingredients, cook and enjoy at the table in their own way without the worries about preparation and post-party cleanup. It can be problematic if a member has some hard feelings against soups or anything cooked in liquids. They would then have to enjoy the posh fractal designs on the walls and Lady Gaga’s rhythmic gnarling in the background, since the menu here offers nothing but hot pot.
Hello, you used to write magnificent, but the last few posts have been kinda boring?K I miss your super writings. Past few posts are just a little out of track! come on!
1I really like your writing style, good information, regards for putting up :D. “Faith is a continuation of reason.” by William Adams.
2I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You have ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
3I think this is among the most important info for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But wanna remark on few general things, The website style is wonderful, the articles is really great :D. Good job, cheers
4Thank you for any other excellent post. Where else could anyone get that kind of information in such a perfect means of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such info.
5Thanx for the effort, keep up the good work Great work, I am going to start a small Blog Engine course work using your site I hope you enjoy blogging with the popular BlogEngine.net.Thethoughts you express are really awesome. Hope you will right some more posts.
6Pretty great post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I’ve really loved browsing your weblog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write once more very soon!
7Hello there, You’ve performed a fantastic job. I will certainly digg it and for my part suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this web site.
8Excellent post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m inspired! Very useful information particularly the last phase 🙂 I maintain such information much. I was seeking this certain info for a very long time. Thanks and good luck.
9Hello my family member! I wish to say that this post is awesome, great written and include approximately all vital infos. I’d like to look extra posts like this .
10It’s arduous to search out knowledgeable people on this subject, but you sound like you realize what you’re talking about! Thanks
11Well I sincerely liked studying it. This article procured by you is very effective for proper planning.
12I am not sure where you are getting your information, but great topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent info I was looking for this info for my mission.
13I really appreciate this post. I have been looking all over for this! Thank goodness I found it on Bing. You have made my day! Thx again
14Hello there, I found your website via Google while searching for a related topic, your website came up, it looks good. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
15Thanks for every other informative site. Where else may I am getting that type of information written in such a perfect way? I’ve a challenge that I’m simply now operating on, and I have been at the look out for such information.
16Hmm is anyone else having problems with the pictures on this blog loading? I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog. Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
17This is a topic close to my heart cheers, where are your contact details though?
18Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your blog. You have some really great articles and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Thank you!
19