Hot Pot in Beijing

Hot Pot

By far the meal that was the most fun and tasted great was Hot Pot in Beijing. It is similar in concept to going to a fondue restaurant in the US where you cook your food in a hot broth. The similarity ends there. The pot, as you can see in the picture, is a tall cone filled with hot coals that is surrounded but a pot that is divided into two sides. On one side is a simple plain broth on the other side is a very spicy broth which is where I cooked most of my food. You are given a sesame dip that reminded me of thinned out Tahini paste in which I added scallions and cilantro.

Throughout the trip my chopstick skills increased dramatically, but thankfully with this meal they gave us a slotted spoon in which to cook the meats which melted away in the broth once you cooked them. I was able to use the chopsticks to fish out the vegetables and tofu. The meal consisted of the following meats and vegetables:

• Thin sliced mutton, beef, pork
• Scallions, Mustard Greens, Chinese Cabbage
• Tofu
• Potatoes

The taste of the food was exceptional. The meat melted in your mouth and was spicy from the broth but was smoothed out by the taste of the sesame dip.

They also served sesame buns that were moist, tender and were infused with the taste of sesame throughout.

Sesame Dip

The Chinese do not serve water or any drinks with their meals. If you want water you can order a bottle of room temperature water, no ice, or a bowl of hot water. If you want tea you can order it separately. For this meal we enjoyed tea that was infused with the sweet taste of dates. It was a perfect complement to the spicy flavors of the meal. If one of these restaurants existed in the US I would visit it frequently.

Sesame Rolls