Little HotPot Action on a Thursday

Sonia has just been wonderful and taking me everywhere that is a wonderful place to eat and she has kept talking about HotPot and how I really need to try! We decided while Jenny and her husband, Dan are in town we should make a date for everyone!

So the day was set for Thursday night and at 6pm we all left the office to go to the Melting Pot  Hotpot. I had this idea it was going to be just like the Melting Pot because I heard you have a pot and you just add anything you want to it- veggies, meats, fish, dumplings, etc. Sounds like the melting pot right?!? I was really, really excited.

We went to this beautiful restaurant (thank you, Angela for picking it out!) and were seated at a large, round table. Sonia and Jennifer took care of ordering and the rest of us Americans just explored the menu. THEY HAD IT ALL!!!!!!! anything and everything you could ever think about putting in a pot to cook- they had it. Not understanding anything that was going on I was looking forward to just seeing what might show up on the table!

AND BOY DID THINGS SHOW UP!!!!!! There were 8 different sauces to pick from

And then a huge basket of Veggies (radish, lettuce, cabbage, mushrooms, other green stuff, and a lot of other really good stuff!) Dumplings (shrimp to start off) Meat (beef- brisket was in the pot but this beautiful plate of marbled meat ws brought), Oysters (OOOOH LAWWWD these were HUGE. They said they were from Cali but I have never seen oysters that big!) and fried some type of paper (it looked like an egg roll but with nothing inside, super light!). And that was just the first round!!!!!

SO. you pick out what you would like and use the RAW CHOPSTICKS to pick up the meat and put in your little basket/drainer/boiling utensil. Leave the meat in until its cooked, take it out and using your COOKED CHOPSTICKS put it in the little sauce concoction you have created and ENJOY! hmm. let me tell you. that was AMAAZING. It was very important not to mix up your chopsticks (2 sets) because you don't want to eat with the sticks that have been touching the raw meat. (totally understand even though I might have not when I started and who knows what chopsticks I was using for what..learning curve!)

Blue Girl. great drink.

ROUND TWO! And this came out of no where! There was tofu (best I have ever had) more dumplings (with pork and veggies) Pork for the meat plate, and...FRRRRRROOOOOOOOG!!!!!!!!!! YUP. real, super fresh, frog!!!! haha! We knew they ordered because they asked if we wanted to try and Dan and I were up for the challenge. BUT when it came out....I'll let you take a look yourself....

STILL MOVING!!! Hahahaha yeeees that was the best part. Sonia was even a little freaked out by the movements but it just shows how fresh it was! I was laughing (laugher- duuuh) and was looking forward to saying "I saw the frog moving and ate it after cooking it" BOOM. cross that off my list!

THEEEEEN I ate a THOUSAND YEAR OLD EGG. True store. I did not make that name up. I have heard about the egg before from Caroline and her husband had tried it...and it didn't sound too appealing. But when I found out it in actually in the soup, I had to see what it was all about! It's similar to a blu cheese...interesting. But looks blackish/blue/moldish but was actually not bad at all. It might have been the sauce that helped...

ANNNNND don't you know that I ate FISH SKIN! Yup. surrre did folks! Fried FISH SKIN! and you know what it tasted like? A POTATO CHIP. You take it in your chopsticks, dip it for about 2 seconds in one of the hotpots and eat it. Just like a chip. It was salty and tasted seriously, like a chip. I definitely had a few!

Well there you go my friends. HOTPOT. A true Hong Kong experience!!!!! Here is the large take of fresh seafood they have at the front. There was a net and I was very, very tempted to dip it in and pull out something (like the HUGE lobster that was looking at me) but didn't want to cause trouble (for once in my life) but they should seriously put those nets somewhere out of reach of children (or 26 year olds) because they are tempting.

Then at the front. They had all the live stuff just waiting to be eaten. And the stuff was HUUUUGGGGEEEEEEE! like MONSTER SIZE!

And that my friends. Was at the very top of the list for best dinners in Hong Kong. It was AMAZING and so so good! The food, the Blue Girl beer, but mostly...the company. What wonderful ladies in the office!!!! I just loved going to dinner with them all!

Hope you enjoyed! happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!