Yau Guat Hei, Hong Kong

For good reliable hot pot in Hong Kong, look no further than Yau Guat Hei.

There's a branch in Wanchai near the Ngor Geng bridge, and another one in Happy Valley. The Happy Valley is the original, occupying over 7 stories of what used to be a hotel. This works well in Hong Kong, giving guests privacy of having hotpot in their own room complete with TVs, a little bit like karaoke rooms. On the lower flows are the communal dining rooms if you prefer your hot pot with a bit of background ambience.

Menu: There's no other place to start than the soup base. There's lots of difference types of soup bases, the traditional pork bone (ju kuat) with sweet corn is my favourite. The other day we had a hearty slightly spicy beef soup base which was also nice, but a little strong tasting in my view. I like my soup bases on the mild side so as to still be able to taste the original flavours of the beef/chicken/fishballs/vegs/tofu whatever it is that one throws in (unless the ingredients aren't that fresh ... in which case you are in trouble anyway!). I suppose half a good hotpot is half in the soup ... and Yau Guat Hei does well here.

The hotpot menu itself is a la carte, like a dim sum menu you just tick what you want. Everything you could possibly want is on the menu, from Jap egg tofu, to various types of vegs, to seafood to 6 types of beef, cabbage wraps, fish balls and wontons. You just order what you want as you go along, throw in the food that takes a while to cook. Then gently wave your beef slices in the hot boiling soup with your spoon web until it's done, dip into your sauce sauce / garlic / scallion mixture to cool slightly. Eat. Enjoy.

Price: Estimate around $300 for hearty meal with some beer.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5