Hot Pot, opening next month on Chinatown’s Wardour Street, has been designed specifically to honour the tradition of this ancient communal activity. Traditionally hot pot is enjoyed at a slow pace allowing groups of friends and family to cook together to create, celebrate and socialise. The process is to boil a broth, cook selected ingredients and then dip said ingredients in a dipping sauce saving the broth until the end.
The restaurant has been designed for groups with booths and large tables over two floors and elegantly decorated in gold tones with botanical-inspired wall coverings accented by metallic woven panels, antique mirrors, polished-brass palm wall-lights, crackle-glazed jade tiles and linen table lamps.
Diners can choose from five varieties of broths each made with over 50 ingredients in-house daily; from China a fiery Mala Sichuan broth, a soothing chicken broth made from black chicken, an enriching mushroom broth (vegetarian) with white turnips and soy milk and a refreshing clear broth of ginger, spring onion and Chinese dates. From Thailand there is a hot and sour broth made from lemongrass, lime, prawns and chilli. Over 60 premium ingredients are available to cook such as lobster selected live from tanks that line the restaurant entrance, rib-eye, seabass, king prawns, shrimp wontons, fresh abalone, sweet potato and quail eggs. Guests can experiment making their own dipping sauce with unlimited visits to a sauce station of over 20 herbs, pastes, oils and seasonings.
“Going to a hotpot restaurant is a celebration of life.”
Tan Yingzi
How To Eat Hot Pot
1. Your server will bring your chosen broth to your table. Please wait for it to boil.
2. Make your own dipping sauce from our wide selection of ingredients to eat with your cooked ingredients. You are invited to visit the sauce station as many times as you wish.
3. Cook your chosen meat and vegetables in the broth until cooked to your preference. Cook the ingredients that take the longest first if you wish to eat them together. Now dip into your own tailored sauces.
4. Your broth will become flavoured during your meal. When you find the flavour has developed try adding noodles and enjoying your enriched broth as soup.
The broths:
Mala Sichian Spicy
A very spicy and fiery broth made with dried chilli, Sichuan peppercorns, herbs and fermented beans.
Tom Yum
A spicy broth with a hot and sour flavour that comes from lemongrass, lime, prawns and chilli.
Chicken Soup
Made from black chicken and berries this has a light and soothing taste.
Mushroom Soup (v)
Mushrooms, white turnips and soy milk give this soup a fruitful and enriched flavour.
Clear Broth
A refreshing broth of ginger, spring onion and Chinese dates.
Examples of cooking ingredients:
rib-eye / wagyu / marinated chicken / pork belly / seabass / king prawns / shrimp wontons / Scottish lobster / fresh abalone / shitake /golden needle mushroom / sweet potato / fresh tofu / quail eggs / emerald green noodles
Examples of unlimited sauces:
oyster sauce / chili bean paste / black vinegar / white soy / chopped garlic / crispy peanuts / fresh coriander / lime
Food Sourcing
Hot Pot serves British free-range meat wherever possible, fish and shellfish are from sustainable sources and the mix of Asian and British vegetables are delivered daily.
Multiple Burners
Larger tables feature multiple burners to offer groups a variety of broths and there is also the option of using a hot pot split into two.
Origins of Hot Pot
Hot Pot or “huo guo” 火鍋 is thought to have originated in Mongolia more than 1000 years ago. This communal way of eating gained vast popularity across Asia in it’s simplistic way of bringing communities together. As the Hot Pot travelled it absorbed the many flavours and personalities and today there are thousands of regional varieties throughout Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and China.
Health Benefits
Fresh broths are rich in minerals that support the immune system, contain healing compounds such as collagen and many other minerals important for supporting bone density, nerve signaling functions, heart health and digestive health. As your food is boiled rather than fried Hot Pot is a healthy option and eating at higher temperatures warms the body and improves blood circulation.
Owners
Hot Pot is brought to Chinatown by the Bangkok based Taechaubol group who own Signor Sassi, San Carlo Cichetti, Burger and Lobster and 148 other hot pot restaurants, all across Bangkok. The London launch of Hot Pot will be a luxury version of the existing brand using premium ingredients.
Address:
17 Wardour Street
London
W1D 6PJ
Opening Times:
Monday-Wednesday: midday to midnight
Thursday – Saturday: midday to 00.30am
Sunday: midday to 11.00pm
Web / Social:
www.hotpotrestaurants.com
facebook: @hotpotrestaurants
twitter: @hotpotlondon_
instagram: @hotpotlondon_
Soft Launch Offer:
Hot Pot will offer 50% off food only for the first week of opening.
Price:
Hot Pot is £12 (£10 for clear broth) for table, unlimited sauces is £4 per person and ingredients range from £5 (Chinese Cabbage) to £27.50 (Wagyu)
Total Square Footage:
4,500 sq ft
Covers:
Ground Floor: 58
First Floor: 90
inc. PDR on first floor 8 covers