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| - Is it just me or is it getting hot in here? Not just hot....STEAMY. Oh baby.
Have I aroused some interest (wink)? Steaming is the sexy new trend from Asia for cooking your food (not that there wasn't steamed food before, but not quite like this). You gather around a special steamer that sits on top of broth or congee ingredients (with no water). Servers steam the food for you with a timer for precision. The condensation from the steam drips back into the soup/congee ingredients, infusing the base with all types of seafood and veggie flavour. Now if that isn't sexy, I don't know what is.
Yes, this method of eating is not the cheapest. With a group of six, the combo set was $210, and an additional $30 for the herbal duck broth base. But the combo includes a boatload of small clams, oysters, abalone, shrimp, big clams, whole fish, squid, a tower of fresh veggies, noodles, and with a group of 4+, one lobster. I mean, the lobster isn't the biggest but...wait, am I seriously complaining about free lobster? NO. Just to buy those ingredients yourself (not counting preparation hassle) would be a hefty sum.
And you're not just paying for the abundant and fresh ingredients. You're paying for the service, which is exceptional. It wasn't busy, but we were serviced by 3-4 people. They were all professional and friendly, chatting with my grandparents and grabbing us whatever we needed right away. Things were cooked in a pace that matched our eating.
Steamed food can be plain but it also means you don't lose any of the freshness in the seafood or natural sweetness in the veggies. If you want something more, they've got soy sauce, house-made chili sauces, roasted garlic, and all kinds of condiments. The flavour of the broth afterwards, with the seafood infused steam water, is absolutely incredible.
Winter isn't just coming, it's here. So why not give steam hot pot a try? Bring an appetite and an open mind. The pot has never been hotter and the room has never been steamier.
(98/100) - 2016
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