Instead of the usual Shanghainese cuisine, we were brought to try out a dining establishment specialising in Old Beijing-style Hotpot
Located on the 3rd floor of the Sofitel Shanghai North Bund Hotel, the outlet is lavishly decorated with opulent furnishings and wall murals. They even have the traditional Beijing opera performance at the main stage area
We were led through many corridors to our private room, and I sneaked out for a view of the main hall, which has many round tables and an area in the middle for the performance. The restaurant is large with many private dining rooms with their own en-suite toilet
We each had an elaborate set-up for the hotpot, which included the Peking-style brass hotpot, exquisite China with a special sesame dipping sauce and 3 other condiments, as well as an individual heated teapot of tea with a small tea cup. Everything was set up individually for each diner, so it felt like we were treated like royalty from ancient times
For a start, we were served some appetisers, which included pickled cucumber with chilli, pickled black fungus with chilli, onions and spring onions, and the most interesting one was crunchy cabbage marinated in peanut and sesame sauce. I did not really eat much of the cucumber, but they were quite refreshing, and I personally liked the cold cabbage salad, which was crunchy and nutty with the sauce and quite addictive to whet your appetite for the meal
Next, the food for the hotpot kept getting served, and they included marinated chicken with spring onions, beef stomach, beef tripe and wagyu beef slices. As I did not take beef, I only ate the chicken, which was smooth and tender, while I heard from the rest of the table, the beef was of very good quality
I was getting worried. I had nothing to eat during dinner, and they served sliced abalone, sliced fish, which was freshly cut before serving, bamboo clams and pork belly. The ingredients were extremely fresh, especially the fish, as the meat was tender and sweet, while the shellfish was crunchy and delicious. The pork belly quality was good, but it paled in comparison to the seafood ingredients
In between raw ingredients, some cooked food was also served, like this kelp salad, grilled sweet corn, fried pancake dough, and giant flattened fried fritters. The locals dip the fried fritters into the soup to soak up the flavours, and we followed suit. Similar to the bak kut teh in Singapore, the fried fritters tasted delicious with the fried texture and flavours from the soup broth. As it was flattened and larger, there were many more air pockets, resulting in a crispier texture than our version of the fritters. The corn and kelp salad was nice, but nothing too out of the ordinary for me
Overall, the meal was fancy in environment, presentation and ingredients, and it was an enjoyable dinner. The broth was light and different from most hotpots we are used to, and the flavour develops as you cook more ingredients, and each person’s pot will taste different. Mine ended up being quite clear since I did not cook much meat, as most were beef or mutton, which is common in Peking-style hotpot. While it is an experience to try something different, I still preferred my flavoured broth
Address: Sofitel Shanghai North Bund, 3rd floor, 601 Liyang Rd, Hongkou District, Shanghai, China, 200080
Opening hours: 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 10 pm
Bear Travels . Bear Eats . Bear Cooks 