Waking up to Sydney's coldest morning in 4 years, a record low of 5.5 Degrees Celsius!! I wasn't in any hurry to get out of bed for my weekly brunch and coffee.
Once I did get up, I wanted something nice and warm. How about Szechuan fiery!!! So I hopped onto Yelp and searched for the closest hotpot near me.
Mini Pot in Chatswood came up and with only one lonely review for the place, I thought, why not let's give it a try.
Here's the deal, the place is an AYCE restaurant. You pick your soup base, I went for the spicy beef soup and then with your tray you go around picking your proteins and vegetables which was the basic fare of frozen meats, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, and noodles (handmade and glass noodles).
So what did I think of the place? It was delicious cause I cooked it :). The base stock was mild with its chillies but still the Szechuan peppers was able to numb my tongue and lips. The soup got more flavoursome and sweeter as time went on from cooking the wom book and thinly sliced beef.
But the pièce de résistance was my dipping sauce!!! There is a sauce bar on the side where you get to concoct your own dipping sauce. I went for spicy chilli, garlic, a chimichurri looking sauce, sesame butter, and sesame oil. If you're game, I also mixed in an egg yolk.
It elevated my meal to another level and I was so proud however now I'm paying for it laying on my couch in a food coma from over eating.
Even though they have benches to allow you to eat alone, hotpot is more suited for groups of friends sitting around a table enjoying each other's company and enjoying an epic meal through the process.
Definitely will be back on another cold day/night. read more