What: Hot Pot

Where: Chengdu, Sichuan, China

How Much: 30 RMB/Person

Description: Hot Pot is a popular style of family style eating in China. The name Hot Pot comes from the pot of boiling liquids in the center of the table. Usually it is square and has four sections of flavored liquids, like the photo. What you cannot see is the gas-fueled flames beneath the pot that keep the liquids boiling throughout the meal. The premises of the meal is to boil the raw ingredients until they are cooked and then eat them.

      The meal is broken down like this. You and your party sit down. The waitress brings the pot over, places it in or on the table and turns on the gas from below. In the four sections of the pot there are 2 different types of liquids. The red one has red chili peppers and is obviously the spicy one. The white one has tofu and bean sprouts and is more mild. They both balance each other out and there are two of each of them. You then order several different RAW dishes from the menu such as raw bacon, ground pork, ground beef, mushrooms, peppers, potatoes, bread, chicken, etc. Once the RAW food is served, you place them into the now boiling liquids and let them cook. Each person is also given a small bowl of oil. Those are the bowls of red liquid you see in the photo with the chopsticks on them. You can add garlic, cilantro, and green onions to the bowls of oil to give them more flavor as well. Once the food is boiled and ready, you take it out, dip it into your oil and devour. 

My Thoughts: The food is good, but boiling meat isn't my favorite way to it eat. The oil adds good flavor but after a while becomes very heavy in your stomach. Not surprisingly it is a very HOT meal. You're eating food right out of a boiling pot and the steam from the pot is very close to you while you eat. I ate this on a hot day, which I don't recommend. I was sweating the entire meal.

     Not my preferred style of eating, but a fun way to spend a meal with friends and family and definitely a culinary experience. I am aware that they have them all over the world, including the United States.