My boyfriend and I recently headed over to the first and only Chinese hotpot restaurant in Leeds – Crown Point – which is located just across the road from Leeds University’s Parkinson Building.
Chinese hotpot (火锅 huǒguō /hwor-gwor/ ‘fire-pot’), sometimes called Chinese fondue, is a very popular meal in China. Hot pot involves dipping raw or part-cooked ingredients into a simmering pot filled with broth, which is located in the centre of the table. It’s a sociable way to eat, that allows everyone around the table to cook whatever they like in the broth.
Neither of us had tried Chinese hot pot before, but we are both big fans of raman, and I was intrigued to try out hot pot after a friend recommended it a few months ago. Getting to Crown Point is a bit odd. To reach the restaurant you have to go through an Asian supermarket, and up a spiral staircase. Almost at the top of the staircase is the hot pot restaurant, which was filled with people dipping into bubbling dishes when we arrived.
We were shown to a table and the waiter gave us our menu. As we were hot pot newbies, I had to ask how much we needed to order – which the waiter said, as much as you like but we can always bring more. So, with that in mind, we looked over the menu. My boyfriend found it all a bit overwhelming as there was a lot to choose from. So, I took the lead, and in the end, ordered the pork bone broth for the hot pot base, and to go with it, I ordered homemade noodles, pork and vegetable dumplings, beef meatballs and bok choy. I also ordered the ‘unlimited sauce’ option, which gave us the opportunity to try out all the condiments that were on offer.
To indicate what we wanted, we had to tick the menu, so once I’d done that and handed our choices over to the waiter, we set about choosing what condiments to select. Although the convention is that you mix all the condiments you select together to create a dipping sauce, I decided to keep mine separate, and so opted for some crunchy peanut satay sauce, sesame sauce, and lots of coriander. There were plenty of other options though, including oyster sauce, minced garlic, chilli flakes and a variety of vinegars and soy sauces.
The hot pot dish arrived and was placed in the centre of the table where there was a small hob. The hot pot was filled with stock and was set to heat, whilst our additional plates were served. Initially, I had thought we may not have ordered enough food, but once we got stuck in, I think we ordered just the right amount.
The hot pot base was delicious. I wasn’t sure what to expect as the liquid looked creamy and had things floating in it that we couldn’t identify. But after tasting it, we both agreed that it was great, and so we set off on our hot pot adventure. As the meatballs and dumplings were likely to take the most time to cook, we started with them, dropping them into the broth so that they could simmer away. Whilst they were cooking, we cooked our noodles and some of the bok choy.
It didn’t take long for things to cook as the broth was boiling hot. So within a couple of minutes, we were munching on bok choy drizzled with satay sauce. Despite not being a vegetable lover, my boyfriend really enjoyed the bok choy, which was a surprise. But, as the bok choy had absorbed some of the flavour of the delicious broth base, I couldn’t argue with him that it was very tasty.
The noodles were ready a couple of minutes later. They were super good, and like the vegetables, had absorbed some of the flavours of the stock. We enjoyed them with some of the broth, so it was a little like eating mini raman bowls.
The rest of our choices in the hot pot simmered away until we were ready to eat them. I opted to try a meatball first. Although they were a bit of an unusual texture, I really enjoyed their meaty flavour, which was even better when dipped into my sauce selection.
The pork and vegetable dumplings were up next. As a big lover of dumplings, they had a lot to live up to. But, thankfully, they were very tasty. I loved how the broth transformed them from frozen dumplings into beautifully soft little pillows. The filling of the dumplings was well seasoned and had a good mix of meat and vegetables. Again, the dumplings went really well with my sauce selection – with the satay being the stand-out of them all.
Crown Point hot pot restaurant turned out to be a great choice for us. The food is a far cry from Chinese food that many of us are probably used to, with fresh flavours and nothing deep fried. It is a fun experience whilst also being delicious. I enjoyed trying something new, and not knowing what to expect. I also liked how the steaming pot kept all of the food hot and ready to eat. I would certainly recommend that others head over to the unsuspecting restaurant and give hot pot a try.
Photography by Gemma Bridge.
