While the temperatures are still low in Riyadh, what better way to send off the winter season than to gather with friends and family for a hot meal?
In your next hunt for comfort food, head to Hot Pot, a local joint where diners get to experience a modern take on Chinese cuisine.
Historically, Mongolian warriors would keep warm as they gathered around a fire beneath the pot in which they had cooked their meal.
In modern times, restaurants offer a divided or split pot, commonly known as yuanyang pots, for diners to fill their soup with different ingredients, or choose a different broth-base for each side.
Hot Pot, located on the northern end of King Abdulaziz Road, is a cozy spot.
It offers a selection of add-ons to the hot pot concept: meat, vegetables and noodles, an array of seafood including shrimp, fish, and crab balls or squid rings, or more common selections such as crab sticks or sea bass.
One of the more popular dipping ingredients is beef rolls made of thinly sliced meat, but it also offers sausages, chicken wings, tofu, and much more.
A miso-based sculpted teddy bear is placed in one of the yuanyang pots as the server pours the hot broth into the container, dissolving the figure into a hearty base. The selected ingredients are added in, including veggies and noodles.
The meal can also be made vegan just by removing any meat orders to the pot.
Diners can also add on various dips to their bowls, such as Chinese chive flowers, chili sauce, and sesame paste. Pour in the cooked creation onto your sauce-glazed bowl, and pack a punch with the flavorful meal.
The restaurant is also decorated with modernized Chinese murals and lantern motifs, overlayed by East Asian instrumental melodies, giving a cozy but authentic ambiance to the dining experience.
Hot Pot is open to the public from 12-2 p.m., and opens again from 6-11 p.m. daily with limited seating.
