Hot Pot Melbourne in Melbourne
Butter adds an oily richness to the base, with sesame oil the preferred dipping sauce to curb heat. Dainty Sichuan Hotpot and Panda Hotpot are favourites for a reason. Find this low-key Chinese restaurant just around the corner from Preston Market. It's all about hand-pulled Lanzhou-style wheat noodles served in hot, spiced broth with a side of chewy dumplings.
Base flavours include seafood, mushroom and spicy (and they're not kidding when they say spicy!). You can add a range of meats and seafood ingredients from tendon and tripe to pork and wagyu beef. Central Thai-style food takes place in the form of mookata, or Thai barbecue, Spicy Hot Pot that features golden domes on each table ready to fire up and use as a barbecue. Laminated instructions tell you how to oil the grill with pork fat prior to cooking the meat. Once sizzling away, the fat slides off and escapes the side into the surrounding moat of broth.
If you're after the real deal when it comes to a Sichuan hot pot feast, you'll find yourself in expert hands with a visit to much-loved CBD restaurant, David's Hot Pot. These guys do spice the Thai way, which means sweat and tears, just the way it was intended. Make sure to try the Larb Moo salad, a minced pork salad with red onion, mint, chilli and pork liver. Also, another must-try is the stir-fried Thai basil with crispy pork, served with rice. An absolute banger, so make sure to put it on your ‘Thai Restaurants To Try’ list. It may look unassuming but Nana Thai is one of the most authentic Thai restaurants Melbourne has to offer.
The drinks menu includes an expanded martini list and tropical classics. “We use Melbourne spirits to bring fruity fun and summer vibes,” says owner Mike Patrick. As the days get longer, the nights get thirstier, so it’s cheers all round for rooftop revamps, launches and plans. Casual wine bar and restaurant with an open-plan space and wood fire and grill.
Sure you can order menu staples like kimchi stew at Paik’s, but then you’d miss out on the star of the show. Superior Korean pork, barbecued over charcoal at the table and served with too many condiments and side dishes to count. In Little Lon, much-celebrated Paik’s is owned by Seoul’s Baek Jong-won. Chuck a shrimp on the Korean BBQ. Feast on dishes like sticky fried chicken, wagyu beef, kimchi pancakes and so much more. It landed the Chinese market in 2015 started out in Chengdu.
Ordering a double-serve of xiao long bao via touch screen never gets old here. Shandong province is known for its superlative seafood, and the mackerel dumplings here don’t disappoint. The vegan zucchini version has a cult following all its own.
Best known for their viral Barbie dolls draped in slices of Wagyu beef ($38.90), this Melbourne venue is one of more than 500 stores internationally. Chinese hotpot (火锅 huǒguō /hwor-gwor/ ‘fire-pot’), also known as Chinese fondue, is one of the most popular meals in China. Panda Hotpot is the best Chinese restaurant in Melbourne. We are passionate about delivering an unforgettable hot pot experience. You’ll find Hot Pot Plus on Elizabeth Street’s lively, market-adjacent restaurant strip. Here the $2.80 per 100 grams price tag is about as cheap as it comes for malatang in Melbourne.
The menu tells you how long you will need to cook them for too. Then, head to the sauce and spice counter and grab some soy, chilli or whatever else you would like to add. During the day, the kitchen prepares speedy single-serve, malatang-style bowls that allow you to choose a broth, base such as noodles or rice, and toppings such as seafood, sliced meats and vegetables. Tick off your choices on the provided paper menu and you’re all set. At night, take a seat with up to six friends around a hot plate, where a more traditional hotpot set-up means cooking your raw fixings in two boiling broths.
Most raw foods can be cooked in a hot pot, although they may have different cooking times, and must be immersed in the soup and then removed accordingly. In Melbourne, Dragon Hot Pot has franchised aggressively over the past year and change, with six stores now open between Box Hill and the city. All of its locations close late, but the snug Russell Street outpost is open 24/7, with lines out the door a common sight during conventional dinner hours.