Winter is the best time for Hot Pot. In fact I had 3 hot pots 3 days in a row last weekend and cold do with more. Some of you may remember the amazing time I had around six months ago at the highly popular YX Mini Hot Pot, atop High Fresh. Receiving an invitation from management to revisit really made my weekend, so after still recovering from another hot pot and BBQ the night before, Adam and I made our way there for lunch on Saturday just before the much anticipated Sunnybank Food Trail.
Although it only opens at 12 and we thought we were the first ones there, turns out quite a few other customers beat us to the goal by taking the elevators up whilst we were waiting to go up the stairs.
The owner was very friendly and hospitable, showing us around the venue and highlighting the main dining area with a focus on high set booths to allow for maximum privacy. He also showed us both dining rooms, one for ten and the other for twelve guests which are especially great for private functions.
I love the soup options they have here, offering a great variety of both spicy and non spicy. Last time we were conservative and only tried out the single flavoured soup base, this time we branched out of our comfort zone and tried a double flavour each.
Menus were provided for reference, but our course was already set and we were definitely in for a treat.
Making our way to the sauce station, We were thrilled by the abundance of choices. I made my usual garlic, sesame, spring onion and soy concoction whilst Adam who is now a sauce veteran had his double sesame and peanut with coriander.
Those who might want some assistance can also be reassured that there are some popular dipping sauce suggestions available.
Although licensed, it was still early in the day and we opted for watermelon juice. It was fresh, relatively strong and quite sweet. We enjoyed it chilled without ice.
As mentioned, we each had a double soup pot. He had the chicken and abalone on one side and the spicy soup on the other. Trying some of the chicken and abalone, it was rich, nourishing and wholesome. He also had spicy soup and he said it was quite numbing.
My choice of soup was of the non spicy variety. On the left is the oxtail and tomato. This was very fragrant and definitely very strong albeit creamy and tangy. This contrasted well with the delicate deep mushroom flavours of the mushroom soup.
Before long our table was set. We were definitely impressed and excited by the spread.
First item we had was the shell scallops. One serve came with five, these were plum, juicy and very fresh. These were particularly tasty in the milder soups such as his chicken and abalone and my mushroom soup.
As with last time, we also had a serve of crab claw. These were soft and spongey, I found that they worked best with the stronger tasting soups like tomato or spicy.
We also had the crinkle cut sliced potato, which was new to us both. Allowing it to soak in our broths for a long time to cook, these still retained their texture.
We also had a serve of tofu. This was silky smooth and we enjoyed the porous texture after slow cooking for an extended period.
In terms of veggies we had buk choy and enoki. Both servings were very generous. I liked how crunchy the buk choy was and again how delicious the enoki was when infused with soup.
From the cooked snacks selection, I had the spring onion pancakes. These were crisp and flakey with a good amount of spring onion in each delightful wedge. If it were served hot, we'd have loved it even more.
The highlight of the meal was without a doubt the meat platter. Our beef option was the M9 Wagyu Boneless Short Rib Slices whereas our pork was the Rose Matsuzaki Pork. The beef was thick cut, a good change from our usual thin slices to allow for better appreciation of the meat flavours even after its baptism in hot soup. It resulted in a rather chewy texture that didn't disintegrate in my mouth like thin sliced beef does. As for the pork, we loved the spectacle of it melting into each pot. The jowl seems to be one of the most popular cuts recently with a crisp crunchy texture to the meat that we really enjoyed.
Without a doubt, prices at YX are on the premium side, but you definitely get what you pay for and I can't wait to come back again.
Espresso and Matcha were invited guests of YX Mini Hot Pot, however as always my opinions are solely my own.
Value: 7/10
Service: 9/10
Environment: 9/10
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