Hot Pot

Our friend Sun Pang took us to get "hot pot" last night. He took us on a walk to show us the Tongliao river, and then we took a taxi to the restaurant he suggested. A taxi to get anywhere in the city cost 5 yuan, which is the equivalent of $.60. We arrived at a restaurant seemingly to be run entirely by teenagers, except for the man who put blocks of meat in a big slicer to be sliced into very thin (prosciutto thin) slices for hot pot.

We were taken to a private room with a circular table with a burner in the middle. Sun Pang suggested fish, and Ned said yes, but I wasn't feeling up to eating tentacles so I suggested we be a little less adventurous. We ordered beef, mutton and bean curd (tofu). A waitress brought us a pot with a divider in the middle. Half was filled with a light onion and cucumber broth, and the other half was filled with oil and spices. Shortly after, a plate topped with bok choy, parsley, spinach and lettuce was put on the table along with 2 plates of thinly rolled beef, and 3 plates of mutton. When the hot bot was boiling, Sun Pang put in a plate of beef. We had little bowls to put the meat once it was hot, and a tray of 5 different spices to pour in our bowl: diced garlic, peanut sauce, chili peppers, fermented yeasty sauce, and something like cilantro. we mixed some of these spices in our bowls, and when the beef was ready we fished out the boiling hot pieces with our chop sticks and dipped them in the spices in our bowl. The meat was delicious and very easy to eat because it was cut so thinly. The beef and mutton were bite size morsels of heaven! we put in the vegetables and ate those too, and washed down the hot meat with cold beer. I didn't have enough room to eat the delicious bean curd, but Ned and Sun Pong finished it off.
The dinner was great, and the conversation with Sun Pong was easy and enjoyable. We asked him questions about China, and he asked about life in the United States. Hot Pot now is my favorite food in China, and I hope to eat it again soon. Next time, I would like to try chicken and duck, and then maybe fish, tentacles and all.