Hot Hot Pot

There's hot, there's really hot, and in China, there's "I can't feel my face" hot. Tonight we went to have hotpot for the second time. We liked it so much the first time, and we got the hang of how to order more efficiently. I also remembered how to order broccoli, which was a nice addition to the variety of ingredients. This time we got the "ying-yan"-shaped pot, with non-spicy on one side and Uber-spicy on the other side. This served the purpose of keeping the spicy side vegetarian, while Mom and Dad had non-spicy with chicken.

Hotpot is from the Northern parts of China, and I usually describe it as "Chinese fondue." Choose your soup, choose your ingredients and cook while you eat. We (in the two times we have gone) are partial to the peanut dipping sauce. When you take the cooked food out of the soup, you dip it in the sauce just before you eat it. The peanut sauce is mild with just the right mix of salt, and it tastes good with the spicy soup as well.

When I say "I can't feel my face," it's because of a special spice called "prickly ash." We can get it sprinkled on top of mapo tofu, and mixed with spicy green beans at the Banyan Tree Restaurant. Biting a prickly ash releases a wave of numb buzzing over your mouth and sometimes to your chin and cheeks. Quite frightening when I first experienced it, I've learned to relax and enjoy the sensation.

We also fulfilled our code violation for the day (but it was worth the risk):


-吴佩芙