Hot pot is a Chinese stew containing a variety of East Asian foodstuffs and ingredients, prepared with a simmering pot of soup stock at the dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leaf vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, tofu, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce.

The Chinese hot pot has a history of more than 1,000 years. Hot pot seems to have originated during the Chinese Jin Dynasty where the main ingredient was meat, usually beef, mutton or horse meat. It then spread to Southern China during the Song Dynasty and was further established during the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. In time, regional variations developed with different ingredients such as seafood. By the Manchu Qing Dynasty (AD1644 to 1912), the hot pot became popular throughout most of Mainland China. Today in many modern Chinese homes, particularly in larger cities, the traditional coal or wood-heated steamboat or hot pot has been replaced by other fuel sources like electricity, propane, butane gas, or induction cooker versions.

( source: wikipedia )

Below is a video on YouTube. Our restaurant serves a lot more items than the one in the video, so please don’t order every item on the order sheet or you won’t be able to finish them and will be charged for wastage.  Although not everything applies at our restaurant, it does give you an overview of hot pot buffet and it’s entertaining.