Hotpot: The Feast That Stirred a Frenzy (and a Frown)
The countdown to a food‑fest that many Chinese families swear by is ticking faster than a fire‑chilled pot of broth. As New Year’s Eve approaches, people are lining up to taste the sizzling romance of hotpot—a dish that has even sparked croissants of popularity in Singapore with chains like Haidilao and Coca.
Enter the Critic With a Cold Shower
Hong Kong’s restaurant guru Chua Lam decided to turn the tables. On the popular talk show Day Day Up, he called hotpot a “cook‑method totally lacking in cultural significance.” He quipped, “You just dump a bunch of ingredients into a pot. I can’t see the delicious part of it.” His side‑eye comment rattled audiences and left many viewers literally “hot under the collar.”
Hotpot: The Cultural Cannery?
- “If the hotpot craze keeps growing, chefs might have to take a rain‑check in the future,” Chua warned.
- On the show, he even admitted that if he had to pick a dish to vanish, it would be hotpot.
- Fans fired back with threads blasting Chua’s ignorance. “Hotpot’s broth, sauces, and dipping etiquette are cultural treasures!” one commenter wrote.
Will Hotpot Vanish?
The backlash might have added a new episode to the hotpot saga—this time involving a potential extinction debate, as opposed to a restaurant’s bankruptcy dance-off from a recent month‑long buffet promo.
So while some still roll their eyes, others keep simmering with pride. Curiously, no one has yet managed to change the core of what makes hotpot special—except perhaps Chua’s hot‑shot.
