“A Promising Array Awaits”
If you’re looking for a warming meal in the face of unnaturally cool weather, a new hotpot restaurant that just stylishly opened at The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands may just be the answer. As a matter of fact, air-conditioning within the basement Hotpot Kingdom is set to always be extra cold for one’s optimal enjoyment.
One afternoon, we sat with the lovely family behind Hotpot Kingdom to be enlightened on its expanding (but already impressive) array of seafood, meats, soups, and traditional Chinese luxury dishes like the Braised Abalone in Oyster Sauce ($58++).
Attractions abound at Hotpot Kingdom, from the sleekly installed induction cooker that keeps the loaded soup simmering on every table to the impeccable customer service. But my favourite would have to be the stupefying assortment of condiments and homemade sauces served on a tray that may leave your company and you competing for the ideal mixture.
Spicy Soup 麻辣汤 ($15++). There are up to 10 broths—including Korean Kimchi Soup ($25++) and Bak Kut Teh ($15++)—from which to choose for your double-stew pot. The spicy soup that was my first pick is the usual numbing favourite served naturally with a glut of peppercorns and chili. I mistakenly drank 3 spoonfuls of the soup, which almost resulted in an immediate sneeze, after thinking it wasn’t as hot as I had remembered from other restaurants.
Macanese Pork Bone Soup ($15++). Besides it being probably the best meat brew of the day, I liked that the light-bodied pork broth is without MSG but bursting with the savoury pig flavour.
Herbal Chicken Soup ($25++). I got to taste a little of this other soup and again, the ingredients that are served with the soup do not disappoint. The herbal chicken soup is not only pleasantly light, it also exhibits notes of drunken chicken.
Japanese Wagyu Ribeye ($35++/100g). Then came some meats to commence the cooking. This A4 Wagyu from Kagoshima is both thick and tender, making the eventual texture excellent, though if you wish to taste more of the umami it is advised to not dunk this in the spicy soup.
Fresh Beef Ball ($12++ for 6). The miscellany of kitchen-produced meatballs feature seafood, beef and pork. Hands down, the bouncy beef balls that contain spring onions within the mix reigns supreme and is a must-try.
Fresh Cuttlefish Ball ($14++ for 6) and Dace Fish Ball ($12++ for 6). Equally delicious are the springy cuttlefish and fish balls, but vertical comparison has me still picking the beef to finish first in the meatball spread.
USDA Black Angus ($32++/100g). The slices of the American Black Angus are a lot thinner than the Wagyu, and is what I found to be just slightly south of the previous serving of beef in quality. It seems the prices do not lie.
Pork Belly ($10++). Pork belly arrived in good fashion, being thickly sliced and abundant in fat. Even with prolonged boiling, a whippy texture was sustained. For a distinctive variance in soup flavours coating meats, this absorbent pork belly does a job as good as any.
Local Lobster ($14++/100g). We removed the beautiful white lobster flesh with a fork and knife easily from its shell after light cooking. The natural sweetness and bounce from the flesh attests to its freshness.
Live Prawns ($9++/100g). The same can be said of the juicy prawns that I devoured as quickly as I did the lobster.
Chilled Glutinous Skin with Coconut Shreds & Mango Stuffing ($9.80++). A plethora of desserts (mostly cold) is offered at Hotpot Kingdom, among which we attempted 4 that we shall present in order of decreasing sweetness. This delicate chilled ball of elastic skin and mango is an absolute delight to munch on with its organically-produced sweetness.
Osmanthus Jelly ($8++). Osmanthus is known for its nutritional qualities. It helps that in here, the seeds are contained in a sweet jelly for easy consumption. These seeds, though, might get caught between teeth.
Honeydew Pudding (Yet to reach menu). A mildly sweet pudding containing honeydew bits, this is quite delicious and will be fierce competition to the current Cream of Mango, Sago & Poemlo ($8++).
Chinese Herbal Jelly 龟苓膏 ($8++). Usually, this bitter tortoise jelly is a little unpopular, but with sweet compensatory ginger syrup within, perhaps reminding oneself how cooling and healthy it is will actually make this enjoyable.
Pity we weren’t given the chance to try some of the restaurant’s noodle meals, for I found myself hungry again shortly after the session. In that regard, ordering a staple is necessary to not walk away hungry.
But in general, with a large variety of quality soups and meats ready to serve at the order, I am hopeful of Hotpot Kingdom’s growth although there wasn’t that much of a differentiation here.
Expected damage: $35- $50 / pax