Hey Hey Hotpot: HongKong style Steamboat
Wintermelon Soup Base
I hated steamboats when I was a kid. As a child, I preferred food that were fried, grilled and deep fried over those that were steamed or boiled. Somehow eating a piece of boiled chicken didn't quite appeal to me as much as eating fried chicken.
I guess tastes change as one gets older. I wonder sometimes if somehow God had created us that way. I mean, in the good old days people used to lose all their teeth when they got older so that they couldn't chew on meats and had to eat tofu and other soft and mushy vegetables. When you are old, not eating too much meat is good for you wheras when you are a kid growing up, you actually do need to eat meat in order to build up muscle. So maybe as we grow older, we are programmed to like foods that is better for us. Maybe that is why I am beginning to prefer steamed and boiled stuff over greasy fried stuff. Maybe its just me or are you all observing the same thing?
Anyways, back to steamboats. When I was younger, the steamboat always meant raw meats dipped into a rather plain chicken stock and eaten with a chilli sauce. I always found that a bit boring. However, of late, stalls are getting more creative with the soup bases. So we have the likes of "Mala" steamboats as well as porridge and laksa steamboats. This particular steamboat appealed to me not only because they emphasize on the quality of the soup base, but they also have a variety of different "dim sum" that you can cook in the soup.
I particularly liked the Winter Melon soup which is a favourite amongst Hong Kongers. It takes quite a bit of effort to cook this soup which is why this is one steamboat which you actually have to pay for the soup. (The top up for the winter melon soup is$10 per pot. Other soup bases start from $5). Aside from the Winter Melon soup they also have Shark Bone and Herbal Chicken soup which are all very "Hong Kong".
Crab Roe wrapped with Fish paste $5.80 (not part of buffet menu)
Some of the specially imported "dim sum" that caught our attention are the Crab Roe wrapped in Fish paste dumpling shown above which combines savoury crab roe with an out covering of fish paste. Or I guess you could think of it as a fish ball with crab roe filling. 4/5
Char Siew Pau Dumplings $4.80
What I ended up eating quite a few off that night was this "Char Siew Pau" which is char siew filling wrapped in "Crystal" skin (ala Crystal Dumpling).
I have never boiled a char siew pau before so it was a pretty wierd notion at first but after the first bite, I was quite hooked. I think I ended up eating around ten of these that night. (they are around the size of a 50 cent coin) 4.5/5 I think the texture of the sticky chewy skin with the fragrant char siew filling was pretty novel and addictive.
The other dim sum that I really like is the Cheese filled Fish Paste dumpling. Might sound a bit wierd but the chewy, melted mozarella cheese goes quite well with the fish paste and chilli. 4.25/5
Sliced Angus Beef (Australian) $16.80 (normal price $21.80)
Beef lovers will rejoice at their "Fei Niu" (lit fat cow) which uses Australian Angus. They were having a promotion at that time and a plate costs $16.80. 4/5
Conclusion
I like the uniqueness of this Hong Kong style steamboat. The soups are very good quality and you get to try stuff very different from the usual steamboats. Pricewise, they have lunch buffet starting from $18++ and dinner starting from $27++, which is a tad more expensive than the ones you find at beach road but certainly something to try if you are looking for a good quality steamboat with good soup bases and novelty "Dim Sum".
Hey Hey Hotpot Restaurant
1 Selegie Road,
#B1-20, Paradiz Centre
S188307
11.30am to 2.30pm
Dinner 6.30pm to 11pm
63335166
Lunch Buffet $18++
Dinner Buffet Mon-Thur $27++
Fri-Sun $29++
Top Up for soups starting from $5 per pot
33 comments:
I'm from Hong Kong but I've never heard of winter melon soup being used as a soup base for hotpot?? We drink winter melon during summertime to get rid of our "heat" but to use this as a hotpot soup base will completely defeat the purpose, don't you think?
sounds gimmicky......
cheese is a western ingredient..
dont think any true blue self respecting HK restaurant will serve anything with cheese.
its like pearl drop soup or general Tso's chicken in chinese restaurants in western countries.
Oh? How about cheese baked rice at HK cafes?
thats an influence from the portuguese.
but traditional hk restuarants dont serve cheese. not in steamboats, dimsum and just traditional cantonese cooking.
i have never seen cheese used in any cantonese cooking cookbook.
cheese in china:
http://english.cri.cn/4026/2008/02/07/191@321271.htm
very rare and only in the minority groups.
I have no doubt that Cheese is not a traditional ingredient in Cantonese cooking. But I think it is appearing in modern Hong Kong food and also in modern Singapore food.
The lady who manages the place is from Hong Kong. Her name is "Dragon", as in her name card. She told me that this is one style of steamboat you can actually eat in Hong Kong.
sign of the times..
soon they will start serving wine with steamboat.. or maybe they have already done so.
certain cuisine, like cantonese cuisine.. i m a purist..
St Regis has a Dim Sum with wine pairing buffet. Bet that is gonna make you jump!
yucks.
anyway, i wldn't consider st regis to be the epitome of culinary excellence.
from their mooncake concoctions, and now trying to pair wine with dimsum, it appears that their food creations are out to squeeze the consumer dollar.
The char siew pao dumplings look awesome. Almost like shui jing pao! I love char siew pao and shui jing pao. Think I will like this too. :)
On the contrary I have always been a steamboat fan since I was a kid :) Went there once and wasn't too impressed with their soups considering you have to pay extra for it. The ingredients were very fresh and the environment airy and bright to have steamboat. I only know that this place is opened by some actor/actress but I forgot who heh.
Hmmm I have to differ on their charsiew dumpling too, I didn't like that in the steamboat.
For a post on buffet steamboat, you sure spent a whole lot of real estate on the paid items that are not part of the buffet. How about commenting on the buffet items as well?
Your theory is quite right. My parents used to eat alot more meat when they were younger but now they seem to eat nothing but bland healthy stuff.
I think the part about decreasing meat consumption as we grow older is quite spot on! I think that it may be linked to evolution? Since we are more susceptible to stuff like heart diseases and high cholesterol as we age, we may seek out more bland and healthy stuff.
Anyway, this looks really different from the usual hotpots!
been there to eat before..
really XXX..found it not too bad
but the price is higher range..
Been there quite a few times, simply love its fresh ingredients and winter melon soup base, of course, the Dim Sum.
Still remember the first time we went, the bill came about 210 bucks for 3 pax, all Ala Carte.
I'm content with the buffet items, this is really better than those steamboat stalls along Bugis. <3
The thing about steamboat is that we have to take many things into account.
I personally dislike steamboat (not a kid anymore though).
It's more suitable for colder climates. It's way too hot here to enjoy steamboat, unless you go to an aircon restaurant. Steamboat at home is always the path to sweatiness.
I hate buffets, as said in the Carnivore post. Can't eat much.
I hate murky soups where the proteins leeched from the raw food have denatured and coagulated. This is a big problem when you eat steamboat with ingredients such as kidney and liver, since there's quite a lot of blood.
Some steamboat eateries also have a hotplate, which further annoys me because of the radiation (er I mean infrared of course) that makes us even hotter. And my friends love to do retarded things to add blocks of butter to the hot plate.
We have to factor in our own skills as well. It's sad to say that as a food science and tech undergrad, I still can't cook meat in a steamboat consistently. LOL.
Thankfully, with the rise of airconditioned, higher quality steamboat restaurants that use a variety of soups, I'm less against steamboat now. Still, for the price, we can get a better meal.
Anonymous, the char siew pau is part of the buffet as is the cheese dumpling. The other two items are not. You really want me to post pictures of raw prawns and raw chicken? I think if you go for the buffet, you can expect the raw stuff to be of a good standard with a few dim sum which are more unique.
I did forget to mention that they have 3 different dips there and they were all very nice.
Ha ha. That's true. Posting those pixs wouldn't be too special since they are the same everywhere (differing only in freshness in most places). I think this is the most healthy form of buffet if one is to really indulge.
the ambiance nice? does it suit for a nice cosy dinner? hahahahha! just wondering!
Probably as cosy as a steamboat can get. Cosier than the beach road ones definitely but don't expect it to be like dining at some fine dining places.
the restaurant is bright. far from cosy. if you're looking at a higher end steamboat that has dimmer lightings my recommendations are tanyato at liang court, coca at takashimaya and house of chongqing hotpot at tanglin shopping centre - these 3 places imo also tastes better :)
never a big fan of steamboat, most of the flav of the food sort of goes into the soup.
Also, my personal concept of buffet is not eat as much as possible to get back the amt u paid, buffet in my way is to try out different kind of food, abit here abit there,
also, it is not a rush process (i hate those shops who put a time limit to buffet) for me, i kina think of it as a good garthering for friends where u sit down and talk and those who are hungry can go take some food while the lazy batch of us can swipe some off their plates.
I've not been to the other steamboat places but I think this place would be cosy enough for me. Actually for me, as long as there is a booth, it would be cosy enough... hee hee..
I really liked the soup base at this place and I think they used to be quite pricey but have deliberately offered the buffet to give better value.
I am seriously considering returning this week for lunch with my colleagues... the soup is beckoning me... getting old, what to do?
The winter melon soup base looks quite cute and appealing. Should make a trip there soon :)
I have been liking steamboat since young. My maternal grandmother would usually cook steamboat during reunion dinner.
I have two regular places which I would patronise for steamboat. One,is cocoa at taka - this place was introduced to me by drummer. Their buffet is very value for money and fresh. The second place would be second mini steamboat at novena. The tom yam soup base is very tasty, and their chilli paste is very addictive! :)
this is own by mediacorp artist 曹国辉 ?...
Can't read chinese but his English name is Terrence Cao
Steamboat is comfort food and nothing beats a steamboat for reunion dinner eh?
Healthy also! Soupy...nice on a cold day...
Taiwanese steamboats are the one to beat man... Whenever I go back in winter, ALMOST everyday eat steamboat. Their variety of ingredients and soup bases are APPALLING. Ask anyone who's been to "hai3 pa4 wang2" (loosely translated as King of the Sea) - the msot renowned steamboat chain in Taiwan.
The difference is, it's super cheap there. Max SGD10 per pax - free flow!
I miss Taiwan... =(
I also prefer those with dual BBQ and soup steamboat, as do the above. In SG there was the defunct Chin Huat @ Marina but their new one at Novena got no BBQ. Anyone got any duo BBQ-Steamboat to recommend here (forget seoul garden)?
I lurpe steamboats. But not for it's lean meat. Chicken meat or pork meat doesn't interest me unless it is marinated in a special way.
For me I go for the balls, pork balls, sotong balls, whatever balls. I lurpe those balls at coca.
When I eat at home, I will add in fish maws, shitake mushies, crab sticks, king prawns, assorted yong tao fu and not forgetting the essential shell fishes like huey la or scallops. It will make the soup one of a kind and not something you can find anywhere! Of course chili is very important too. I normally eat it with belachan chili. In singapore it can be pain in the ass to eat it unless you have gallons of coke stand by coz the weather, the steam and the chili can make you super hot! But while I was studying in UK, it was weekly affair with fellow singaporean mates in the cold gloomy london weather, it is the most addictive meal.
i think this is a good refreshing idea. the winter melon and herbal chicken soup base attracts me the most.
besides, i don't see what the fuss is all about the east meet west appeal. so what if the debate is on whether the cheese filled fish paste is authentic HK food or not? i mean something new is obviously interesting. i sometimes don't get what these so called "purists" are thinking. it's good that you appreciate authentic culture in food. however, i think it's even better to always try something new and keep an open mind. also, i think we shouldn't impose our own tastes with other people's opinions and/or creations.
people just need to learn how to appreciate new age food as well. would i dare call people who always try out new food creations as "purists"?
cheese filled fish dumpling.. sounds interesting and exciting for me to try!
Honestly...It doesn't matter where it comes from. It is good food!
I went Hey Hey more than thrice...Once you try, you will get addicted. The service is extremely good and the steamboat is very unique and of very good quality.
You got to try it.
( No, I am not working for them or know any staff there...but a die hard Hey Hey fan...)
You won't leave the place without the stomach and mind satisfaction..
There is nothing wrong with cheese in fish balls, if you go to HK stalls where they sell curry fish balls , u will see that there are many varities of balls.
Hong kong is a metropolitan ,always fast paced always improving, (im not saying singapore isn't)so even hawkers need to add bit more choices, than the plain authentic curry fish balls. There are sea urchin balls,prawn roe fish balls,lobster balls,seeweed fish balls..
Jeung But Pong...(sea creature , usually sashimi or steamboated.
BTW, does anyone know if there are there any curry fish balls skewers sold in Sing... I miss them..
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