It’s the beginning of a year and it’s winter. It’s a Chinese tradition to have hot pot during this period to start a thriving year and keeps us warm. There is a saying, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. So how about trying some Chinese hot pot flavors and keep yourself warm this winter.
Houtang Hot Pot 吼堂老火锅
Address: 3F, IN77 C1 District, Hubin Intime 湖滨银泰IN77 C1区 3F
The old-branded Chengdu hot pot that is popular all over the Internet and is so popular that at 2 am people are still queuing just to get in, is finally here in Hangzhou! What’s even better is that it is just by the West Lake, a perfect pit stop for you while you are touring West Lake.
What kind of experience is it like to travel back to 1930 from 2021? You will know the answer when you walk into the restaurant. You will see the waiters yell such words as “ke guan li mian qing (literal meaning: Dear customer, please come inside)” and “ke guan qing shang zuo (literal meaning: Dear customer, please have a seat)” like Chinese people did back in 1930. The scene is very interesting.
The warm decoration colors and warm lighting in the restaurant are intertwined, and every detail is right, making people feel the fierce collision of tradition and national tide.
There is also a row of clothes at the door that you can change and take photos, allowing you to experience the old Chengdu style in the 1930s.
The most distinctive feature of Houtang Hot Pot is the Shuangpin hot pot soup base. The soup base is divided into two parts: one is the pickled Chinese cabbage, crispy pork slice and bean curd soup base and the other is the red oil spicy soup base, which can satisfy people who can’t eat spicy food, but also takes care of the needs of people loving spicy food.
It is particularly worth mentioning that there are a lot of self-service desserts here, with a wide variety of them ~
Xishi Hotpot Guest House 喜市火锅招待所
Address: North gate of Wulin D11, 183 Wulin Road (Wulin Road Branch) 武林D11北门武林路183号（武林路店）
Xishi Hotpot Guest House is famous for its retro Hong Kong-style environment. Here, you can eat and take selfies, feeling like you are in Hong Kong.
The whole restaurant is full of retro style. The scenes of the canteen, barber restaurant, and dance hall make people feel like they are back in the 1980s-1990s. If you pay attention, you will find many interesting little details — videotapes, game machines, enamel cups... These can evoke memories of a generation. Eating hot pot in such an environment gives people a special taste~
There are two kinds of spiciness in the restaurant, Hangzhou spicy and Chengdu spicy, so people who are not very good at eating spicy food don't have to worry about not being able to handle it! There are also many other choices for soup base, including butter kind, tomato kind and mushroom kind.
Awen Cup Hot Pot 阿文盅盅火锅
Address: 2nd Floor, D11 Food City, 163 Wulin Road (Wulin Road Branch) 武林路163号D11美食城二楼（武林路店）
Have you tried hot pot starting at 1.9 yuan before? Hangzhou’s super hot and cute hot pot is in the Wulin Road Food City (武林路美食城). After eating hot pot, you can go to the Wulin Night Market next door. It’s great~
It features authentic Chongqing hot pot. The soup bases are delicious. There are nearly a hundred ingredients in the cabinet for your selection. Different kinds of ingredients are placed inside color-coded cups according to their price.
Although the cups are small, they are packed with ingredients, which is very suitable for girls with small appetites. You can eat many kinds of dishes at once.
Chen Yanhong Marketplace Hot Pot
陈艳红市井火锅
Address: 277, Queen's Park, Wulin Street (Wulin Road Branch) 武林街道皇后公园277号（武林路店）
Chen Yanhong Marketplace Hot Pot has always been famous. It features the authentic Chengdu flavor and it is said that it is also the first marketplace hot pot in Chengdu, creating a small plate culture of hot pot.
The restaurant is in a down-to-earth marketplace style, with red and white contrasting each other on the whole and retro posters in twos and threes on the walls. Dining in such an environment is easy to relax completely and feel comfortable.
There are many kinds of soup base here. The Mercedes-Benz soup base features three kinds of soup base at a time, meeting the needs of different tastes. Those who like spicy taste, those who like sour taste, and those who only eat mushroom soup base, can all be satisfied ~
The food ingredients are served in a bamboo slip-made container, and the waiter will bring up all ingredients at one go. Each ingredient is placed in a small porcelain pot. The portion is small but the price is relatively cheap. Overall, the price/performance ratio is very high.