That pot is hot, and spicy too!

Recently, I read Shark's Fin and Sichuan Pepper: A Memoir of Eating in China. Wow, did it get me revved up to come here and chow. It also highlighted a number of dishes I knew I would have to try. One of those was Sichuanese hotpot. At its essence, there is a hot pot full ofliquid in the middle of the table. Into that you put your selection of raw meats, veggies, and noodles, eating them when cooked. The Sichuanese version adds a tremendous amount of spice to the mix. I got my wish early on in Shanghai, when we went to Hai Di Lao Huo Guo.

First, there was the broth. The container on our table had a divider, with one section a light mushroom flavor and one an incredibly spicy chilli flavor. We actually got to see them dump a very large bag of chillies into the broth. The bag looked like a bag of blood and was bigger than one.

Then there were the various raw ingredients we cooked in the soup.

Two kinds of meat shown here. In the back is thinly sliced lamb, it looks almost like prosciutto. It cooked nearly instantaneously in the broth, with just a quick wave back and forth. Scrumptious and light. In the foreground is marbled beef, which was exquisite. This stayed chewy when cooked and exuded a rich, beefy flavor.

There was also some strips of beef. These were also quite good, and great at soaking up the (very very spicy) broth.

Then the ingredients left the realm of normal (though remained very tasty). One was beef tripe. The intestine cooked lightly, remaining crunchy, almost al dente, to the bite. It was a fabulous change in texture and all funkiness from the product was gone.

The other wild ingredient was pig brain. I couldn't get a pre picture, just this post cooked brain on my plate. Note the glistening chilli oil all around. The brain was so creamy, blending nearly perfectly with the in-your-face heat of the broth. This was superb and we had another round.

There was also shrimp balls, potato, and pea shoots. The shrimp balls, rolled from that mass into balls and cooked through, were firm and meaty. The pea shoots cooked for about 25 seconds and were so good I think we ordered three more batches.

The last ingredient, and most theatrical, was the kung fu noodles. The trick with these noodles is that a trained technician comes out and conducts kung fu with the noodle dough, stretching it out before cutting it into strips. He is an artist and he is able to bring it within an inch of your face without it touching anything. Very neat. Noodles were excellent too.

A great accompaniment to the whole affair was the sauce bar. Here, the diner had their choice of about 30 ingredients to make a customized dipping sauce for their hot pot. There was sesame jam, chilli oil, pickled peppers, vinegar, and more. I couldn't decide and so made two, and also took liberally from others' concoctions.

The experience was excellent. And, importantly, the food was superb. The spice mixture added a ton of flavor and an ungodly amount of heat but didn't overwhelm the ingredients. By the end of the meal, I was tearing up and my sinuses were emptied. Wow.

As a bonus, one of my dining companions sweet-talked them into giving us a tour of the kitchen. Quite an operation, with everything spic and span and things moving forward at light speed.