I was never a fan of Shabu-Shabu before. When I was a kid, Every time I pass by a Shabu-Shabu place, I always see old people eating there, dunking in the hot pot some raw fish, meat and whatnot, and with their old hands shaking, trying to claw out whatever they were cooking. I always have this image that they're witches brewing some potion on a steaming pot. So I put a mental note to my old self to never try shabu shabu ever. And I never did, until I discovered Huat Pot.
Kathi from muckingaroundmanila.com dragged me to Greenhills to try out a new Hot Pot place called Huat Pot. At first, I thought I misheard her saying "Hot Pot" as "Huat Pot" so I asked her again if she's joking. She insisted that she wasn't and it will be worth the trip to Greenhills coming from the south of Manila. Of course I said yes just for the love of food, but at the back of my mind, images of witches cooking creeps back to me from my childhood nightmares.
When we arrive at Huat Pot, my mental image of witches cooking were immediately banished with happy smiles from our blogging family waiting for us inside and already cooking their own potions, oh I mean cooking up their own hot pots.
Huat Pot offers a wide variety of ingredients from fresh veggies, to thin slices of meat, and balls of different kinds. Lobster balls, Shrimp balls, Fish balls, even Yam balls.
Different sauces to choose from to your liking.
Huat Pot offers four soup flavors to choose from: Huat Pot Special (Original), Sate (BBQ), Oden (Veggie), and Mala (Spicy). Kathi and I had the Mala (whenever there is an spicy option, that will be the only option for Kathi) I liked the Mala soup, the spiciness adds more flavor without over-powering the flavor of what you're cooking.
Chef Jonas Ng teaching us how to Huat our pot.
We learned the basics of hot pot from Executive Chef Jonas Ng and shared us his secrets of how to make a great hot pot. To make the soup more flavorful, add a couple of crabs and shrimps to the soup. Those shellfish release flavor over time so better make sure to dunk them first.
The veggies and thin slices of meat comes last because they cook quickly. Leaving them to boil for too long will make your veggies soggy and meat chewy.
These thin slices of beef cooks quickly. Dunk them in the hot pot for just approximately 20-30 seconds and they'll be cooked to perfection.
Fresh Veggies. My favorite is the corn and the sweet potato. They really absorb the broth of the hot pot.
For those who can't wait for their food to cook, Huat Pot also offers Taiwanese style braised pork with egg on top of a steamed rice.
If you missed your early morning taho from manong, Huat Pot also serves hot taho (bean cured). Best thing about this is that it's do it yourself! You choose your syrup (Vanilla, Pandan, Ginger) and toppings (pearls or nata).
Le taho buffet!
I really like the interior of Huat Pot. The colors are amazing. They managed to combine the turquoise tables with red seats harmoniously. It looks modern yet very classic.
Gone is the time when I think of witches when I pass by a Hot Pot restaurant. Huat Pot saved me from my nightmare and opened my mind on eating healthy, the Huat Pot way.
*Huat Pot's Hot Pot eat-all-you-can buffet is at P688.
Huat Pot
+63 2 650 3091
+63 915 480 5500
2/F Metropoint Center,
P. Guevarra cor. Wilson st.,
Greenhills, San Juan
