What’s the best food to eat on a cold, windy evening?
If you answered hotpot, then great minds think alike! Nothing beats the warmth of a rich hearty soup, brought to a boil with slices of meat, vegetables, seafood, and other goodies within.
The Hubs and I thought it was the perfect time to try A Dragon Hotpot, a spot we pass by often while getting drive-through from the nearby McDonald’s.
The restaurant is located in a building on its own, complete with a patio where you can dine outdoors. It also shares a space with Ann Cafe, which serves drinks and desserts.
The interior is spacious, with peach pink walls, faux marble table tops and gaudy golden chairs. To the right is a bar counter where they serve drinks, and a fridge filled with alcoholic beverages + bottled Chinese teas.
Most hotpots I’ve been to offer buffet options or set menus. A Dragon Hotpot brings you the best of both worlds.
You get a bucket that you can fill with the items that you like. You can then bring it to the counter, and they’ll charge you by weight. I quite like this idea! With set menus, there are often ingredients that I don’t like (*vegetables* cough), while buffets encourage me to eat more than I should because I want to get my money’s worth – so this combined concept is just perfect.
Granted, there are some cons to the system. If you pick the processed stuff like meatballs, they tend to be quite heavy despite being cheap in price/value.
A Dragon Hotpot offers a good selection of the usual hotpot items: hotdogs, cocktail sausages, hams, tofu, fishballs, fresh vegetables, as well as mushrooms, seafood, and pork slices. If you prefer lamb or beef, they have pre-packed ones in the fridge that come at a standard price.
For carb lovers, you can choose from a variety of different noodles. These are not counted towards the weight of your food.
Once you’re done selecting your ingredients and weighing them, let the staff know what soup base you prefer. There were three available during our visit: mala (their signature; a very spicy soup filled with chillies, popular in the Szechuan region of China), tom yum, and pork bone broth.
We decided on the latter. It was served in a garish-looking pot which sported a dragon head on each end.
And here’s what we picked! Like a couple of kids, we left the greens out of our plates. 😛
The pork slices here are cut quite thickly, so they take a bit longer to cook. But it also gives you a more satisfying bite of meat. There are dipping sauces available at the counter, including favourites like soy sauce with garlic and chilli sauce.
The processed items tasted pretty standard. I like to get cheese tofu, which has a springy, bouncy texture embedded with creamy bits within. I also enjoy the bursting pork balls, which contain a savoury soup within. That aside, the pork slices were fresh and thick, but the Hubs didn’t enjoy it as much as he said the odour of pork was pretty strong.
The winner for both of us, though, was the soup. It was rich and hearty, and I was smacking my lips from the collagen, which left a slightly sticky residue.
Our meal for two came up to about RM60+. I wouldn’t call it super value for money, but our bellies were filled, the food was tasty, and it was still cheaper than a buffet, without the wastage. Didn’t manage to try any drinks from Ann Cafe, but I think this place warrants another visit.
A DRAGON HOTPOT
12-G, Jln Puteri 7/13A, Bandar Puteri, 47100 Puchong, Selangor
Phone: 03-8066 5839
Open daily 11.30AM – 12AM. Non-halal
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