If you are a fan of hot pot, or “lau” as it is known in Viet Nam, you should not miss the Mudan Hotpot - Chinese Restaurant located at 166 Phan Chu Trinh, Hai Chau District, Da Nang because this place serves more than 10 types of broth with 4 basic flavours: sour, spicy, salty and sweet.

Attractive 4-flavoured hot pot dish at the Mudan Hotpot - Chinese Restaurant. Photo: H.L

Universally cherished throughout Viet Nam, hotpot typically consists of a pot of boiling broth placed on the table to cook meat, vegetables, and other side dishes. This dish generates scores of variations that leverage the delicacies of each locale.

When it comes to hot pot, gourmets immediately think of seafood hot pot with the delicious taste of shrimp, crab, squid and other types of clams and oysters.

At Mudan Hotpot, the ingredients that make up the seafood hot pot include other tasty ingredients such as shiitake mushrooms, abalone, octopus, grouper and red tilapia. Depending on the needs of diners, the restaurant prepares different hot pot flavours, from cheese, tomyum, satay or lemongrass, chili and simple vegetables.

With the hot and sour Thai hot pot dish, you can order additional yuba fish and crab cakes, Thai flavoured or Sichuan flavoured shrimp. Meanwhile, to make the delicious taste of style mushroom hot pot imbued with the spirit of Chinese cuisine, you should choose additional side dishes such as beef, shrimp, pork dumplings with chive leaves or goji berry pate.

Besides the pot of broth with many different flavours, the main ingredients that accompany the hot pot dish such as vegetables and tubers are always fresh, nutritious, and naturally sweet.

In addition, you can also order vegetable noodles to whilst enjoying mushroom hot pot if you want to enjoy a frugal meal.

The highlight of the hot pot broth at Mudan Hotpot is the water simmered from pork bones and vegetables with a naturally sweet taste.

To make the hot pot more rich and flavourful, some of the accompanying ingredients are marinated or lightly stir-fried. In particular, the meat, fish, and squid are cut into thin slices and arranged on a plate.

Some hot pot flavours are also milky white in color, fragrant with traditional Chinese medicine and have a sweet taste from the almonds in the broth. In particular, the hot pot is divided into 2 or 4 compartments, helping diners fully enjoy the 4 flavours of sour, spicy, salty, sweet, or set aside a compartment for vegetarians.

As a restaurant specialising in serving Chinese hot pot dishes, the Mudan Hotpot is built on the image of a red peony and red is also the main colour, reflecting traditional Asian architecture. This is an important factor in creating the restaurant's atmosphere and culinary brand. The image of red peonies is considered a symbol of luck, goodness and love.

Reporting by HUYNH LE - Translating by A.THU