On a gray, cold day last week, a friend and I went kicked off soup season with hot pot at Chong Qing House. Beside Northern Cuisine restaurant on the corner of Fourth and Green, Chong Qing is a new restaurant that serves hot pot and a menu of Chinese cuisine in the space that used to be Lai Lai Wok. The menu had many options listed with both English and Chinese names via QR code under the glass tabletop.
We put in an order for hot pot order vegetables, seafood, and beef, and the total was $0, quite unusual. When we asked about it, our server said customers “pay at the door” at the end.
We ordered hot pot with two broths called Best of Broth Worlds: one side spicy, the other mild. With Sichuan peppercorns and Chinese red peppers, too, Chong Qing’s spicy broth was pretty spicy. Everything we cooked in that hot broth came out dark-red in color and soaked with spiciness. A welcome balance, the other side was the restaurant’s original flavored broth, which was fragrant and mild.
I loved the shelled prawns in both broths and how well they absorbed all the flavors. The meatballs each had an inner pocket inside; the fish ball had a burst of juicy fish in the center, and the beef balls had more beef.
Rolled beef is a must — for me at least — when eating hot pot. Because the beef was sliced thin, it cooked quickly. Instant gratification: into the hot pot, and a few seconds later, ready to eat.
We also ordered black mushrooms, Shanghai bok choy, potato, and broccoli. The broccoli’s florets soaked the broth’s flavors like sponges. We actually ordered another round of broccoli because it was so good. The mushrooms and peeled potatoes were tasty, and I loved how the bok choy wilted in the hot pot but still had crisp stems.
We also ordered three garnishes: peanut paste, shacha sauce, and cilantro. The cilantro sprigs were fresh, the shacha sauce was awesome on pretty much everything, and the peanut sauce was just alright.
At checkout, we learned our lunch was $35 a person. Our additional round of broccoli was not extra nor was my can of Coke (nor the unpictured side of white rice I desperately needed when that spicy broth had me sweating). All refills and all soup add-ins are included in the $35 price. Now that I know this, I want to try even more variety for my Chinese fondue.
Chong Qing House Chinese Restaurant
402 E Green St
Champaign
M 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
W-Su 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
