I absolutely love hot pot; it’s something I can eat almost every other day if Jien permits! Which is why I have a few hotpot buddies who would indulge with me whenever the craving hits. When Chunciou Hot Pot in Old Klang Road opened, I was excited. My friend Emily notified me about this “really big hotpot place” coming up and that “it was from Taiwan”.
Chunciou Hot Pot is an “All You Can Eat” Taiwanese hot pot with six types of broth – sukiyaki, tonkotsu, spicy, herbal, lake salt and tomyam – with an assortment of meats, meatballs and vegetables to choose from. I tried the tonkotsu, herbal and spicy broth over two visits, and liked the tonkotsu best.
The herbal broth was too mild for my liking while the spicy, said to be “ma la” tasted anything but. I thought it tasted like a cross between Maggi kari and ma la, which was disappointing as the spicy (mala) hot pot soup I had in Taiwan was really good.
There’s pork, beef, chicken, duck and lamb to go with your hot pot and throughout the meal, the staff will go around with a pushcart of assorted meatballs for you to pick from. I particularly enjoyed the wasabi meatball and squid ball, which packed flavour and had a decent texture. Seafood is also available, but you only get a portion per table. This is non-refillable.
The hot pot ingredients go best with dipping sauce which you can customise from the many sauces available at the counter. Alternatively, allow the staff to make you their house specialty of egg yolk, chopped spring onions and chilli flakes.
Service is friendly but they can be a tad slow (or forget orders) when it’s a full house. You might need to remind them several times if your order doesn’t arrive. It happened to me during my second visit. Lou rou fan (Taiwanese braised pork rice) is also available as part of the buffet and I found this quite tasty. Not quite the same as the one in Taiwan but I like this better than the original version as the rice was saucier.
You get a choice of ice cream, tong sui or lemon slices as dessert. The lemon slices with sugar was surprisingly a good palate cleanser. I didn’t care much for the ice cream but their glutinous rice tong sui was alright. Soft drinks and tea are included as part of the buffet. Last I checked, they weren’t sure if there’s a corkage fee if you were to BYO alcohol so it’s best to call and check if you plan to do so.
The hot pot buffet at Chunciou is priced at RM60 for lunch (RM69.90 after GST and service charge) and RM75 for dinner (RM87 after GST and service charge). A tad steep if you’re not a big eater or if you’re a slow eater, because each table gets a duration of 120 minutes (2 hours) to dine-in. I didn’t find it an issue because I eat quick and I have an appetite of a bear haha!
I do have one concern though – am not sure why the management feels the need to get “nice looking girls” to promote the outlet. Highly unnecessary and frankly, quite tacky. But then again, I’m just there to eat, not to tell them how to run their business. Whatever makes them happy… 😉
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Ambiance: 6.5/10
Price: 5.5/10
Food: 6.5/10 (non halal)
Verdict: If you love hot pot and have a good appetite, this is an option to consider. Go for the tonkotsu broth and don’t bother with the spicy soup.
Chunciou Hot Pot Malaysia 春秋战锅
No.306, Batu 3,
Jalan Klang Lama,
58000 Kuala Lumpur.
Tel: 018-375 6368
Business hours: Noon till 11pm
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