御品牛香潮汕牛肉火锅 Yu Pin Niu Xiang Beef Hotpot at Tang Jia Wan district in Zhuhai is dining under the stars, al fresco. On Dian Ping, China’s version of aggregate food review site, this hotpot restaurant, which focuses on beef, is rated the best around the district with more than 600 reviews so you know the rating is real. And true to the reviews, the food is fantastic for the pricing.

We ordered a 鸳鸯汤 (¥28) or a pot with two broths: carrot-corn soup 萝卜玉米 and mala soup麻辣. My China friend mentioned that in China, they don’t drink the broth. It’s usually too salty and full of MSG. I did try a spoonful each and the mala packs some serious heat. Jesus, China people can eat spice. The other one is bland and taste.

They also serve BBQ beef here, beef which is bbq on the spot. If you look at the photo of the restaurant, you can see the aluminium bbq pit at the right hand lower corner.

Like Beauty in a Pot or Hai Di Lao, the restaurant has a condiments table that has everything you can imagine: peanut butter (my favorite), soy sauce, vinegar, coriander, etc. It even has lime, which, according to my friend, PRCs do not eat. They think limes are Thai-style.

One of the things that everyone praises are the 手打牛肉丸 (¥32 pictured above) or the handmade beef balls. They are so fantastic that I couldn’t stop eating them! No matter how long the balls are in the soup, the texture has a nice bite. It’s full of fat that when you chew, you feel oil oozing from it; and fats give flavour. Divine!

Another beef part I recommend: the beef tongue 牛舌 (¥28, pictured above). Everyone seems to order it too and it. is. nice. It’s almost rubbery but in a delectable way that makes you want to chew more. It is not fat, so there is not much of flavour but it is moreish, almost like a good snack.

The last dish that everyone orders is called 吊龙 ¥30, which can be translated to a very cool name: hanging dragon. Who can resist ordering a dish with such a cool name? It is actually just… tenderloin. Tenderloin–such a boring name, right? It is pretty good. It is not as fat as the beef balls nor the 五华址 ¥38 (fatty beef), but it has a nice “beefy” flavour.

Including 牛肉 beef (¥28),  杂菜 assorted vegetables (¥10), and 炸腐竹 fried beancurd skin (¥10), we paid ¥193 for two persons. On Dian Ping, the average spending is about ¥71 per person. A very good price.

Menu

Food: 7/10
Price: 6.5/10
Service: 6/10
Ambience / decor: 6/10

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