Phase four delivery: Missing Macau's mutton hot pot? Try Ara Damansara's Sangong Charcoal Hot Pot/BBQ
PETALING JAYA, Oct 25 – The weather has gone crazy. One minute it's torrential rain. The next hour it's sunny skies. When the cool weather strikes, it's time to warm the body with a hot pot.
I came across this mutton hot pot inspired by the famous street side cart Keong Kei in Macau when a friend posted it on Facebook. While there's quite a few mutton hot pots in town already, this one claims to be different as the owner is from Hong Kong.
You can dine in or easily take away the food. They also offer frozen packs. I had ordered my food online which was really easy. You can opt for it to be delivered to your doorstep or do a self pick up.
There's a choice of stewed Macau mutton belly pot or Hong Kong spicy chicken pot. You can decide to just dine on the braised mutton or chicken pots on their own. The small portion for the mutton pot is RM48 while the large portion is RM68. For the spicy chicken pot, it's RM38 for the small portion or RM58 for the large portion.
If you want the stewed meat and the hot pot experience, select from various sets depending on the number of diners. For the mutton pot, it starts from RM68 for two to three persons. If you go for the spicy chicken pot, it starts from RM58 for two to three persons. The sets include the broth, vegetables, mushrooms, beancurd puffs, noodles, sliced meat and pork mushroom meatballs.
On its own, the stewed mutton pot is delicious. You get braised meat infused with a rich umami laden stew. The meat isn't super tender so there's some bite to it. Dip the meat with the fermented bean sauce that gives it a deeper flavour. The sauce is addictive when you pair it with the items in the pot, from the meat to the bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, fuchuk to the shiitake mushrooms.
If you can resist not finishing the braised meat, leave some in the pot and pour the mutton bone broth inside to mix it. Bring that to boil over a portable stove and you can add the ingredients like vegetables and enoki mushrooms. There is also thinly sliced lamb meat you can swish in the hot soup to enjoy.
The predominant flavour for this pot of goodies is fermented beancurd that adds umami to every bite of the food.
If you're not a fan of that flavour, maybe try their spicy chicken pot. I didn't have the stomach space to try it but from what I see on YouTube, it's said to be different from the ma la hot pot as the spiciness is derived from the sauces used. That pot is paired with pork broth and you get to dip thinly sliced pork belly for the hot pot experience.
If you dine in, they try to recreate the dine-in experience like Macau with a charcoal fire for the hot pot. There's even a cart inside the restaurant to mimic the streetside cart in Macau.
Sangong Charcoal Hot Pot/BBQ, Lot E-G-02, Block E, Jalan PJU 1A/3M, Taipan 1, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Open: 12pm to 10pm. Closed on Monday. You can WhatsApp +6010-3082880 to order. If you prefer, you can order online https://www.mrseasy.com/sangongcharcoalhotpotbbq Facebook: @三公炭炉火锅烧烤-Sangong-Charcoal-Hot-PotBBQ-113302997463077
