The .cn Hot Pot- Made for sharing

Those of you who read my reviews regularly will know that I very recently reviewed .cn so you might be surprised to be reading this second review so soon after.

Mr V and I really enjoyed our initial visit and having left it so long to go the first time round, I wasn’t going to wait so long to my next visit. After meeting a few friends for a drink across the road from .cn I was tormented by the bright red sign that I could see out of the corner of my eye while we chatted and the fact that we were just that little bit too far away for me to see through the window.

When one of my friends said that he was a bit peckish I jumped at it and suggested we all go over the road to .cn. They didn’t take much persuading once I had described the menu and we finished up our drinks and hurried over.

At 9pm on a Thursday night it was busy but we got the last table for four available. The atmosphere was relaxed with lots of groups of Chinese students socialising and sharing big bowls of food between them. Most of them had the Hot Pot which I had really liked the look of on my first visit and was dying to try. I think my friends saw my excitement and agreed that was the best option.

The hot pot consists of a large pot of broth that boils away on the table. It is divided into two halves, one with chicken and the other a fiery red chilli option. With the hot pot comes a huge array for meat, fish, tofu and vegetables that the diners cook for themselves. The hot pot is meant to be shared and it is designed to be a slow process. Groups of friends sit for hours slowly dipping their food and chatting, much like how you would see people socialising over a few drinks in the pub.

The amount of food that came with the hot pot was immense! For £15.99 per person, there is no way you could leave hungry, even if you didn’t like half of the food, you would still be full. Thankfully, I liked everything which turned the event into a competition for me as I desperately tried not to leave anything- just not possible.

Hot pot delights included a range of fresh fish including scallops, giant king prawns and some delicious squid. Along with this came some more unusual processed offerings including fish tubes and fish sticks. Aswell as fish, we had some fantastic lamb which was cut so finely that when you added it to the broth, it cooked like bacon. This was a favourite of mine. As if the meat wasn’t sufficient, we also had tofu, noodles, seaweed, two varieties of mushrooms, and a orray of vegetables and a satay dipping sauce.

I would highly recommend this meal at .cn if you are looking to have a nice social event with friends and like to take your time over dinner. I throughly enjoyed it and with so much left on the menu that I still want to try, it won’t be long before I make my next visit.

If you’d like to read a more detailed account of my thoughts on .cn, please see my previous review.

My Last Mouthful was: Lamb in the chilli broth with satay dipping sauce.

Service-

Atmosphere and decor- 

Quality of food-

Diversity of menu-

Value for money-

Overall rating–