Hot Pot China - Perungudi [Chennai]

We managed to spot this one accidentally – it’s just near the Perungudi signal (close to Hi-Style) and reasonably close to our home.  For non-Chennaites, Perungudi is located in South Chennai. And with my love for Chinese cuisine, we decided to try this one out at the earliest opportunity, which was this week. Hot Pot China (HPC) has a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of entrance. But once you enter, one realises that the place is not as small as the entrance looks like. It has a rather swanky decor for a place that has been in business since the last 2 weeks! However, it is evident that the place is new and has room for further improvement before it goes full swing. But that is probably the good part – since they are so new in business, they are ready to learn fast.

We decided to try a little bit of everything but as the food came in, we realised out mistake – the quantity was mammoth! A unique feature that I noticed about this place is that HPC allows you to order half portions of everything apart from the dim sums. In fact, our waiter was decent enough to suggest us that half portion of the “Konjee Crispy Lamb” (starters) shall suffice for both of us. And having said that, let me say that this is one area were HPC leaves even good brands behind – extremely prompt service. The waiters are decent, attentive and eager to please. Thus, what may be a trifle lacking in the food or decor etc, is more than made up for in the behaviour. I can go so far ahead as to comment that the service here is one of the best that we have received in the various restaurants that we have dined in over India. 

Now for the food. We ordered “Chicken Wontons” and “Konjee Crispy Lamb” for starters. The wontons were crisp and the lamb was delicious. And true to what the waiter had suggested – half portions of both was enough for both of us! For the main course, we decided to order 3 half portions – one from each section so that we could give most of it a try.  We ordered “Corn Fried Rice”, “Sea Food Fried Rice” and “Chicken Hakka Noodles”; with “Sliced Fish in Butter Garlic Sauce” and “Prawns in Oyster Sauce” as side dishes. If there is another thing that I have to say apart from the food being good – the food was too much. With ordering half portions of each, we ended up wasting most of it (still feel bad about that!) because we soon realised that 1 plate of the rice/noodles will more than suffice for 2 people – and that comes from foodies like us! The fish was good and did not smell – something I had thought could happen only in Kobe Sizzlers. The food isn’t too spicy – just the authentic Chinese way. The only thing that we did not enjoy in the whole experience is that the noodles were a bit undercooked and thus lacked proper taste.

The prices are what are unbelievable. The Veg starters range from Rs. 54/- for half plate to Rs. 125/- for a full plate. The Non Veg starters begin at Rs. 100/- for half a plate and go up to Rs. 225/- for a full plate. The Rice varieties vary between Rs. 70/- to Rs. 135/- (half to full) for the Veg section and Rs. 80/- to Rs. 185/- (half to full) for the Non veg section. For the side dishes, the Veg section prices are Rs. 75/- to Rs. 150/- (half to full) and Rs. 110/- to Rs. 265/- (half to full) for the Non Veg section. But then, when one plate is enough for two – who is complaining?

OUR RATINGS:

Ambience: 3.5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 5/5

Price: 4.5/5

Overall: 4/5

OUR TAKE:

We loved both the side dishes in the main course and would recommend any of them.

We usually limit our posts till this bit, but since this is such a new place, we have a few suggestions for them:

(1)    Once the restaurant starts running in full swing, HPC is grossly understaffed.

(2)    The tables definitely need to improve.

(3)    The menu card is huge which makes navigating a cumbersome task. Also, it shall be difficult to maintain.

(4)    Should start a home delivery section – almost all restaurants have this.

(5)    The entrance must be a little more lit up/spottable so as to attract more attention.

(6)    Good place; deserves proper marketing strategies to make it popular.