Zhào’èr Huǒguō

Chongqing City


Highly popular, Zhào’èr’s hotpot is rightly lauded. There are various options: the nine-sectioned pot (九宫锅, jiǔgōng guō) allows you to separate the flavours of your raw ingredients, although the broth is shared; while the two-sectioned yuānyang guō (鸳鸯锅) has a clear broth that is separated completely from the spicy one. It's a bit out of the way.

You may be asked if you want your broth spicy (红的; hóngde) or clear (青的; qīngde) and therefore spiceless. Assuming you opt for spicy, we highly advise you plump for mild! As well as all the usual hotpot raw ingredients, the speciality here is fresh lamb tripe (鲜毛肚; xiān máodǔ). The water spinach (空心菜; kōngxīn cài) is also particularly good.

No English sign or menu. Look for the archway with yellow characters against a red backdrop and then walk up the stairs to the left.