Ba Hot Pot
When the temperatures start to drop and you want to spend a fun evening with friends, one of the Chinese delicacies par excellence, the hot pot, turns out to be the most appropriate solution. In recent years, several restaurants have sprung up in Milan offering this specialty but some are certainly better than others: this is the case of Ba Hot Pot, located between Loreto and Città Studi.
But what is hot pot? It is a millenary type of preparation, already used by the Mongolian nomadic populations and then widely spread in China. Among the regions where it has been most successful, Sichuan (in particular the city of Chongqing), in southwestern China, stands out.
Often referred to as "Chinese fondue", the hot pot consists of a large pot placed in the center of the table in which one or more broths simmer gently, while the diners dip various raw foods into it and then eat them seasoned with special dips that each one prepares to to your liking.
At Ba Hot Pot is therefore possible to experience this Chinese "fire pot" in Sichuan style.
The place is very welcoming and well-finished, with exposed bricks and fiery red decorative elements. You will hardly find Western customers, a sign that the Chinese find their cuisine here authentic.
The menu is truly vast, but not complex: orders are made via tablet and each dish has an Italian translation complete with a photograph.
There are many broths and my friends and I have chosen the pot with two types, one very spicy (be careful you are not used to it!) and one tasty but not spicy with various aromas, Chinese mushrooms and jujubes. Along with raw food, I recommend ordering Chinese specialties to drink such as the timeless soy milk (a salvation, as well as an excellent accompaniment if you choose the spicy broth), plum tea or coconut milk served directly into its walnut: when you have finished it, ask the staff to split the walnut in two, it will be returned to you with a spoon in order to eat the pulp.
Among the raw specialties to be cooked directly at the table we ordered a mix of fresh vegetables (pak choi, Chinese cabbage, carrots and cauliflower), an exaggerated mix of mushrooms, lotus root, various types of tofu (I recommend yuba, noodle shape), beef and pork belly (served in very thin strips, it only takes a few seconds to cook them) and the shrimp tartare that you will throw into the boiling broth with the help of a teaspoon, to form small delicious balls. To all this we then added some quail eggs and, to eat separately, some really delicious fried pork bites.
While the various ingredients cook to form a delicious soup we have dedicated ourselves to the dips: in the restaurant you will find a corner with numerous sauces and spices to combine as you like in your bowl, in order to season the foods cooked in the broth. I specifically combined sesame sauce, beef sauce, chopped peanuts, yellow soy sauce, coriander and spicy Sichuan pepper oil.
Once you have finished all the ingredients, do not forget to have fresh noodles brought to you to cook in the remaining broth, now very rich in taste. The noodles, once cooked, pour them without broth into the bowl with your leftover sauce: you will be amazed by the goodness of the flavors combined all together!
At the end of the dinner, once the table is cleared, you will be honored with fresh fruit such as slices of watermelon or yellow melon.
Ba Hot Pot is simply one of the best hot pots tried in Milan. The ingredients are fresh, excellent, the staff is very kind and the final price really ridiculous. You just have to go there and bring you the nicest friends you have!
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