Hot pot is hot stop
New restaurant brings traditional style of Chinese dining to Yellowknife
Beth Brown
Northern News Services
Friday, December 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Chinese hot pots have come to town. YK Hotpot opened last week on 49 Street above The Kilt and Castle.
Anna Chow is a manager at YK Hotpot, a new Chinese restaurant in town. - Beth Brown/NNSL photo |
"We want to bring eastern culture west, into Yellowknife," restaurant supervisor Cissy Qiao said.
The traditional do-it-yourself dish is as much about the experience as it is about dinner.
"To do a hot-pot you need to take an hour-and-a-half," she said.
Diners start with their own individual hot pot with a small burner below and a choice of two broths (spicy and original). That's when the build-a-soup begins.
Added items are chosen from a tablet menu, via photos of raw lamb, beef or prawns, and veggies like Chinese cabbage, bok choy and sweet potato. Each piece is priced individually.
To fit the food stop's bring-the-east-west theme, whitefish is even an option.
"We wanted to do something special to Yellowknife," said Qiao.
For added garnish, the soups can be personalized at a sauce buffet, with selections like peanut butter, sesame and oyster. Sides include fried rice or vermicelli and rice dumplings for dessert. Qiao said the soups are popular in China because they are warm and comforting.
"For a place like Yellowknife it's very welcome," she said.
But the pots aren't just hot, they're beautiful.
The ornate enamel holders look a little like a potpourri pot, and they are coloured in cerulean and marigold, with dragon and floral inlays. The artful pots and wall decor of traditional paper cutting techniques may bring what Qiao calls the eastern style to the territory, but bringing the food is a little more complicated.
"It's so hard to find suppliers who can do Chinese food. They're either really expensive or they can't find what we need."
She said at this point a lot of what they serve needs come all the way from Vancouver.
"But if you want to open you have to find solutions," she said.
Since hot pots aren't speedy, a separate menu is served at lunch. Options switch up every weekday, with classics like honey garlic chicken, sweet and sour pork and hot and sour soup.
YK Hotpot opened with a few trial runs, by inviting staffers from downtown businesses and having them fill out feedback forms.
