The Humble Hotpot Comes of Age!

Remember the days of Marina South? Back then, hotpot meant a big communal buffet spread where you boil your stuff, grill your stuff and eat as many prawns as you can. Those days are but fond memories now.

Today, Singapore’s hotpot scene is HOT. We are seriously spoilt for choice. From Sichuan mala hotpot with its tongue-numbing spice to Japanese shabu shabu with its delicate dashi. From Taiwanese-style individual pots to Korean jeongol, Hong Kong styled hotpot and good old Mookata. The options seem endless but Singaporeans still can’t seem to get enough of it.

But if you are looking for the ultimate hotpot experience in Singapore right now, Bon Broth is in a league of its own.

This atas Hotpot concept is the brainchild of Chef André Chiang, the Taiwanese chef who once ran the two-Michelin-starred Restaurant André right here in Singapore. At its peak, Restaurant André was ranked second in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants. He closed it voluntarily in 2018, moved back to Taiwan to open RAW in Taipei, then helmed the celebrated Sichuan Moon at Wynn Palace in Macau. Now he is back in Singapore with something completely different.

Meet your Soup Sommelier

Bon Broth is a personal hotpot concept where the soup is the star, and they will make sure you know it the moment you walk in. You sit at a circular bar with your own individual pot. Before you even order, you are invited to the Broth Bar where a soup sommelier walks you through eight different broths.

Lisa adds:However, you are only allowed to taste two before deciding. I think this is where they need to improve, because it can feel quite stressful having to pick only two. The sommelier was kind enough to let us try more than two when we asked politely.

A better way, I feel, would be for the soup sommelier to ask about your preferences and then suggest as many broths as she deems suitable. That would have made for a better expe...