http://www.soshiok.com/articles/13500
JPOT's better broth, better meats
Tue Jul 21 2009
Wong Ah Yoke
The Sunday Times
Ng Saik Hai of Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh fame is chairman of Jumbo seafood group.
July 19, 2009
Eats
Some people may think that preparing a hotpot does not require cooking skills. After all, they reason, the diner does his own cooking at the table.
But it is not that simple. While the food is served uncooked, the stock is not. And it is not true that one needs just a weak chicken stock to start with as the ingredients will flavour it as they cook.
A truly good hotpot starts with a good stock because it is the stock that should add flavour to the food, not the other way around. And a good stock is exactly what you get at Jpot, a two-week-old restaurant opened by the Jumbo Group in VivoCity.
In fact, it offers a choice of seven soup bases, including local flavours such as laksa and bak kut teh. And you can order them in big pots for sharing or as individual pots, which is a great concept in these hygieneconscious times.
I've tried the bak kut teh ($3.80 for individual), laksa ($3.80) and porridge ($2.80), but my favourite is the superior broth ($2.80).
The bak kut teh is too peppery for me but it is good value as it comes with a big, meaty piece of pork rib. The laksa gets too salty after a bit of cooking, and vegetables do not go with it. The porridge tastes good, but it is a watery version as the rice grains have been sieved out to prevent them from burning.
Premium meats like Wagyu beef and Kurobuta pork as well as fresh seafood and yong tau hu are among the hotpot choices.
The superior broth, however, is a classic stock that has been brewed with pork bones and chicken, and tastes good from beginning to end. It also goes well with practically everything you put in it, especially seafood.
And the seafood here is good, as one would expect since Jumbo is primarily a seafood chain. If budget is of no concern, get the live seafood such as geoduck clam (seasonal price) and star garoupa ($7.80 for 100g), which taste wonderful when poached in stock.
The modern Singapore-style hotpot is meant to enjoy in aircon comfort and comfortable surroundings.
The live prawns ($8) are excellent too and very good value. They are much sweeter and the flesh more succulent than those kept on ice. Just make sure you do not overcook them.
You get good quality in other items too, such as the hand-made Jumbo pork ball ($2.80) which is served as a platter of minced meat that you scoop into the pot to form balls.
The hand-made fish noodle ($3.50) is another unique item. It comes as fish paste in what looks like a transparent icing bag. Squeezing the bag forces the paste out in the shape of long tubes that look like noodles.
At this counter, help yourself to your favourite sauces or blend them yourself. How about some fragrant sesame sauce?
Other items you should order are the hand-made prawn balls ($4.80) and dried fish maw ($10), which are top quality.
The yong tau foo (60 cents a piece) is stuffed with freshly made fish paste that tastes much better than the factory-made variety. And they are not overpriced either, considering that many food courts charge 50 cents a piece these days.
But ultimately, you should just order what you think would go well with your choice of stock, as well as what you like to eat.
When I was last there for dinner, I overheard a diner at the next table complaining to the waitress that the seafood was overpowered by the laksa stock. She should have ordered something else such as yong tau foo or cooked her seafood in her companion's superior stock.
There is one other important component of a good hotpot, and that is the dip. Jpot offers a buffet selection of condiments ranging from sesame sauce to satay sauce, soya sauce, chilli oil and chilli sauce as well as minced garlic, fried garlic, sesame seeds, spring onions, Chinese parsley and leeks.
You mix what you like according to taste. The fried garlic is a killer.
When the restaurant opened, I felt some items were overpriced. But the management reduced prices by about 20 per cent last week.
So while it is still not dirt cheap, I would say that you will not find such good hotpot anywhere else in Singapore for the same price.
MUST TRY
Hand-made Jumbo pork ball ($2.80)
You shape the balls yourself according to how big you want them. They go well with porridge and superior stock.
JPOT
1 Harbourfront Walk, 01-53 VivoCity
Tel: 6273 3536
Open: 11am to 3pm, 5 to 11pm
Food: 4 stars out of 5
Service: 3.5 stars
Ambience: 3.5 stars
Price: Budget from $25 per person, more if you order live seafood
Patronised by celebrities and world leaders: Mr Ng Saik Hai likes to keep a low profile.
SoShiok.com Editor comments:
A modern Singapore-style hotpot - what a welcome move. It's definitely much better to enjoy a hotpot with premium meats and seafood in an aircon restaurant.
With choice meats like nicely marbled Wagyu and Kurobuta pork available, hotpots will never be the same again. It's high time such meats were enjoyed in a civilised hotpot with great stocks in civilised surroundings.
It's a shame many PRC-style hotpots use inferior ingredients - you can find them in Beach Road, Chinatown and Geylang. But you might change your mind when you step into the kitchen.
JPOT's entry will set high benchmarks for those in the market wanting to follow their style.
Those who like Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh will lap up the JPOT's Bak Kut Teh broth. It wasn't as peppery as we had expected.
If you cook Kurobuta pork slices and minced Kurobuta in the robust broth, it'd definitely make the classiest Bak Kut Teh ever.
Bak Kut Teh fans would be spoilt too.
Well-known internationally for Singapore Chilli Crab, the Jumbo seafood group must be congratulated for opening three restaurants with different concepts and products around the same time recently - Cantonese claypot rice, Hakata ramen and hotpot.
All hearty and comfort cuisines. That's what we need, whether times are good or bad.
JPOT's better broth, better meats
Tue Jul 21 2009
Wong Ah Yoke
The Sunday Times
Ng Saik Hai of Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh fame is chairman of Jumbo seafood group.
July 19, 2009
Eats
Some people may think that preparing a hotpot does not require cooking skills. After all, they reason, the diner does his own cooking at the table.
But it is not that simple. While the food is served uncooked, the stock is not. And it is not true that one needs just a weak chicken stock to start with as the ingredients will flavour it as they cook.
A truly good hotpot starts with a good stock because it is the stock that should add flavour to the food, not the other way around. And a good stock is exactly what you get at Jpot, a two-week-old restaurant opened by the Jumbo Group in VivoCity.
In fact, it offers a choice of seven soup bases, including local flavours such as laksa and bak kut teh. And you can order them in big pots for sharing or as individual pots, which is a great concept in these hygieneconscious times.
I've tried the bak kut teh ($3.80 for individual), laksa ($3.80) and porridge ($2.80), but my favourite is the superior broth ($2.80).
The bak kut teh is too peppery for me but it is good value as it comes with a big, meaty piece of pork rib. The laksa gets too salty after a bit of cooking, and vegetables do not go with it. The porridge tastes good, but it is a watery version as the rice grains have been sieved out to prevent them from burning.
Premium meats like Wagyu beef and Kurobuta pork as well as fresh seafood and yong tau hu are among the hotpot choices.
The superior broth, however, is a classic stock that has been brewed with pork bones and chicken, and tastes good from beginning to end. It also goes well with practically everything you put in it, especially seafood.
And the seafood here is good, as one would expect since Jumbo is primarily a seafood chain. If budget is of no concern, get the live seafood such as geoduck clam (seasonal price) and star garoupa ($7.80 for 100g), which taste wonderful when poached in stock.
The modern Singapore-style hotpot is meant to enjoy in aircon comfort and comfortable surroundings.
The live prawns ($8) are excellent too and very good value. They are much sweeter and the flesh more succulent than those kept on ice. Just make sure you do not overcook them.
You get good quality in other items too, such as the hand-made Jumbo pork ball ($2.80) which is served as a platter of minced meat that you scoop into the pot to form balls.
The hand-made fish noodle ($3.50) is another unique item. It comes as fish paste in what looks like a transparent icing bag. Squeezing the bag forces the paste out in the shape of long tubes that look like noodles.
At this counter, help yourself to your favourite sauces or blend them yourself. How about some fragrant sesame sauce?
Other items you should order are the hand-made prawn balls ($4.80) and dried fish maw ($10), which are top quality.
The yong tau foo (60 cents a piece) is stuffed with freshly made fish paste that tastes much better than the factory-made variety. And they are not overpriced either, considering that many food courts charge 50 cents a piece these days.
But ultimately, you should just order what you think would go well with your choice of stock, as well as what you like to eat.
When I was last there for dinner, I overheard a diner at the next table complaining to the waitress that the seafood was overpowered by the laksa stock. She should have ordered something else such as yong tau foo or cooked her seafood in her companion's superior stock.
There is one other important component of a good hotpot, and that is the dip. Jpot offers a buffet selection of condiments ranging from sesame sauce to satay sauce, soya sauce, chilli oil and chilli sauce as well as minced garlic, fried garlic, sesame seeds, spring onions, Chinese parsley and leeks.
You mix what you like according to taste. The fried garlic is a killer.
When the restaurant opened, I felt some items were overpriced. But the management reduced prices by about 20 per cent last week.
So while it is still not dirt cheap, I would say that you will not find such good hotpot anywhere else in Singapore for the same price.
MUST TRY
Hand-made Jumbo pork ball ($2.80)
You shape the balls yourself according to how big you want them. They go well with porridge and superior stock.
JPOT
1 Harbourfront Walk, 01-53 VivoCity
Tel: 6273 3536
Open: 11am to 3pm, 5 to 11pm
Food: 4 stars out of 5
Service: 3.5 stars
Ambience: 3.5 stars
Price: Budget from $25 per person, more if you order live seafood
Patronised by celebrities and world leaders: Mr Ng Saik Hai likes to keep a low profile.
SoShiok.com Editor comments:
A modern Singapore-style hotpot - what a welcome move. It's definitely much better to enjoy a hotpot with premium meats and seafood in an aircon restaurant.
With choice meats like nicely marbled Wagyu and Kurobuta pork available, hotpots will never be the same again. It's high time such meats were enjoyed in a civilised hotpot with great stocks in civilised surroundings.
It's a shame many PRC-style hotpots use inferior ingredients - you can find them in Beach Road, Chinatown and Geylang. But you might change your mind when you step into the kitchen.
JPOT's entry will set high benchmarks for those in the market wanting to follow their style.
Those who like Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh will lap up the JPOT's Bak Kut Teh broth. It wasn't as peppery as we had expected.
If you cook Kurobuta pork slices and minced Kurobuta in the robust broth, it'd definitely make the classiest Bak Kut Teh ever.
Bak Kut Teh fans would be spoilt too.
Well-known internationally for Singapore Chilli Crab, the Jumbo seafood group must be congratulated for opening three restaurants with different concepts and products around the same time recently - Cantonese claypot rice, Hakata ramen and hotpot.
All hearty and comfort cuisines. That's what we need, whether times are good or bad.
