Choose your soup bases and then decide between dipping meats like your basic pork belly slice and fish meat ball, and more spenny options like lobster tail and abalone slice, as well as noodles and sides. The menu even tells you how long to cook everything which is handy if you’re a newb. Warm up from the inside with a big hearty bowl of hot pot. Using a century-old recipe, Dragon Hot Pot simmers its broth for over 12 hours to get that rich flavour. Choose your level of spice then customise your meal with more than 100 fresh ingredients. Satisfy your cravings for noodles and spicy soups right up to 2.30am on weekends and 1.30am Monday to Thursday. Kitchen sources all of its ingredients from nearby Cardinia, owned and run by friends of the chefs. Even if you haven’t done your research, it’s immediately clear that there’s a reverence for organic locally sourced ingredients at O.My. Each dish elevates humble produce to new heights, an alchemical feat that looks far outside the box in delivering hot pot an experience you'll remember. You can also go à la carte with a tighter selection of dishes from the tasting menu as well as hotpot ingredients from the train brought straight to your table. Sixty seats are scattered between the conveyor belt, private function rooms and group tables, where you’ll be able to get larger, shared pots. I also went to Italy for the first time this European summer; it was never on my radar. I thought it was a place for lovers or where you go with a partner. I went with friends and tacked on three days on the Amalfi Coast. Due to popular demand, local Korean street food spot Sinjeon modified its menu to become halal-friendly in 2021. Beef and chicken is provided by halal certified suppliers, and separate utensils are used for all pork products. That means you can enjoy oozey cheese tteokbokki, fried chicken, beef bibimbap and K-style corn dogs stress-free. Open from 5 pm Tuesday through to Saturday, this dance space is home to an eclectic collection of mismatched furniture and kitsch tables, plus it rocks an extensive and affordable Thai menu. Don’t leave the venue without trying the Massaman sweet potato curry, the popcorn chicken and the pork and prawn dumplings. They serve world-class street food, most of the menu is $15 –$18, and it’s hidden away in a car park. An absolute favourite is Tum Tang, spicy cucumber salad dish that is packed full of flavour with salted crab, fermented fish sauce and a hard-boiled egg. Delving into more speciality coastal Thai dishes, here you'll find chive dumplings, snail and betel leave curry while more contemporary creations like the Melbourne fried chicken still fly from the pass. The spice level is not to be trifled with here—experiencing the yellow barramundi and lotus stem curry at max chilli heat is not for the faint-hearted. Shanghainese food from eastern China, where dishes are small and designed for sharing. Visit for great drunken chicken and the classic xiao long bao. Innovative Chinese-Australian fusion in a low-lit underground restaurant. It's worth the wait, because stepping foot inside this Thai eatery is remarkably similar to a streetside restaurant in the hustle and bustle of Bangkok. While the ginormous and impressively ornate dragon suspended from the ceiling is one reason to stop in at Panda Hot Pot in Carlton, the signature Sichuan-style spicy soup is why you stay. Choose your base stock, then pick from over 100 fresh ingredients to make your own unique hotpot. With our newly renovated Melbourne CBD store, David’s Hot Pot intends to bring the 80s funk back for all our Hot Pot lovers. From smaller plates designed for you to enjoy more variety to friendly staff looking like they’re from the 80s, David’s Hot Pot aims to cater for an unforgettable experience. A bustling city eatery that's part of the growing Hu-Tong dumpling empire. Ordering a double-serve of xiao long bao via touch screen never gets old here. With 20 locations spread across Asia and Australia, this Hong Kong dumpling giant must be doing something right. A Michelin-starred barbeque pork bun, dusted with sugar and baked to crisp perfection. Working with top-grade produce such as green lip abalone, snow crab and full-blood Wagyu, Crown Casino’s in-house Cantonese restaurant is largely geared towards visiting high rollers. If this is your first time, ask the staff how it works, or go with friends and family who know this format. The food is excellent, the ingredients are fresh and good quality, and the place is pumping. We came for a work dinner and it’s a great way to cook and eat together and have some quality time together. We loved the Bingsu frozen dessert station to finish off, as well as the pancakes and ice cream. You get a mix of lean and fatty cuts, starting with an evenly marbled Angus cube roll, which is cut into pieces over a cast iron pot of glowing hot charcoal. Break up the meat-fest with mixed vegetables and king brown mushrooms, and then it's time for the bulgogi to hit the grill once the charcoal has gotten extra smoky. Choose from small plates of sushi and sashimi, sweet-and-sour pork ribs, scallops pan-seared in garlicky butter, Peking duck, spicy cold noodles and fresh oysters topped with roe. A stone throw’s away from Queen Victoria Market, The Galbi along Victoria Street is a hub for all things sticky, fried, pickled and delicious, and is considered one of the best Korean BBQs in Melbourne. Jacinta Moore is a photographer and stylist based in Melbourne. At Dainty Sichuan’s sister city restaurant, located inside one of Bourke Street’s many arcades, the bizarre is considered ordinary and chilli is truly king. Isan Soul transports you to the streets of Thailand with its authentic Thai food. If you can’t handle the heat, go for the rich and creamy collagen bone broth. When it comes to eating Greek in Melbourne, it doesn’t get more old school than Stalactites Restaurant, which opened in 1978.
hot pot
