Hot May, a brand new contemporary yet authentic Northern Chinese Hot Pot restaurant situated in an elegant three-story Knightsbridge town house, is open at 30 Beauchamp Place.
Hot May is the brainchild of young entrepreneur and regional Chinese food fanatic Joseph Nie.
Joseph has single handedly brought together every component of this new restaurant after spending years eating his way around China, sampling every variety of regional hot pot.
The humble Chinese Hot Pot may date back 2,000 years to a time when ancient Chinese communities stayed put: fishermen by the coast, arable farmers in the fields and livestock farmers in the grasslands.
As a result of this they had a bland, repetitive diet. As these communities expanded, they became more sophisticated, venturing further into unfamiliar territory.
Different villages would eventually come together and unite over a shared love of food and their prized ingredients and this was the beginning of Chinese Hot Pot.
Broths are simmered overnight for six hours.The main a la carte offering begins with a short selection of the Sashimi featuring signature ingredient Geoduck, the world’s largest Canadian West Coast clam.
Brought to the table live, it has a delicate texture and a sweet clean taste. Lobster, Mixed Salmon, Tuna and White Tuna, Rock and Kumamoto Oysters make up the rest.
There\s a range of light, refreshing and delicate salads that include Hot May Cabbage drizzled with fiery chili oil and the only spicy dish, Sesame Cucumber.
For the hot pot, each guest has their own dedicated burner that keeps the broth at exactly the right temperature.
Guests can choose from Clear Chicken, Vegetable or Oxtail broths. Then there’s the very important dipping sauce that will flavour each prime ingredient when it has been poached.
Choose from Hot May Master Sauce, Beef Sauce or Seafood Sauce or just get a selection of all three.
The broth of your choice is then theatrically poured tableside from an antique metal teapot into the broth burner and brought up to the right heat ready for poaching to begin.
The first ingredient, to be cooked in a matter of seconds, is exceptional quality Wagyu Beef, thinly sliced and highly marbled for the finest tenderness and flavour. Choose from diced Scottish Highland full blood, Ribeye M9 or Striploin M8.
For seafood there’s liced king fish and seabass poached for seconds and once again quickly dipped and eaten.
Homemade meatballs are in fact a raw seafood fishcake made of crab, squid and prawn. There is also prime Abalone, Scottish Langoustine, Pacific Clam and scallop, Sea Cucumber, actually a marine animal with leathery skin loved for its unique taste but also for its medical properties.
A fine selection of vegetables and delicate tofu comes next. It is at this point in the meal that the broth can be eaten as it has taken on an abundance of flavours and is magnificently moreish. Finally, it’s time to poach the delicate nests of brightly colored noodles.
For the truly greedy there are Hot May’s Wagyu Beef Pancakes – soft freshly made Chinese pancakes filled with a center of minced Wagyu Beef, cabbage and red onion.
30 Beauchamp Pl, London, SW3 1NJ
020 3637 6666
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.hotmay.co.uk