Fu Xiao Xian is a relatively new Yunnan fish hotpot restaurant at Bugis specialising in hearty, good-for-you fish cooked in broth that you can use as a hot pot for other ingredients. I went there with 2 friends earlier this year to try it out and that day was particularly perfect for fish hotpot because it was cold and raining. The place is situated alongside Bugis Junction towards Intercontinental Hotel, along the main road facing Bugis+.
Walking in, you'll be greeted by seeing the kitchen prepping the fresh ingredients for the hotpot and steaming pots of them with a triangular bamboo cover that is very typical of this dish.
The restaurant's really comfortable and modern with wood and teal colours and best part is there isn't too strong a smell, even though everyone's having hotpot. Still, I reckon you wouldn't be able to go elsewhere after having dinner here, unless it's home.
Here's the menu (click to zoom in) where there are 6 types of broth for you to choose from, including their Signature Secret Recipe Soup and it is paired with Qingjiang fish. Since I had a newfound intolerance for spicy/mala oil, I had to choose the plain but nourishing soup. They will give you a tablet to order from. The myriad of side dishes, even though not as varied as normal hotpot places, are more than enough for you to add on to the hot pot, or have it on the side. They also have Set Menu for 1, which is great for solo diners.
I saw some other flavours' hotpot being prepared at the counter and they looked so good and fresh!
Here's ours, served in the bamboo hat. It's so cute, haha.
First the server will let us try drinking the soup in its original form, because they believe in "first drink soup, then eat fish". The good thing is the soup was delicately flavoured with the herbs and not overly salty nor fatty so you could literally keep drinking the soup.
We then added stuff that we liked into the pot after enjoying the fish meat, which was super tender and gelatinous BUT had quite a lot of bones. TBH I did not expect that much bones, but the good thing is I could eat other ingredients after I got the easy-level fish meat from the pot while my friends tackle the head and the other tricky parts. The soup was so addictive, kid you not.
We also enjoyed some side dishes such as this Mala Chicken dish which was so fragrant and tasty, providing a numbing kick on the side. Oh and the dishes were delivered to us via a robot.
Also a couple of the chuan-shao, or pork skewers, which again is very typical Chinese cuisine with the cumin and spices. It was really enjoyable with the main hotpot to have some of these cooked food for a different texture and flavour.
Lastly we ended with some dessert with the Yunnan Rose Flower Pastry, which has rose flower filling inside the pastry casing. It was my first time tasting it and was pleasantly surprised at how delicate the rose flavour was and how well it worked inside the pastry!
Overall I would say it was a great experience trying a different style of hotpot, with such nourishing ingredients and fish instead of the usual meaty versions. I'll highly recommend for anyone looking for a communal dining experience different from the usual unhealthier versions of hotpot to try out Fu Xiao Xian for an authentic, hearty and delicious experience.
Fu Xiao Xian
200 Victoria St, #01-88/89 Bugis Junction, Singapore 188021
Daily 10am to 10pm
Reservations on Quandoo
Post a Comment