Yangdaye Meat In Hot Pot 羊大爷涮肉

Set in what seems like an overly themed restaurant, Yangdaye Meat In Hot Pot 羊大爷涮肉 offers a lot more than what meets the eye. I’ve had lamb hot pot in Hong Kong before but this place truly blown me away. I did, however, have my reserves about eating hot pot during the peak of summer (at the time of writing, it was 35C in Beijing) but my friend insisted we make the pilgrimage to Bad Ass Lamb Hot Pot (the official English name of this establishment).

We started off with cooked lamb brain and lamb eye and whilst it wasn’t exactly my cup of tea, I was happy to check it off my culinary bucket list. The eye and brain had little to no taste but the texture was rather interesting. We then proceeded to the main event: our moite-moite hot pot: one filled with Sichuan spice and the other with Yunnan mushrooms. Then came the freshly cut lamb and wow. What a difference it is to have fresh meat rather than that frozen meat you see all the time in other hot pot restaurants (especially in Hong Kong). The difference of experience of fresh meat over frozen is like night and day. The lamb itself tasted so good so I prefer the delicate Yunnan broth over the spicy Sichuan as I wanted to taste the accentuated lamb flavour. There are so many different parts of lamb at Yangdaye these are 4 that are MUST (see below) remember to get the sesame sauce and garlic sauce they go so so so well with the meat.

The round-ish cut with a juicy rim of fat is my absolute favourite, Its succulence, rich flavours, and balanced texture formed an impeccable ensemble, while the delicate layer of fat exalted the essence of the lamb, resulting in a truly enchanting, sumptuous and beautiful experience. Among the others, I particular enjoyed the paper-thin, bone-in slices. Their crisp texture introduced a delightful complexity that harmonised seamlessly with the lamb’s succulence, very very yumz.

Fried beancurd rolls and the thin sliced lamb, I must admit, didn’t quite meet expectations; back in Hong Kong, they excel in crafting those delightful fried beancurd rolls (my favourite is 紫菜響鈴). On the other hand, the intriguing one is the black tripe. My palate does appreciate the textures and nutrient-rich essence that tripe offers, not to mention its role as a probiotic source — quite essential, especially when indulging heartily. However, these slices of tripe were cut too diminutively. Once they went for a dive in the delicious soup, they further diminished in size, I just couldn’t find them in the bubbling pot. It would have certainly enhanced the experience had they been presented in more substantial portions.