"Hot Pot"

This Friday night, our Chinese flatmates invited us all to join them for a "Hot Pot" party. Essentially (we discovered), a "hot pot" party is pretty much literally what it sounds like: a party involving a pot that is hot. They started off by having us choose between two kinds of base sauces-- one was a spicy pepper oil, one was more of a peanutty, oily hummus base (that's what I picked).

 They had also cut up a whole variety of veggies and meats, several of which I'd never even heard of before, let alone eaten! Everything sitting out was raw.

Sweet potatoes and potatoes were easy enought o recognize, as well as cucumbers and greens (lettuce, cabbage, and spinach). But they also had those great white slices with the holes in them with the lettuce-- apparently they are actually from the root part of the lotus flower! Go figure. They were crisper than a potato but softer than a carrot, and just slightly sweet (delicious).

 Also featured were several kinds of "sea vegetables" or "water veggies." The one in the bowl next to cucumbers was really different-- definitely had a rubbery texture, but not very chewy. It kind of took on the taste of whatever else was in the pot at the time. And what looks like green noodles is actually another sea veggie, I'm guessing just in shredded form-- I really liked that one, and as a plus, apparently it's supposed to be really healthy for your eyes.

No photos of them, but also: 

"fish balls" (*tee-hee*) which were a bit much for me (a little too far on the rubbery side and very fishy), Beancurd, which actually came in dried sticks that they snapped in half (I didn't get to try that one),

and several meats (bacon, lamb, shrimp, and meatballs)

Once the heating plate got the soup broth boiling, they would just grab a few handfuls of different things and throw them all in together. When the "soup" ran out of solid filling, you just toss in some more. So, discovery of the week? Hot Pot is awesome.