Latest opening: Hot May
What: A new contemporary northern Chinese hot pot restaurant situated in an elegant three-storey town house in Knightsbridge. The restaurant has space for 38 covers on the ground floor, 18 covers on the first floor and has a second floor ‘masterclass room’ that seats 15 diners.
Who: Joseph Nie, who is described as an entrepreneur and regional Chinese food fanatic, is behind the project. Nie hails from a restaurant background with his parents running a restaurant group and says he spent years eating his way around China, sampling every variety of regional hot pot available. Nie has developed the menu and has trained the kitchen’s all-European brigade.
The food: Hot pot, unsurprisingly, is the order of the day, with each diner given their own dedicated burner to keep the broth at the right temperature. Diners can choose from clear chicken, vegetable and oxtail broths and dipping sauces Hot May master sauce, beef and seafood, before cooking ingredients such as wagyu beef, ribeye and striploin as well as sliced king fish and seabass and fishcakes made of crab, squid and prawn. Other options include abalone, Scottish langoustine, Pacific clam, scallop, and sea cucumber and wagyu beef pancakes with cabbage and red onion. Each hot pot meal is finished with brightly coloured noodles, prepared by the kitchen’s Italian chef.
The vibe: Nie’s wife YuQian has helped oversee the restaurant’s bright interiors that feature bespoke printed wallpaper and illuminated green glass panels. The ground floor is a darker space that hasa more moody feel whereas upstairs the lighter coloured banquette seating and wall art create a more airy environment.
And another thing: While hot pot is the restaurant’s hero dish, it’s not the most memorable. This accolade goes to its serving of geoduck, the world’s largest Canadian west coast clam, which isbrought to the table live.
30 Beauchamp Place, London
www.hotmay.co.uk
