Being a steamboat-obsessed community, Penangites welcome all sorts of steamboat or hotpots; evidently seen from the forever-increasing steamboat restaurants in town. Red Stone Hotpot is one of the new members that pays homage to the tongue-numbing Sze Chuan hotpot but their concept of serving Hotpot is unusual and distinctive. Unlike its competitors, Red Stove does not serve the soup/ food as it is; instead, the Chef cooks in front of you... from scratch. Dining here is like being at a cook show. The Chef prepares the ingredients and starts the cooking process in front of the diners... from cooking until seasoning, diners get to witness the entire process. Commendable is the use of effective tools to shield the oil from spilling over to diners. The flavors are good but not mind-blowingly amazing but it is definitely a fun place to visit for the novelty experience.
For those looking for something a little more luxurious, do try the abalone big bao. Filled with a delicious savory filling of meat, chicken, mushroom, egg, and a whole abalone, the bao is large enough to feed three. Priced at RM29.90, we do not mind having this little treat every once in a while.
The Unagi Dumplings were some of the more creative ones. As odd as the combination may seem, it actually works. The sweetness and unique flavor of the Unagi paired very well with the fresh, plumpy Siew Mai