Mei Ren Yu Chongqing Hotpot – Mala Paper-Wrapped Fish in a Kopitiam

The mala madness is still raging in Singapore now. I thought my mala craze was long gone until I had Chongqing grilled fish recently and went crazy over it again. For those who have never tried it before, the charcoal grilled fish is served in a spicy mala gravy, covered with dried red chiles, Sichuan peppercorns, and various other spices.

We usually eat Chongqing grilled fish in a restaurant but one of our colleagues brought us to a kopitiam stall to try their paper-wrapped fish. Located in Serangoon Central, Mei Ren Yu Chongqing Hotpot serves Chinese Sichuan dishes including mala xiang guo, hotpot and paper-wrapped fish!

Eating mala paper-wrapped fish in a kopitiam? Without air-con? Are you sure? I wanted to drop the idea but our colleague was persistent… so at 3pm on a sunny day, four of us went for it. Not as bad as I thought it would be, perhaps the can of Coke helped too.

Here’s how it works : choose the type of meat you would like to have – either fish ($22), seafood ($26) or prawns ($22). After you choose the meat, you choose the hotpot broth. They have four different flavours to choose from, including spicy and fragrant, mala, pickled mustard, and garlic. Lastly, you pick the ingredients that go into the broth. I suggest ordering some ingredients that soak up the broth, such as fried beancurd roll, black fungus, vermicelli, and some ingredients that can remain crispy in the hotpot like lotus root, to give a variation of textures.

We went for the spicy and fragrant paper-wrapped seabass as recommended by the staff. Parchment paper was used to wrap the fish and broth together which allows the spices and flavours to soak into the fish while keeping the meat firm and tender. Once the fish is served to the table, the staff will turn on the fire and wait for the broth to boil before opening the parchment paper to pour the fish into the deep-dish tray.

How is it? We love the broth which took on a more fragrant complexity rather than being overly fiery. That’s a nice build up of sensations on your tongue, but not to the extent that I would sweat buckets because the heat is too overwhelming. We also ordered pork belly, enoki mushrooms and cabbage which soaks=ed up the gravy beautifully. I think ordering a bowl of white rice is a good idea. Do request for more soup if you want!

I have tasted better fish in other places but considering it is only $22, I think it is quite value for money.

I didn’t get a chance to try their hotpot or mala xiang guo. Looks like I need to make another trip there soon.