The Original Xiao Long Kan Hotpot 小龙坎老火锅 @ Fahrenheit 88

Authentic Chengdu Chinese Fondue Opens Till 2AM

The original Xiao Long Kan 小龙坎老火锅 hotpot is finally opened! The newest kid in Fahrenheit 88 opened recently a few days ago on a soft opening to the public. Xiao Long Kan is located outside of the shopping mall next to the 7-eleven convenient store. Housed in a 4-storey building, the restaurant is opened till 2am daily.

Established in 2014 in Chengdu, China, Xiao Long Kan is popular for their authentic selection of premium meats, fresh vegetables, handmade meatballs, innards and offal together with their tasty broths prepared using a traditional recipe that’s hundreds of years old. The restaurant is constantly so busy that there is always a queue in the many outlets for the hotpot experience.

Barely a week old since its opening, word is already out, and foodies are already queueing to taste the acclaimed Xiao Long Kan. There are currently three dining floors but be prepared to walk as there are no elevator for the building. The main entrance has huge wooden bolt doors opening to an opulent backdrop of a dragon sculpture flanked by two red high chairs.

Xiao Long Kan’s interior take diners back to a traditional Chinese inn where diners enjoy their meal on wooden tables and wooden stools. Set against a backdrop of bricks and tiles with injections of Chinese art murals and modern oriental ornaments as well as modern lighting fixtures, each floor has its own flair of design.

There are section booths available that offers a sense of privacy when dining at the restaurant. The tables also have a side rack that holds the many utensils, dinnerware and sauces as well as all the plates of ingredients for the hotpot.

Hotpot has always been a favorite for Malaysians. Despite our hot and humid weather, enjoying a bubbling pot of broth along with plates of ingredients has never deterred us from tucking into these steamy hotpots. Being the adventurous citizens, we are open to the many flavours of all the hotpot broths and ingredients that has landed on our shores.

Before our hotpot ingredients arrive, we were taught on how to mix the restaurant’s signature sauce. Fresh minced garlic, chopped spring onion, chopped cilantro and minced chili along with a small bottle of oil mixture is provided. Diners are to take as much of those few ingredients and mix them along with some oyster sauce and vinegar provided on the side table. Love the sauce as it is so tasty and aromatic!

Xiao Long Kan is famous for their Traditional Spicy Soup (Mala), Tomato-flavoured Pot and Mushroom Soup. The Traditional Spicy Soup comes in 3-levels of spiciness. One can opt for Single-flavoured Pot (RM48), Double-flavoured Pot (RM48) or 3-flavoured Pot (RM48).

Needless to say, we opted for the 3-flavoured Pot with the Traditional Mala Spicy Soup, Mushroom Soup and Tomato-flavoured Pot! The normal spiciness level of the Traditional Spicy Soup is not overly spicy in terms of heat. It is a good level for novices to try the spicy and tongue-numbing Mala heat that Chengdu is famous for. The aroma of chilies, spices and other aromatics will have your nostril tingling but that’s the thrill of enjoying this Sichuan hotpot.

For those who are not into the mala heat, the Tomato-flavoured Pot and the Mushroom Soup is sufficiently delicious. The Tomato-flavoured soup has enough oomph of tomato fruity and tangy notes that is perfect to whet the appetite while the Mushroom Soup is nicely earthy with comfort notes for diners to enjoy some classic hotpot.

There are a few highlights of hotpot ingredients to select at Xiao Long Kan. The restaurant serves premium meat slices such as this Australia A5 Beef 澳洲 A5 和牛(RM128). Served draped gloriously over ice, the marbling of this beef makes the meat melt-in-your-mouth with just a few light swishes in the hot broths.

For a spicier version, order the XLK Spicy Chili Beef 双辣牛肉 (RM48). The beef is marinated in a spicy moreish sauce that is deliciously addictive.

We also had the Pork Neck 上品猪颈肉 (RM20). One of the most juicy and tender part, the pork neck has a super yummy bouncy texture with its marbling.

The Rose Meat Ball 手工玫瑰丸子 (RM26) is Xiao Long Kan’s hand-crafted meatball. This one has a firm texture and is nicely flavoured. Works well with any of the broth. We can’t quite figure out if were supposed to enjoy the rose petal with the meatball of not…

The Shrimp Paste 手工虾滑 (RM38) is sublime! Pure prawn paste made in-house from scratch, the prawn paste has that perfect bouncy texture and has a lovely seafood sweetness that is very enjoyable.

Chengdu hotpot is all about innards and offals. The Chinese never leave any parts of the animal wasted and has also been able to find a way to make them somehow taste good. We had Sliced Kidney 手工猪腰片 (RM16), Pig Intestines 肥肠 (RM12), Duck Intestine 冰球鸭肠 (RM28) and Pork Blood 清肺猪血 (RM10).

It was a first for me to try the Duck Intestine 冰球鸭肠. Served in a carved glass bowl to keep it chilled, I must say that I enjoyed it. It has a wonderful crunchy texture though there is not much flavour to it. Simply dipped the intestine into the dipping sauce and suddenly it comes deliciously yummy with a good bite. The Pig Intestines 肥肠 is one of my all-time-favorite offal in hotpot. It must be clean right and braised till tender as it takes a long cooking time. The version here is excellent.

The Sliced Kidney 手工猪腰片 is sliced differently from the norm and rendered a smooth and lightly crunch bite that is also very enjoyable. The is Pork Blood 清肺猪血 is decent but then again its just not my personal favorite. I wanted to try the Supreme Thousand-layered Beef Omasum as it is another signature ingredient but it was not available that day.

Seafood lovers can savor a list of seafood such as White Prawns 深海明虾 (6 只 - RM52) and Bluefin Leatherjacket 深海小耗鱼 (RM22) along with other premium ingredients such as Australian Abalone, Australia Sliced Abalone, Japanese Scallop, Clam and more. Both prawns and fish were very fresh and sweet.

Besides all the meat and seafood, we also tucked into the various classic hotpot ingredients such as Luncheon Meat 午餐肉 (RM17), Quail Eggs 鹌鹑蛋 (RM12), Shitake Mushroom 香菇 (RM8), Enoki Mushroom 金针菇 (RM8), Ling Long Roll 玲珑卷 (RM20) and Spinach 菠菜 (RM8).

Besides the hotpot, Xiao Long Kan also has a small list of snacks. We tried the Brown Sugar 红糖糍粑 (RM13) and Fried Crispy Meat 现炸酥肉 (RM16). While the Fried Crispy Meat was tasty, it was the Brown Sugar one that was unusual and scrumptious. Its crispy and has a mochi-like chewy texture that is very delicious with the drizzle of brown sugar sauce.

As we were about to leave the restaurant, the service team told us that Xiao Long Kan has a Scent Machine to mist the diners after a hotpot meal to get rid of any aroma. A super cute machine that many of us couldn’t resist trying… and true enough, the mist did make us all smell nicer and fresh!

Xiao Long Kan is good for family, friends and even business dining as the restaurant offers a variety of hotpot with quality ingredients to cater to diners of all ages. Flavours of the broth are authentic while the ingredients are quality. Dining at Xiao Long Kan does come with a heavy price tag but you pay for the quality of the food plus the dining ambiance. Brownie points for the lovely ambiance that certainly takes one back to Chinese yesteryear.

Since the restaurant is still new, it will certainly take some time for the operation team to iron out the operation flow. If you are queuing for the restaurant, do take into consideration this point and give the team behind Xiao Long Kan a chance to cope with the enthusiastic diners who are all eager to try this hotpot.

XIAO LONG KAN 小龙坎老火锅

Lot 03, Block D, 179 Fahrenheit88,

Jalan Bukit Bintang,

55100 Kuala Lumpur

Tel: 010-220 9618

Facebook: www.facebook.com/XiaoLongKanMY

Instagram: www.instagram.com/XiaoLongKanMY