Fine, we admit. We were slightly skeptical at first. Ice hotpot – isn’t that a contradiction in itself? How can we have our usual hot steamy soup when it’s prefixed with ice? Nadai Fujisoba, which claims to be Japan and Singapore’s number one soba restaurant, has taken a step out of their usual soba-making ways to bring us the Mount Fuji Icy Hotpot.
Hotpots aren’t anything new to Singapore. Us Singaporeans delight in the thrill of cooking our own food at the dining table, where we can adjust the temperature knob and cooking controls all while sitting down. While the Hai Di Lao craze hasn’t entirely died down yet, Fujisoba’s Mount Fuji Icy Hotpot adds excitement to the usual hotpot experience.
We were greeted by a mountain of ice. Where’s the fresh premium seafood that we were promised? The restaurant manager explained: the ice is actually frozen chicken and seafood stock, which will soon melt into a rich broth that will cook the seafood that’s hidden underneath. As the ice melts, we see large red shrimps and meaty snow crab legs peeking through.
Other ingredients, like Norwegian salmon and New Zealand mussels, were gradually exposed. It takes approximately 20 minutes for Mount Fuji to entirely dissolve into a simmering hotpot – it’s strangely satisfying to watch the minute ice particles disappearing.
We were there for Fujisoba’s 6-Course Party Hotpot Set ($49.80 per person), which is their special launch for this holiday season. In addition to the Mount Fuji Icy Hotpot, this set had a few quirky soba dishes.
We tried the Deep-Fried Soba Salad, and can confirm that the Deep-Fried Soba was addictively crunchy. Their Soba Sashimi came in a cold platter with your other standard Japanese fixes, such as salmon sashimi and edamame. The platter also had Duck Char Siew that wasn’t half bad, since it provided a savoury kick.
We also tried the Buckwheat Mashed Tempura, which is mashed-up soba that’s caked in a light Tempura batter – this was satisfying for the first few mouthfuls, but quickly became too heavy for us to finish.
The 6-Course Party Hotpot Set will only be available 1 Dec onwards, but you can pre-book to get your holiday eating schedules sorted out. If the 6-Course set is too much of a feast for you, the Mount Fuji Icy Hotpot is now available for dinners on weekdays and all-day on weekends and public holidays, at $28++ per person (minimum of 2pax).
Fujisoba is currently holding a special launch promotion: from 1 to 30 Nov, make a reservation at least 1 day in advance to enjoy 1 Snow Crab Leg per person.
Nadai Fujisoba is located at 100 Tras Street, #03-14, 100AM. Opening Hours: 11am-3pm, 5.30-10pm. Tel: 6443 8827.
Images: NYLON Singapore
Header Image: Nadai Fujisoba
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