– Invited Tasting –
I’m a typical Singaporean who love having sumptuous hotpots with my family and friends from time to time. When I was recently invited to LongQing 隆庆 Specialty Hotpot along Hong Kong Street, I just couldn’t say no! Unlike many other hotpot restaurants, 8-month old LongQing prides itself in its no-MSG soup bases that are cooked for hours on end daily using ingredients like herbs, meat and bones. Apart from the extensive ala carte menu, hotpot set menus for 2 pax ($55 – $65), and 6 pax ($180) are available as well.
Even though LongQing is barely a year old, business was evidently brisk after 7pm which make reservations highly recommended. The restaurant exudes a warm, homely atmosphere and owner James Chiew explained that the murals are paintings of his wife, who hails from Chong Qing, and his then 3-month old son.
We had some appetisers to munch on while waiting for the soup bases to be served. The Chilled Spicy Black Fungus ($6.80) was spicy and tangy, making it a great appetite-whetter, plus the fungus crunched with every bite!
The Spicy Garlic Pork Belly ($10) was a pure delight especially when dipped into the accompanying sauce. The thinly sliced pork belly was tender with just the right amount of fat.
I’m a huge fan of braised pig ears since I was a little girl and I love having them with plain porridge. Very happy to know that LongQing serves Braised Pig Ear with Mashed Cucumber ($10) which was well-marinated with spices.
A must-have for hotpot meals, the Crispy Fish Skin ($3.80) can be eaten on its own, dipped in your own concoction of sauces, or better yet, with the delicious soup bases!
Little misschewy really enjoyed eating the crispy fish skin!
At LongQing, four types of soup bases are available, which are priced at $14 for an individual base and $18 for a mix of two bases as seen in the above photo. The Wild Mushroom soup base was really fragrant; a must-try if you are a mushroom lover like me. It is boiled using a variety of mushrooms and herbs, resulting in a natural sweetness from the juices of the mushrooms. James explained that in actuality, ma la soup bases are not supposed to be drunk because it is made using beef lard which is supposedly very oily and unhealthy. He has tweaked his recipe for the Spicy Ma La soup base such that it is not so oily for customers at LongQing to enjoy drinking it. The ma la soup bases that I had tried at other restaurants were just numbingly spicy, while the one at LongQing is addictively flavourful!
For those who prefer something simple can go for the Signature Clear Broth. The taste is actually quite mild, which allows the taste and freshness of the hotpot ingredients to stand out. It was our first time trying Tomato Soup as a hotpot soup base and the experience was a pleasant one. The tomato soup was sweet and very robust. Let’s take a look at the ingredients that we had! All in all, the meat and veggies were all very fresh, and we could really taste the natural sweetness of the ingredients.
Vegetable Platter ($12)
Pork Belly ($11)
Pork Collar ($11)
Pig Liver ($8)
Crispy Beancurd Skin Roll ($6.80)
Mushroom Platter ($12)
Handmade Pork Balls ($12)
Luncheon Meat ($6.80)
Beancurd Skin with Fish Paste ($3.80)
Ended our hotpot meal with some desserts! The Pumpkin Cake ($7.80) was crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside, and tasted mildly sweet. Even though we were feeling quite full from the hotpot, the pumpkin cake seemed to complete the entire meal.
We also enjoyed the Crispy Taro Balls ($7.80) which were first steamed before being fried. This is LongQing’s popular dessert and you need to call and reserve!
Photo credit: LongQing
This Chinese New Year, gather your family and friends for hotpot at LongQing and indulge in their CNY Seafood Platter ($188) which is very value-for-money considering there are premium seafood such as lobster, abalone, sea cucumber, prawn, scallop and fish! These six chosen ingredients symbolise 六六大顺!
Apart from the hearty MSG-free soup bases and premium quality food ingredients, service is attentive and top-notch. Also, misterchewy gave a thumbs up for their Mandopop playlist. Do check out LongQing’s facebook page https://www.facebook.com/LongQing.sg/ for more info!
LongQing 隆庆 Hotpot
18 Hong Kong Street
Singapore 059661
Tel: 65331618
Email: reservation@bigj.sg
Opening Hours:
Tue to Fri
11.30am – 2.30pm (Last order 2pm)
Tue to Sun
5.30pm – 11pm (Last order 10.30pm)