Braised fish (38 yuan) is its signature dish. When it was served, the dish was still bubbling. A waiter used a colander spoon to pick out all the red chilli peppers. It was then that I found the dish did not quite fit its Chinese name, shui zhu yu, or water-boiled fish. There was no water but scalding hot oil in the pot. Each piece of fish was sliced very thinly and had few fish bones. My first bite showed that shui zhu yu does not always have to be greasy. Hot Fish does an excellent job of emphasizing the spicy part of the dish.

The waitress helped me order another three staple Chongqing dishes: crispy duck (22 yuan), mapo doufu (10 yuan) and soup with pickled vegetables and vermicelli and fish head (12 yuan). Usually I¡¯m very carefl when ordering dishes with duck meat because if it is not done right, it smells awful. But the crisp duck here was superb. The browned pieces were just crispy enough to accentuate the mouthwatering colors and smells.

If the braised fish was a good start, then the fresh soup was a great conclusion. The chef must have waited quite a while for the soup to turn milky white. The Chongqing pickles added a slightly spicy flavor to the hot soup, which helps one sweat it out, especially on a summer day.

Hot Fish (Laitai branch)

Address: Super Bar Street, Ladies¡¯ Street, Chaoyang Open: 11am-4am
Tel: 010-84545147/84515426

Other branches:
Address 1: South of Chongqing Hotel, Xibahe, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-64204776
Address 2: 1/F, Bldg B, Yuanfang Hotel, Xibahe, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-6422 2329
Address 3: 1/F, Bldg 424, Wangjing Xiyuan 4th Area, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-64707221
Address 4: Opposite the Jinyuan Shopping Mall, Haidian
Tel: 010-51980586
Address 5: 6/F, E-Zhongxin Digital City, Zhongguancun, Haidian
Tel: 010-62691090
Address 6: 7 Xinxi Lu, Shangdi, Haidian
Tel: 010-62971389

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