Hot pot restaurants are especially popular during the winter season when the city cools down and diners are looking for a nice hot meal. For newcomers to this style of eating, ordering at hot pot restaurants can be a little tricky, as finding the best mixture of meats and vegetables is developed through experience. So here are nine reputable hot pot restaurants in downtown Beijing for newcomers to start their hot pot journey.

Similar to fondue cooking, hot pot is a style of cuisine in which diners select meats and vegetables and prepare their own communal meal in a large pot filled with a usually spicy broth. Hop pot restaurants are especially popular for large parties as they create a collective cooking and eating experience.

Haidilao Hot Pot Restaurant: for free treatments

Haidilao has five branches in Beijing, all which have good reputations among diners. Haidilao provides authentic Sichuan hot pot. All dishes are available in both full and half portions. But what makes dining at Haidilao a pleasant experience is its various free services which make queuing for the dishes a pleasure in itself. At Haidilao all diners are entitled to free ice water, fruit salad, melon seeds, nail care and shoe shining, and they may also play chess or cards while they wait. Another shining point is Haidilao's Lalamian (pulled noodles) performance which features a young boy pulling noodles while dancing.

Location 1: No.2 Huayuan Donglu, north to Mudan (peony) Hotel, Haidian
Tel: 010-62033112

Location 2: No.29 Nanmofanglu, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-87798911/87798677

Location 3: 3F, Beiao Mansion, Jia 2 Huixin Dongjie, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-84639300/83273345

Location 4: No.2, Dahuisilu, Haidian
Tel: 010-62133511

Location 5: 1-2F Zhongjian Erju Building, No.42, Guanganmen Nanjie, Xuanwu
Tel: 010-51816880

Ningmeng Yezi (lemon leaves): a celebrity-owned restaurant

Owned by Taiwan pop singer and TV star Wu Qilong, Ningmeng Yezi is a Thai style little eatery featuring hot pot as well as fried dishes. Three kinds of hot pot broths come highly recommended, the curry broth, spicy and sour broth and the legendary Benz hot pot whose pot has three compartments holding three different-flavored broths chosen from an available six. After dinner guests get a free taste of the famous Taiwan dessert Hongdou Bingshan (red pea ice mountain). Ningmeng Yezi also boasts tasteful design.

Location: No.15 Xiaoyunlu, Chaoyang
Tel: 010-64625505

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