Spice World sells itself on the novelty it brings to the humble Chinese hot pot – the Wagyu on the barbie doll, the robots circling the dining floor, the melting teddy bear stock base and more. So I was expecting a fun night out, but an average food night out. It turned out to be both a fun night, with lots of oohs and ahhs but also a delicious dinner.
When you first enter Spice World, it seems normal, until one of the robots carrying a tray of mints, almost bumps into you. The robots really set the scene for the rest of the meal and you just know that it will be quite an experience!
The hot pot menu is fairly standard for a hot pot venue. First, you choose the soup – my suggestion is to choose the hot pot in the centre to share with friends with half spicy and half clear soup because no one can ever handle just the spicy even if you choose mild. Second, you choose all the ingredients for the hot pot – my suggestion is a good mix of vegetables, balls (fish balls, lobster balls, etc) and thin slices of meat (beef, lamb, etc). Spice World also has a good selection of cooked items. They also have some complimentary sides and thankfully, fruit. Trust me, the watermelon is a lifesaver once you dig into the spicy hot pot!
For some novelty, choose the beautifully wrapped Barbie doll covered in thin slices of Wagyu beef and the stock base shaped as a teddy bear or Hello Kitty that melts in the broth. It’s a little sad to watch the poor thing disappear into the spicy soup…
If you’ve never been to hot pot before, it’s meant to be a lengthy meal as you slowly cook the ingredients in the soup. By the way, my favourite ingredient is the fish roe ball – it’s basically a chewy fish ball filled with fish roe inside and when you bite in, the fish roe pops out and melts in your mouth. Truly magnificent!
Both the clear soup and the spicy soup were fragrant, and well seasoned. I tried taking a photo of the hot pot as we were cooking but unfortunately you’ll have to squint through the steam in the photo below!
Speaking of steam, the one downside to Spice World is that you end up smelling like hot pot when you leave. There’s a little cold steam machine near the door so that you can deodorise yourself as you exit but to be honest, I didn’t find it particularly effective. It took me a few days to air out my handbag from the Sichuan spices.
Overall, I really enjoyed the Spice World experience. It is a little more expensive than other hot pot places, particularly if you pay for the novelty ingredients, but it’s well worth the experience.
Details: Level 1, 405- 411 Sussex St, Sydney NSW 2000
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