Red Inn Hotpot
I had visited Red Inn Hotpot in early 2019 when they opened their first outlet in old town on Jalan Sultan Yussuff and within a year, this entrepreneurial trio comprising Fly Wong (founder cum director), Seng Yung (CEO) and Desmond having gained favour with many diners, had opened their second outlet in Ipoh (they have two other outlets in Bukit Mertajam and Penang), this time inside the Octagon.
Sadly by the time I was ready to write this review, the pandemic had struck and MCO put paid to all established or fledgling food and beverage businesses. Only now following SOPs has the new outlet opened its doors serving their special brand of Hotpot.
Hotpot is the raison d’être to come here. First you choose your soup base. Order your soup singly for RM30, Twin for RM50 or go the whole hog and have the Four Seasons combo choosing four out of their choice of six broths. There is Ma Lat (the Szechuan red pepper) broth which has the distinctive tongue numbing effect to ameliorate the chilli burn; the Signature Sake broth; a fresh tomato soup; the ubiquitous Pork Bone soup; the Green Pepper Soup; and the pièce de résistance, their Fresh Clam Soup (Fresh Lala on the menu). Their pots are able to hold four different soup bases so it’s a great opportunity to order a mixture so your guests can choose to suit their palate. Top-ups are included.
Now the fun begins. There is a choice of 10 sauces for dipping with the main ones of Szechuan, satay, signature and sesame to which can be added spring onions, coriander, garlic, birds eye chillies and lime wedges; all of which are lined up in a help-yourself fashion and replenishments are unlimited.
The handmade options include pork, beef, lamb and shrimp meatballs, large, round and juicy. Particularly yummy are their pork and shrimp meatballs (from RM10-RM18 for half and full portions). We had a mixed platter of the meatballs and they were juicy, well seasoned and their respective cooking times were all listed on the menu. A choice of handmade spinach or tomato noodles (RM5-9 half/full) makes for a very wholesome bowl of noodle soup. Throw in a meatball or two, some vegetables and voilà—your own self-curated bowl of homemade goodness.
In the meat section, the specials here are their Iberico pork slices (RM26-48 half/full) and their Wagyu Beef (marbling 6/7 RM58-98 half/full) while the usual pork belly, lamb loin, chicken breast and (unusual) duck breast is on offer.
Naturally, there is a cornucopia of other goodies like fried snacks while you wait, from fish skin (RM5-12) to pork belly (RM10-18); a selection of fish, a wide range of vegetables, other noodles and other exotic offerings like pig’s kidneys and liver and the list goes on.
I like the idea of hotpot as it is a hygienic meal, the various ingredients are cooked to your degree of doneness and you are assured there are no lingering pathogens on your food. The use of chopsticks and ladles specially for use in the pot is especially essential and we should insist on extra serving utensils. Thankfully at Red Inn Hotpot, these are readily available.
Worth a visit. A quiet relaxing meal and quiet enough for conversation. Quite rare in Ipoh!
Premium Outlet:
Address:
Unit L2-02, Wisma Octagon Ipoh, Jalan Raja Ekram, 30450 Ipoh, Perak.
Business hours:
1pm-10pm daily
Main Outlet:
Address:
124, Jalan Sultan Yusof, 303000 Ipoh, Perak.
Business hours:
6pm–3am daily
For inquiries (both outlets):
012 3130124 (WhatsApp preferred)
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