One of the best food experiences while in Shanghai: Restaurant Elixir Health Pot (5. June 2017)
The restaurant was located close to the hotel we resided in and we had passed by a couple of times before we decided to dine here the last evening of our stay in China. Booking a table turned out to be a bit trickier than expected – notwithstanding the payment process. But more about that later.
Given that one of our group was Vegetarian we split the pot in a “meat part: Healthy of Creamy Tofu Pot and Wulao Spicy Aromatic Pot” (98 RMB) and added a “vegetarian part: House Special Twin Pot” (+30 RMB). At first I was wondering how this concept would work given the broth was cold. Shortly after, the waitress lit the fire which was beneath the pot – and it didn’t take long until the broth was boiling. And the good thing was that the dish was ready rather quickly – within a few minutes after having placed our order, we received the food.
The concept is rather simple and reminded me a bit of Fondue Chinoise – you get some meat or other things like vegetable which you then put in the bowl. But not like with fondue chinoise on a stick but you just put everything in and wait until it is boiled and you take it out to eat it in your plate. We had a good selection of various meats like “selected fresh beef rolls” (59 RMB) and “diced beef” (79 RMB). Luckily, they show pictures on their menus as else I would have been completely lost what to order as nobody spoke English.
Next was the “chuck rib meat” (79 RMB) …
… followed by the “assorted meatball plate, 10 Pieces” and …
… the “assorted fresh dumplings” (29 RMB). Frankly, I loved the concept – as you can keep eating as long as you want and have time. As we had to catch a plane, we didn’t spend that much time there but still 1.5 hours.
You can spice up your dishes with the herbs and sauces which you can find close to the entrance – and you definitely should do so as it adds a little extra to some of the things you throw into your pot. With regards to price, it is absolutely okay which is also true for the beverages (i.e. a can of “Seven Up” accounts for 8 RM; a jar of “Iced Green Tea (Health Sugarless)” for 39 RMB).
While they were definitely solution oriented, it proofed a bit difficult to pay. Apparently, they only accept Chinese credit cards and no European AMEX, no European VISA, no European MasterCard, and no European Maestro card. That was rather unfortunate as a) it wasn’t really easy to communicate and we would have been totally lost if it wasn’t for Google Translate and b) because we intended to not bring any cash along given we were about to leave the country. Well, after some back and forth and losing a solid 20 minutes, they finally managed to bring us to the ATM where we could withdraw money. So, while the food experience itself is absolutely great, the finale of the evening wasn’t that great. I was quite surprised they wouldn’t accept foreign credit cards given they’re located in a quite touristic area. Still, worth visiting! Just bring cash!
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Contact Details:
Restaurant Elixir Health Pot
No.2(A) Hengshan Road
Xuhui District
200031 Shanghai (CN)
Tel.: +86 21 54 56 14 89