JPOT Hotpot Review: Chilli Crab Steamboat With A Whole Crab At $52++ For Two

In celebration of National Day, chilli crab has been turned into a soup base for the first time ever. Instead of just remaining a soup for the whole meal though, you will get a chance to apply your own finishing touches, and turn the soup into a legit, JUMBO-certified chilli crab dish.

Chilli crab steamboat at JPOT We got the Chilli Crab Set ($52++) , which is good for two people. The set includes a platter of food, consisting of a live crab weighing 300g to 350g, prawns, fish and prawn balls, and two pots of chilli crab soup bases, among other components. When the chilli crab soup first arrived, I thought it was a tomato-flavoured broth instead.

While the soup might look angrily red with floating chilli oil, the spicy heat was so minor, it was almost undetectable even though I drank it to the end. There were also little bits of brown in the soup, which I originally thought were fried garlic, but turned out to be peanuts.

You’re supposed to cook the crab immediately for exactly three minutes, with the help of a hourglass timer that’s provided. This would allow the crab to cook fully and savour the soup, before the other elements are added. Putting in the crab so early means it might overcook, so pick it out as soon as you can!

Lightly seasoned with salt, the fish skin is good enough on its own – but pop it into the soup for about five minutes, and some magic happens. It should start to thicken as the starch cooks, before the egg slides in.

Give it a minute to cook before stirring, and the soup turns into a sauce. The concept might seem improbable, but there was something magical that turned the soup into a chilli crab sauce. The sauce tasted much saltier than when it was a soup, and the sourness was toned down somewhat with the egg.

JPOT’s scientists have somehow managed to pull off JUMBO’s chilli crab into a hot pot. Ambience at JPOT’s VivoCity Outlet JPOT’s outlet at VivoCity is large, with enough space to traverse between tables without the risk of knocking into a random hot pot.

The verdict I never anticipated a chilli crab hot pot to exist, much less work. The base worked well as both a soup and a chilli crab sauce, while somehow managing to be different enough in its two states.

A single crab weighing 300g to 350g might not be enough for two people to share, so diners might have to order another to get the true chilli crab shiok-ness . The chilli crab hot pot will only become a permanent item on their menu if the response is good, so jio your friends to try it if you enjoyed yours!