Restoran Lin Yuan Steamboat Kitchen

Coming back from Raya holidays, we find quite a number of shops were still closed from operation. It is during this time that it came to my mind, we had earlier wanted to visit this shop, but never really got to go. Moreover, it was quite a chilly evening after a heavy rain. Ah... a hot steamy steamboat will help to warm us up.
Steamboat or hot pot were said to originate from Mongolia, while some said it was widely spread during the Tang Dynasty of China. Whatever you call it, it is simply dipping raw food into a pot of boiling soup and consume when the food is cooked. Nowadays, there are extremely wide varieties of steamboat. We have soup base ranging from clear soup, tom yum (thai spicy soup), ma la (szechuan numbing hot soup), curry, satay sauce (peanut sauce), porridge, to pumpkin broth. And the list goes on and on.. Some may say unhygienic (coz everyone dip their chopsticks into the same pot), some say it is healthy or unhealthy. Steamboat remained a popular choice as you can see from the photo below.
Location : Jalan Peel, between Pudu and Cheras, Kuala Lumpur
Rating : Good service, Above average food

Review
In Malaysia, many feels that dipping sauce is the most important factor when considering a steamboat success. I suppose this shop didn't let its patrons down. The sauce is fragrant with belacan (shrimp paste), chilli padi and sourish lime. We requested for a double pot, so that we could try out both the clear soup and the tom yum. The clear soup was normal. The tom yum is from the maggi cube, so there is really nothing much to shout about here.The raw provisions were fresh. They were quite standard with fresh prawns, fish paste, fish wanton, sui kow (pork dumpling), fishballs, foo chok (beancurd skins), tofu and veges.Probably what's worth mentioning is that the vege portion is slightly more. There are also 2 types of vege instead of the standard 1 type. the tofu is also very soft and smooth.One of the main attraction to us is the availability of thinly cut fresh meats. We took sliced beef. As you can see it is very thinly sliced, about 1mm width. This is best eaten by dipping it quickly into the hot pot and pick it out straight after the colour has changed. Mixed it with the chili sauce and pop the whole thing in. Voila! Love the freshness of meat and aroma of soup+sauce.

Right.. This is not the way to eat steamboat (throwing everything into the pot at 1 go). But we were just hungry animals, can't wait for the food to cook 1 by 1. But seriously, the best way to eat steamboat is to dip whatever you want to eat, one after another. The purpose is to enjoy the food when it is just cooked and still piping hot. That's why hungry people can't make a good taster.Lastly, the noodles and eggs are to fill in any remaining space in your stomach. Like I said before, noodles should come last so that it won't spoil the soup or your appetite. And if you like half cooked eggs, let me teach you how to cook it using hot pot. (1) lower the heat to simmering level, (2) crack open the egg and pour the content into the pot without breaking the yolk, (3) wait for 1-2 minutes without stirring the egg, & (4) use the ladle provided to scoop out the egg slowly. The egg white will be cooked and the yolk partly cooked so be careful not to spill it. Just add a pinch of pepper and a drop of soy sauce to enjoy the soup flavoured egg. You'll love it!