Enjoy super fresh cuts of beef in Chaoshan-style hotpot at USJ 19's Chao Xing Fresh Beef Hotpot, and don't forget the beef fried rice and fried beef ‘hor fun'

Malay Mail

4 days ago

SUBANG JAYA, Aug 3 — I get why hotpot is popular. It's an easy way to feed a crowd, the ordering is simple, and with meat, seafood, vegetables and noodles, there's something for everyone.
But I'll admit, I never fully bought into the hype.
The logic of an experience that needs industrial-strength air conditioning just to make it bearable in a subtropical country feels… flawed, at best.
And it's not like the food itself is particularly unique or worth all that trouble.
Enter Chao Xing Fresh Beef Hotpot, which opened in early June at 19 USJ City Mall.
Instead of Chongqing hotpot, the fiery, oil-heavy style with dried chillies and numbing Sichuan peppercorns that has come to define hotpot for most people both here and abroad, they serve Chaoshan beef hotpot.
Where the former relies on a tallow base thick with chillies, spices and fermented bean paste, Chaoshan hotpot uses a clear beef broth, flavoured only lightly with white radish, corn and goji berries.
Cuts are prepared and sliced to order in full view of the diners. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The focus is squarely on fresh, hand-cut beef, with cuts ranging from lean meat to offal like tendon and tripe, all designed to be cooked briefly in the broth.
Despite Malaysia's familiarity with Teochew cuisine from the Chaoshan region, this style of hotpot remains mostly unknown, with only a handful of restaurants offering it in the Klang Valley.
It is therefore not surprising that a Sichuan mala soup base appears on the menu, a shrewd concession to an audience more accustomed to the heat and punch of conventional hotpot styles.
But Chao Xing makes no apologies for the carnal nature of its offerings.
It's all about beef, so we will all watch whole cuts being butchered and sliced to order.
It takes place right in the middle of the dining room, in what looks like the cleanest butcher shop I've ever seen, with no hint of any foul odour.
Behind clear glass, entire sections of beef dangle from hooks, shimmering a brilliant blood-red.
The distinctive 'double-layer' cut is a classic in Chaoshan hotpot. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Orders are only sliced and prepared as they come in, and according to the restaurant, as little as three hours can pass between the cow's last breath and the table. Any fresher and it would still be mooing at dinner.
For the optimal experience, start with the beef bone clear broth (RM20 for a full portion) and go to town on the QR code.
Perusing the selection of fresh cuts can be a touch tricky if you aren't fluent in butcherspeak, but the placemats double as a helpful diagram showing which part of the cow each cut comes from.
Even then, butchery for Chaoshan hotpot is its own thing, so cuts that are usually lean, like flank (RM34), come off clean but sweet with the flavour of fat.
Topside (RM28) and ribeye cap (RM38) are leaner and chewier, with a fuller, meatier bite, while the wagyu cut (RM38), though not Japanese, carries enough intramuscular fat to provide a similar tenderness.
The marbling gives a richness that fans of leaner cuts often miss.
Each cut arrives thinly sliced and glistening with freshness, along with a card that suggests cooking it for eight to 10 seconds, but rarely longer.
Each cut comes with a card telling you how long it should be cooked for; this should be for 10 seconds. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The result varies depending on the cut, ranging from tender and sweet to lean and beefy.
Perhaps the best expression of fresh beef, Chaoshan style, is hidden under the unassuming English name 'tender beef' (RM28).
In Mandarin, the cut is known as 双层肥牛, which translates to 'double-layer fat beef'.
A classic in Chaoshan hotpot, the name refers to the thick strip of fat that rests on top of the lean meat.
Instead of being evenly distributed, the fat and meat are layered, creating a clear contrast between rich, sweet fat and lean, clean-tasting beef. It is a little like pork belly, but with beef.
Thin slices of this cut cook in 10 seconds, and they are easily my favourite in terms of both texture and flavour.
You might dip these cuts in shacha sauce, the traditional Teochew condiment adapted from our own satay sauce.
Savoury, spicy and rich, it pairs best with the stronger-tasting cuts.
More than just hotpot, Chao Xing also serves a great beef fried rice. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The condiment station also offers the usual suspects: minced garlic, chopped scallions, coriander, soy sauce, vinegar and more, but shacha remains the classic choice.
Had your fill of meat but still want something more? Chao Xing has two impressive tricks up its (wok) sleeve.
In lesser hands, the beef fried rice (RM18) could be a clumpy, staid mess, but here it is a triumph of fluffy grains, charred flecks of beef and plenty of wok hei.
It is not just good fried rice for a hotpot joint; it is great fried rice, full stop.
The Chaozhou fried beef noodle is also excellent. — Picture by Ethan Lau
The Chaozhou fried beef noodle (RM28) is another surprise. It comes with rice noodles, thin, velvety slices of beef and greens, in this case kai lan, wok-fried and coated in a thick, glossy sauce similar to fried beef kuey teow.
But instead of an eggy, cornstarch-thickened gravy, this version uses the same beef broth to bring a savoury depth to the dish.
It is the perfect carb to end a protein-heavy meal. Turns out, there's more than one way to appreciate good beef.
The restaurant is located right next to the main entrance of the mall. — Picture by Ethan Lau
Chao Xing Fresh Beef Hotpot 潮兴潮汕鲜切牛肉火锅
G-23, The 19 USJ City Mall,
Persiaran Kewajipan,
USJ 19, Subang Jaya.
Open daily, 12pm-3am
Tel: [phone]
Facebook: Chao Xing Hot Pot
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
*Follow us on Instagram @eatdrinkmm for more food gems.
*Follow Ethan Lau on Instagram @eatenlau for more musings on food and self-deprecating attempts at humour.