Xu Jinglei, a well-known Chinese actress was recently found eating hot pot with relish in Sichuan’s capital city of Chengdu while shooting her new movie Confidential. She praised the hotpot as very enjoyable. Aside from Xu, pop diva Faye Wong chose a Chongqing hot pot restaurant as a party venue to celebrate after she finished a concert tour in Beijing last year.

Famous stars are not the only ones who have love for Chinese fondue as numerous people in China and throughout the world have interest in the cuisine. The trend has prompted noted Chinese hot pot restaurant Hao Dilao to reveal its ambition to open chains in US.

Hot pot, named huǒ guō in Chinese, refers to stew consisting of a simmering pot of food at the center of a dining table. While the hot pot is kept simmering, ingredients are placed into the pot and are cooked at the table.

According to famous Chinese scholar and television personality Yi Zhongtian, Chinese cuisine, no matter if it’s fried or steamed is usually made in the kitchen and brought to the table after the cooking process is completed. But hot pot combines both the cooking process and the integration of food. Normally, people who gather to eat hot pot are family members, partners, brothers or friends. This is one of the oldest and most intimate ways of eating dinner.

In China, the steamboat style of cooking hot pot often changes from region to region, with different ingredients used. The varieties include Chong Qing hotpot, Beijing’s mutton in hotpot, Guangdong seafood fondue, Shandong Beef hotpot and Chrysanthemum chafing dish in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

One of the most famous variations is Chongqing hotpot, markedly different from other types eaten in other parts of China. There is a significant focus put on the soup base during the making process where a special spice known as "flower pepper", or pepper, is added. It creates a burning and slight numbing sensation on the tongue, almost like a carbonated beverage.