Hot Pots ... Hot Pots ...

throw back to NYC Hot Pot @ The Grand Sichuan

Okay I admit I am super late to the party on this one, but at least I now know there's a party going on. That's a start.

Last night I attended my first Pop Up Hot Pot Night at the Cube in Parktown North.  This was the invite: "Gather around the steaming stock and cook a selection of marinaded meats, fish and vegetables. Throw in some noodles and dip into a moreish sauce made from soya, sesame, garlic, chilli and spring onions. Mix and match your flavours and pour each other a glass of wine. End off with a delicious home-made ice cream."  

Irresistible! I love Hot Pot! (And cooked on a free-standing gas stove, it is the perfect load-shedding meal.)

photos from thekitchenspace website and Facebook page

Perfectly timed too for a Joburg wintery evening as winter has literally just arrived via a cold front front from Cape Town. The hostesses for the evening were thekitchenspace dynamic duo of Su-yen and Rachel. 

According to their website, "Su-yen grew up in Hong Kong with her Chinese Tiger mummy and ‘Gweilo’ father. A regular ‘chop suey’, she has lived in London and New York and eaten her way around the world. She married a South African and moved to Joburg with her children in 2011. Su-yen is a medical microbiologist, teacher, mother, triathlete, ironman and an ex-contestant on Come Dine With Me SA. 

Rachel’s father also lived in Hong Kong for 20 years so she spent many a holiday there and travelling around the Far East. She’s a Londoner at heart, but craving adventure moved to Jozi in 1997 and subsequently married a South African. She is a writer, TV producer, tennis player, mother and an avid fan of Crispy Aromatic Duck.

Rachel and Su-yen

It was during their long, mouth-watering conversations about how much they missed the Chinese food in Hong Kong that the idea for thekitchenspace was born. Su-yen is a fabulous cook, and both agreed that the Asian food in South Africa is very disappointing, so they may as well make it themselves, and teach others to do so too."

The duo are freelance caterers and in between jobs, they pop up around town. Cube is closed on Monday nights so that has become a frequent location. They also regularly inhabit Croft in Parkview, an upscale men's store I have been meaning to check out for Vince.

Rachel and Su-yen also run regular Asian cooking demos on Thursday nights. They are fun, informal, interactive and sociable. Demos make great team building events and kids' parties too.

I have liked thekitchenspace on Facebook which they suggest is the best way to get invitations to future Pop Ups and special events. Let's get this party started!