In place of Next Door Deli at Sengkang’s CompassOne, there’s now Chicken Hotpot, which supposedly comes from Shanghai, “69 Wujiang Road”, as the laminated card on every table proudly proclaims. According to travelchinaguide.com, Wujiang Road is “the most popular snack street in the city”. To most Singaporeans, of course, 69 Wujiang Road has no particular significance. 
But if you’re up for some hotpot that apparently, people have been raving about (who, exactly? I do not know; that’s just what it states on the card), then you might want to give Chicken Hotpot a go. There are outlets at Serangoon NEX, Bedok Point and Novena Square2. We had dinner at the outlet located in CompassOne’s basement 1 this week.
When you step into the eatery (I’m not sure if I should call it a restaurant since there’s not much space – they’ve really packed as many tables as they can into this space so unintentional eavesdropping on every other couple’s conversation is a real possibility), the first thing you’ll notice is that there are two appetizer dishes already laid out on every single table. I’m a little concerned about this as the dishes aren’t covered. Even if they don’t attract insects, they’ll probably get a layer of dust by the time the hungry dinner crowd comes by.
( We asked them to remove the two side dishes. So don’t ask me about the taste. I won’t know. )
What I do know is that they have crinkle-cut fries in their hotpot dish! OMG. After the recent shock of having him order chicken chop hor fun at the Oasis Terraces foodcourt, I thought I’d be prepared for anything mindblowing that’s food-related. Evidently, I wasn’t ready for this…
Apart from the hotpot mains, there’s a whole host of other ingredients you can pick from their chiller. Prices are stated right on top…
Here’s the Chicken Hotpot menu. Basically just a few mains to choose from, then you can grab other ingredients at a la carte pricing. The ‘small’ serving is just right for 2 pax. I also had the Peach Lychee Soda, which was quite enjoyable. When eating something spicy, it’s always such a treat to have something fizzy and sweet to drink. *And the “mild spicy” level of the hotpot is, to me, already fiery. (@_@)
During our visit, I found the staff very attentive and helpful. One lady in particular, a middle-aged auntie whose name is probably Candy (if my memory serves me well) with a big pink hair clip, was very helpful in offering broth refills and displayed much initiative in replacing the heating element below the pot when it ran out. She was almost fussing over our table like a concerned parent or grandparent would, so that was really sweet. 
As for the taste of the hotpot dish we tried, I’m happy to report that it’s not incredibly thirst-inducing (so don’t worry, you won’t have to go buy a 1.5litre bottle of water at Cold Storage after a meal here), but I found the spices so intense they almost made my tongue go numb. I’m more a fan of, say, Japanese cuisine in which chefs try and retain the natural flavor of ingredients, letting them ‘speak’ for themselves. Anything that’s overpowering kind of turns me off.
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We had 50% off our bill thanks to Eatigo, plus an additional $1.50 rebate from Shopback. (<- Click on the links to sign up and enjoy the same benefits)
