Jin Ho Mia Review: Alaskan Crab Hot Pot With Sio Bak, Prawns And Flower Clams

After Googling the place and looking at pictures of their hot pots brimming with sio bak and crab legs, I knew I had to pay the newly began trading restaurant a visit, regardless of what its name means. Found conveniently on the second level of Alexandra Retail Centre, Jin Ho Mia – a Hokkien phrase that translates to “really good life” – serves rice bowls in the day and hot pots in the evening.

Alaskan Crab Legs And Sio Bak Hot Pot | Jin Ho Mia Food at Jin Ho Mia With only three different types of hot pots available at the restaurant, deciding on what to order was not difficult. Meaning “out of this world” in Hokkien, Tok Kong Pot comes with 13 ingredients, including Alaskan crab legs, sio bak, flower clams, and tiger prawns. The hot pot, which is meant for two to share, was served dry and we were able to choose one soup base out of the five available – fish, tom yum, cheese, chicken, and tomato.

Though the pot was overflowing with components, it did not take long for the soup to start bubbling. I was initially excited by how quickly the soup boiled but the affair soon turned messy as the soup spilled aggressively out of the pot. Once the soup was brought to a boil, we tasted it and were disappointed that it was slightly bland and lacked the sweetness I forecast from a fish soup.

Having never had sio bak in hot pots before, that was the first element I went for. I was surprised by the strong barbeque taste that the meat had and it reminded me of the roast meats I tried at Malaysia’s street stalls. The next component we could not wait to get our hands on was the Alaskan crab.

With so little meat, we could hardly taste the crab and with that being the main feature of the pot, it was disappointing. As for the instant noodles, we were pleasantly surprised by how springy it was even after sitting in the soup for quite some time.

My favourite was the JHM Chilli Sauce, which was spicy and tangy, giving an exciting kick to the blander items in the hot pot. Ambience at Jin Ho Mia We reached Jin Ho Mia the moment it began trading for dinner at 5:30pm.

Unlike many restaurants that serve hot pots, Jin Ho Mia was well-ventilated and did not have much of a smoky and greasy smell. With Chinese pop music familiar to those born in the 80’s playing in the background, the restaurant had a laid-back atmosphere, and the overall dining experience was comfortable.

The verdict As a whole, I found the food at Jin Ho Mia mediocre and unworthy of the quotation. Even if the portion was more than enough for two, none of the elements stood out to me.

Given that the Alaskan crab legs hardly added value to the hot pot and the rest of the components were ordinary, I would rather prepare my own steamboat at home than return to Jin Ho Mia for their Tok Kong Pot. If I was in the area in the afternoon, however, I would pop in to try their rice bowls such as Salmon Poke ($14.80++) and Tom Yum Pao Fan ($14.80++) .