Writers: Coco Chittleborough & Lucas Campbell
Image Credit: Hills Hotpot
This one’s for our hot pot lovers in the Hills.
There’s a new kid on the block, and they’re making sure you won’t have to burn through a tank of petrol just to get your hands on authentic Chinese hot pot.
Hills Hotpot has just arrived on Walker Street in Mount Barker, and it might just become your new go-to, fail-safe dinner spot. This local Chinese eatery is serving up a variety of popular street-style dishes, including flavourful malatang, fried skewers, traditional Cantonese roast meats, and a wide selection of milk teas and fresh fruit teas.
The venue opened at the end of April, over the weekend, Hills residents were already keen to give it a try.
“They had an amazing range, and the flavour of the broth was 10/10. Fantastic value — I’d say on the slightly cheaper side. Will definitely return to try more!” one local shared.
“The malatang here is absolutely delicious! I really love their classic malatang series. I’m also a huge fan of their strawberry cheese drink. Highly recommend,” said another.
But you don’t have to take their word for it – one look at the menu and it’s clear the team aren’t messing around.
The offering centres on comforting Chinese-style barbecue meats, rice bowls and build-your-own hot pot, with roasted duck, roasted pork and BBQ pork leading the main meal offering. The BBQ section includes whole or half roasted duck, roasted pork by the kilo and BBQ pork by the kilo, while the rice bowls offer a more casual lunch-style option, with diners able to choose one meat or mix two to three items over rice.
The hot pot is priced by weight and comes with a choice of broths, including a classic beef bone broth with mild, medium or normal spicy options, plus non-spicy tomato sweet and sour soup and Vietnamese pho soup. It’s a simple, hearty line-up that gives you the option to keep things quick with a rice bowl or go all-in on a warming hot pot meal.
Drinks round out the menu, with a broad tea selection covering fresh fruit teas, green teas, cream-cheese fruit drinks and milk teas. Options include signature fruit tea, lemon tea, passionfruit green tea, lychee green tea, pearl milk tea and taro milk tea, with add-ons like black pearls, coconut jelly and popping pearls, plus adjustable sugar and ice levels.
The team stresses that their hotpot is two things. Authentic in flavour and affordable in price. With an ethos as simple as that, we reckon they might be onto a winner.
Hills Hotpot
Where: 14B Walker St, Mount Barker SA 5251
When: 10:30 am – 9 pm Wednesday to Saturday, 11am – 9 pm Sunday
For more information, click here.
