Sinh Sinh !

9788 Bellaire Blvd
713.541.2888

Despite all the discussion about Sinh Sinh on this website, there has not been a single review of the restaurant. So our entire family went yesterday, and I thought now would be a good time for the review.

Sinh Sinh is located just inside the Beltway on Bellaire. It's hard to miss and incredibly popular. This is actually the third iteration of the restaurant. One of their first restaurants was located about a mile East and served mostly noodles. This Sinh Sinh serves up an amazing variety of dishes. Here you can get a simple bowl of noodles, or a seafood extravaganza.

I don't really come here for anything other than the hot pot. When you order, remember that the suggested serving size assumes a big appetite. So, for example, we order a hot pot for six when there are eight people. We also add the egg noodle for some extra carbohydrates.

A hot pot is, as its name implies, a pot of boiling broth set on top of a table-top stove. The stove is usually unbearably dirty, but you're not eating off the stove, so try to ignore the filthy spectacle. Inside the pot are two sides, one spicy and one not so spicy. With the hot pot comes raw vegetables, noodles and raw seafood/meat. Your job is to dump the meat, vegetables or seafood into the broth and make your own soup.

Some things to know:

1. Crack the egg over the hot pot. We like to put just the whites in the broth and put the raw yolk in the red chili paste they give you. The chili (combined with the yolk) is to be added sparingly to your individual bowl.

2. Cook the squid first, it takes a long time. Cook the beef last, it takes no time at all.

3. I wouldn't put the noodles in the hot pot itself to cook. When you put the hot water into a bowl already filled with noodles, the hot liquid will nicely warm the noodles.

4. Don't leave the ladle in the hot pot. For some stupid reason, all the ladles are made entirely of metal (including the handles) and they get incredibly hot.

5. If you order the special seafood hotpot, know that the shrimp come alive and on skewers. These shrimp are very sweet and very yummy, but it will freak out a few of you.

Hot pot is fantastic in cold weather like we have been having. Ask your difficult to capture waiter how to eat it if you're unsure. This experience will take you to another level of culinary adventure. Drop a line if you need help.