Asia's Fondue - Hot Pot cooking

Fondue Fusion has opened. Dad and I stopped by for an early dinner there a few evenings ago. We were the only customers at that hour (when they opened) and the place was immaculate and nicely decorated. Our waitress was very pleasant and helped us or offered to, every step of the way.

Although Fondue Fusion doesn't carry ice tea, they have a selection of sodas, so we had Diet Cokes served up in pretty glasses.

The menu and fresh sheet are 100% choices for what to put in the pot! So we ordered a variety of reasonably priced options, and then quickly the sauces, a special house sauce (ginger, garlic onions...) and hoinsin came out. The house sauce is really to thick to 'dip' things in, but it is delicious spread on the top!

Not long after the hot pot with a vegetarian broth came out and was put on the electric burner in the middle of the table. The bubbling broth contained pieces of tofu, garlic and onions.

Then the ingredient dishes followed quickly. The first was one of the fresh sheet, Shrimp Shumai. However, once we had them steaming on our plates, we found that these are shrimp and PORK shumai, so if you have a dietary concern, be sure to inquire about the dishes before ordering, as the menu appears to be abbreviated. That said, these were tasty.

Next came the fried tofu puffs and rice noodles (background).

We also ordered an assorted vegetables plate. There was a variety of interesting mushrooms and greens as well as taro slices included in the plate.

The oysters were so fresh they were just shucked before arriving at our table!

And finally arriving were the bean threads (mung), which have a nice texture and virtually no calories by themselves.

As you simmer ingredients in the pot, the broth becomes more flavorful. It may not be the custom for hot pots, but it would have been nice to have spoons to enjoy some of the broth with. In Japan, these kinds of dishes are served with empty bowl, we had saucers. I don't know the custom for this particular kind of Asian Hot Pot, but with such drippy ingredients I found myself wishing for bowls as the sauces started getting soupy and sloppy. However, the dish was light yet filling and the flavor was delicious. There is not currently a dessert menu, but it is being created. It is naturally low fat and wonderful for a cool evening. This restaurant is a great addition to the Marin dining scene.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Critical: 2
Noncritical: 2
Last inspected: 12/22/2008