Week 14 - Teddy Bear Hotpot

I come from Chengdu in Sichuan province, which is known sometimes as the hometown of spicy hotpot. Therefore hotpot has always been a part of my childhood memory.

I took this picture at a hotpot restaurant in New York, and I've never seen something like this before! The red soup(spicy) side has a little bear sitting in it. It's made by frozen oil and other ingredients. It's quite cute, but when it gradually melts when the heat turns on it's also a little creepy

also, this kind of pot is only one of the many types of pot in hotpot culture. It's called the "mandarin duck pot" because in China, mandarin ducks are a symbol of undying love between two people.

This pot has two different flavors -- representing two different persons, but combined as one pot --- representing unity.