There are more than 20,000 hot pot restaurants in Chongqing, all over the streets and alleys, but there are only a handful of them that can maintain stable production for 20 years like Mai Xiangyuan. Looking at the "Top 50 Chongqing Hot Pots" selected by many institutions over the years, it is not difficult to find that Maixiangyuan not only does not fall behind, but also ranks in the forefront in every selection, and its hegemony can be seen.

Mai Xiang Yuan is located on the side of Shapingba Shanan Street, and many old shops around it have been relocated or demolished for more than 20 years, but Mai Xiang Yuan has taken firm root in the original place and has become the "taste of childhood" in the mouths of countless surrounding residents. Compared with many newly opened hot pot restaurants, Mak Heung Yuen does not have a unique dining environment or meticulous store service, but it is indeed a place to eat hot pot. Whether it is a local resident or a foreign tourist, you can taste an authentic Chongqing hot pot here.

The pot base and dishes are the two most important parts of the hot pot, and Mak Heung Yuen is also proud of the excellent pot base and dishes. The bottom of the pot still adheres to the handmade method of more than 20 years ago, and the butter red pot is boiled with the best beef plate oil, and then fried with dozens of seasonings such as Chongqing Shizhu red pepper, Maowen pepper and bean paste. The soup is served with a dark color and mellow flavor but not spicy, so even diners who are not spicy can enjoy it without burden.

Chongqing people have always been "hostile" to mandarin duck pot, "not eating mandarin duck pot is the greatest respect for hot pot", "eating mandarin duck pot in Chongqing will be looked down upon" and other jokes have become the golden words of Chongqing's tourism strategy. Although the reality is far from being so exaggerated, not eating a clear soup pot is indeed a true portrayal of most Chongqing people. It is precisely because of the local people's dislike of the clear soup pot that the level of the clear soup pot in Chongqing hot pot is generally not high. At present, the store serves two kinds of white soup pot bottoms, chicken soup and soft-shelled turtle soup, both of which are boiled by the corresponding ingredients for a long time, and the soup is delicious, whether it is directly drunk soup or boiled vegetables, it is quite good.

If the taste of the bottom of the pot represents the basic skills of the hot pot restaurant, then the quality of the dishes is the best reflection of the restaurant's intentions. As a time-honored brand, Mai Xiangyuan not only has solid internal strength, but also takes great care in its daily dishes. Fresh goods such as hairy tripe, duck intestines, and beef are delivered directly to the slaughterhouse every day, and the grade quality, freshness, processing degree and richness of the ingredients are called high-quality, and the handling of the store is also not the slightest sloppiness, the meat ingredients are neatly changed, the shape and size of the ingredients are close to uniform, and the offal dishes are carefully cleaned without any peculiar smell.

Mao belly is the most representative dish of Chongqing hot pot, and it is perfect as the first batch of ingredients to enter the pot. The fresh hairy belly selected by Mai Xiangyuan is gray in color, with obvious surface particles, and the quality is better than that of most old stores. In fact, the hairy belly comes from the stomach of the cow, and the cow is a ruminant, with a total of four sub-stomachs: rumen, net stomach, valve stomach and wrinkled stomach, and the ingredients produced by the four sub-stomachs are different, and the taste is not the same. Among them, the most common hairy belly comes from the rumen, which has the most elastic taste; The money belly, which is often used as a marinade, is part of the net stomach, and the taste is crispier and thicker than that of the hairy belly; Mille-feuille tripe, also known as beef shutters, comes from the petal stomach, and like hairy tripe, it is often used as a hot pot hot sauce; The fourth wrinkle is generally used for stewing or boiling.

Duck intestines and goose intestines are also must-order dishes, the two food materials are thin, you can use chopsticks to hold the scalded shabu, and wait for it to shrink and curl before you can get out of the pot and put it on the plate. In addition to the classic dishes such as hairy tripe and duck intestines, the restaurant will also add 1-2 new dishes every year to meet the taste of diners. The Australian fat beef is made of M5-M7 Australian Wagyu, the ingredients are of good quality, and the meat slices are suitable for fat and lean. The meat of cod is delicate and tender, and it is best to blanch it in a colander to prevent the meat from breaking. After 10 minutes of boiling in Guzhen twist, the taste is soft and solid, which is completely different from the dry and crispy taste that you usually taste, and some diners still like the state of being soft on the outside and crispy on the inside, so they only let it cook lightly in the pot for 3-5 minutes. Fried milk snacks are also very popular, the surface of the milk has been fried until golden brown, and the inside is still white solid, with a strong milky flavor.

The first Yinshi Tianxiang store of Maixiangyuan hot pot opened in 1995, after many renovations, the inside and outside of the store do not look old at all, and the main color of red and black is quite fashionable. However, the distance between the tables is slightly narrow, the dining is less private, and there are no private rooms in the store, so it may not be able to meet the needs of high-end business banquets. The two new stores of Silverstone Four Seasons and Silverstone Summer Court have also been open for many years, and the environment is better than the old one, but the price of the dishes is also slightly higher than the old one. Chongqing hot pot is spicy and fragrant, and the fragrance also boils into the air with the heat when eating, and the body will more or less leave a "hot pot taste" after eating, but several stores in Maixiangyuan are well ventilated, and the taste remaining on the clothes is quite gentle. The service staff of the three stores are well-trained, uniformly dressed in white and black suits, and will give detailed descriptions of the signature dishes when ordering, smiling and courteous throughout the meal, and the service level is good.