Hong Kong - Four Seasons Claypot Rice at Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei (四季煲仔飯)

Four Seasons Claypot Rice is just a block down from Hing Kee Restaurant - its close contender. The bold red words printed on bright yellow paper simply cannot be missed.  All the claypot rice at Four Seasons are cooked from scratch- rice grains and fresh ingredients in a small corousel on a charcoal flamed stove. Four Seasons spans across a few shops and only indoor seats are available. An orderly queue formed on the outside of Four Seasons. While waiting for seats, an assistant came and took down the orders of all those in queue.

Four seasons menu was in Mandarin and English, sans the (touristy) Japanese. There were the traditional selection of claypot rice topped with chicken, pork or beef. Four Seasons' creativity comes in with its eel and frog speciality. We decided to get one traditional claypot, and a special one to try.

The chicken and salted fish claypot rice at Four Seasons may look pale, but it was the most amazing claypot rice that I have ever eaten in my life. The chicken was well marinated, with a tinge of sesame oil and matched so well with the ginger strips. The salted fish was very fragrant yet not too overpowering. The dark sauce was a concoction which we found suitable for our palettes- so homely and heartwarming!

Four Seasons' speciality rice of eel and pork ribs also struck a chord in our hearts. We loved the bean sauce that came in the claypot, which greatly enhanced the taste of the eel. The texture of the eel was chewy, as like the pork ribs. The rice at Four Seasons was more fluffy, and not as dry as the one at Hing Kee. The rice at the bottom also came off perfectly, and we polished these two bowls in no time.

Unlike Hing Kee, Four Seasons only has indoor seating. We found the interior of Four Seasons really charming- traditional calender and handwritten menu on the walls, beautiful tiles on the floor, stools that had seen better days- everything was so authentic and homely. I would prefer the claypot rice and the atmosphere at Four Seasons as compared to Hing Kee, and would brave the queue for the yummy claypot rice anytime.

Hong Kong Food Blog Review by Kumory

☁☁☁☁☁/☁☁☁☁☁

Four Seasons Claypot Rice (四季煲仔飯)

46 Arthur Street

Yau Ma Tei Kowloon Hong Kong

ps: Check out our ultimate food guide to Kowloon for more goodies in Hong Kong!