Hotpot lovers, there’s a new spot in town that is bound to satisfy all your hankerings! Introducing The Dolar Shop, a trendsetting individual hotpot chain that’s known for its premium broths, slowly simmered the traditional way, and quality ingredients – in a sophisticated, upscale restaurant that not only offers attentive service but a curated, contemporary playlist.
The Dolar Shop’s roots began in Shanghai, circa 2004. Since then, the hotpot sensation has grown from strength to strength, and now has more than 20 outlets in China, the United States, Canada, Australia and Singapore. Among its clientele include celebrities Zhang Hui Mei, Simu Liu, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, who love visiting the establishment with their friends.
Soup-er star
The hotpot chain’s calling card is its variety of meticulously crafted soup broths, which require a laborious number of steps, and the slow-cooking of premium ingredients for hours to extract their natural goodness and essence. Freshness is never compromised, as these salubrious broths are always served fresh on the very day itself.
At The Dolar Shop, there are 10 premium broth selections. The marquee item here is the Exquisite Silver Broth (Chef’s Creamy Pork Broth), which has undergone eight recipe enhancements since its debut in 2013. This legendary creation requires over 50kg of ingredients combined, including 4kg of chicken. To achieve this complex depth of flavour, it takes eight hours of simmering, at the precise temperature and of the skilled hands of a chef who has at least four years of experience, including a year of training. The chef has to man the station throughout the simmering process. As a result, every sip of the Exquisite Silver Broth is rich in collagen and packs a delightful savoury punch!
To ensure that the broth is always in pristine condition, the temperature must be maintained at 70°C or higher and served within four hours. Regulars of The Dolar Shop know best: with half of the tables selecting the Silver Broth as their soup base, and every restaurant churning out 9,000 litres of this beloved broth every month – no surprises why it remains as the No.1 top-selling broth of all time.
Another highlight is the Black Truffle Mushroom Broth, which was first developed in 2019. Bowling over gourmands with its aroma and earthy flavour profile when it debuted, this soup became a mainstay on the menu. Taking over three hours to prepare, this broth requires four free-range chickens, along with a variety of mushrooms such as tea tree mushrooms, morel mushrooms, and shiitake mushrooms. The skill of the chef is critical as well, with the requirement being at least two years of experience plus three months of training.
What’s more, The Dolar Shop offers a customisable selection of condiments, desserts and more to complete the experience. It’s little wonder that it has made its way to the hearts of hotpot lovers around the world, and also celebrities such as Zhang Hui Mei, Simu Liu, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai!
Impressive array of ingredients
It is only fitting that these exquisite broths are paired only with fresh and premium ingredients. The Dolar Shop offers a bountiful selection of beef, including the well-marbled A5 Japanese Miyazaki wagyu beef, USDA Prime Beef, and American wagyu. There is also live seafood such as prawns, marble goby and geoduck. The Dolar Shop’s signature handmade Shrimp Pâté is a must-try item that can be spotted on almost every diner’s table since the first restaurant in 2004 – each store now sells more than 40,000 orders per year! Each serving comprises 25 Vietnamese shrimps, and is hand-pounded 200 times in 30 minutes – in total, a laborious six hours – to form a luxurious paste that has a bouncy texture and superb juiciness when cooked. Made fresh every day and only kept for a maximum of 48 hours, this craftsmanship demands chefs go through 4,000 hours of training. “80% of our walk-in guests are willing to wait more than an hour for the Shrimp Pâté, and we’d always give them for free in return to thank them for their patience,” said a The Dolar Shop spokesman.
Balancing the meal are crisp, farm-fresh vegetables delivered from Malaysia daily, which are filled with nutrition and crunch. Another must-order is Snowflake Ice, a gorgeous confection generously topped with fresh fruits, to round-off your steamy meal. Unlike usual shaved ice, which is frozen flavoured water, The Dolar Shop’s ultimate rendition uses a secret blend of juices, with fresh milk as its base. The texture is light-as-air, fluffy and delicate, yet tastes rich and creamy. Even as it melts, the shaved-ice dessert transforms into a dense ice-cream that seems to gently dissipate in your mouth.
Enhancing the dining experience is the Market Table, a lavish and thoughtfully curated spread featuring over 50 selections. Here at the Market Table is where diners can personalise their own hotpot experiences, choosing from house-made condiments and dipping sauces to a selection of appetisers, desserts and more. What’s more, for just $4.99 per pax, diners can tuck into an ever-refreshing assortment of premium add-ons — every visit to The Dolar Shop can thus be unique and full of surprises.
A premium dining experience with great tunes
The Dolar Shop is not your typical quick-serve casual hotpot eatery, typically filled with the cacophony of clanging utensils and loud conversations. Instead, complementing its top-class food offerings and elevated dining experience are specially designed tableware and dining tables that took two years to complete. These are inspired by The Dolar Shop’s immediately recognisable geometric logo, and every handcrafted piece is made in Chaozhou, China’s largest regional producer for fine porcelain and everyday dinnerware.
This rhythmic, interactive, and applicable design philosophy also flows into creating the aural atmosphere of the restaurant, reflected in the music choice. The Dolar Shop’s playlist is carefully curated with French, Hong Kong, African, South American, and Korean elements, among others, where each hour’s beats per minute are carefully arranged – accelerating from afternoon to late afternoon, and reaching its peak at 9pm. The daytime selections provide a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere, blending Funk, Soul, Acid Jazz, and Instrumental Hip Hop, keeping it rhythmic and cosy at the same time. The evening selections focus more on the gradual progression of emotions over time, starting with a strong ambient Soul music that sets the evening mood and gradually shifts to French disco/boogie. Chinese songs are also interspersed as highlights, combined with other genres through a special music mixing process to create unexpected surprises. High-energy disco/house music at the most exciting times of the night will set a warm and joyful party mood as diners relish their meal with gusto. The track ends with a soothing East Asian-inspired funk that leaves listeners yearning for more.
