This new place in Penang has mastered the ancient power of teleportation. One step upon the threshold of this restaurant and you will be teleported to China!

Shu Da Xia, the go-to for authentic traditional Chinese hotpot has finally opened a new branch in Penang located along Karpal Singh Drive. 

This restaurant is a boiling pot of Chinese cultural influences.

The entrance to the restaurant is designed to look like the ancient Chinese style roof and it is decorated with bright red lanterns. 

After entering the restaurant, you will be fully submerged in Chinese culture with the music playing in the background, the bright red lanterns, the traditional wooden latices and traditional paintings of Chinese warriors. They even have some wooden swords on the walls.

Like we said before, you will actually feel like you’ve been teleported to China. 

Another highlight of the interior of this restaurant is that it has huge windows all around giving you a 180-degree view of the beautiful ocean while you enjoy your delicious meal.  

They also have a cute panda mascot who wears the iconic Asian conical hat while holding a yummy looking bowl of soup. If it’s your birthday, inform them and you will get a special performance from this cute panda!

Shu Da Xia doesn’t only bring China to Malaysia with its decorations, it also brings China to Malaysia through the food. 

Before describing the deliciousness of the food, let’s give them props for the food presentation. 

When we eat our sense of smell and taste are activated but when we eat at Shu Da Xia, all our five senses are awakened. 

The presentation of around three of the dishes we had included dry ice which gave the dish extra flare and added a little drama to the whole experience of eating there. The dishes were all arranged and served in such creative ways that will honestly make your jaw drop. 

Now let’s get to the eating part. 

Here’s what we had: 

For the soup base, we had the Authentic Sichuan Mala Soup and the Collagen Soup. 

The Mala Soup was infused with spicy Sichuan peppercorns and even had the dried Sichuan mala chillies in it. 

Crispy Pork was topped with delicious, dried Sichuan mala chilli flakes that will leave you with a numb sensation on your tongue. 

We had the Sweet Caramel Glutinous Rice to balance out the spiciness of the soup. So, after eating the spicy soup, you should take a bite of this sweet and crispy dish to soothe your tongue a little. 

Marinated Pork Rib 

This dish is marinated in in spices for 2 hours infusing it with the rich flavours of the spices.

The Beef Tongue dish was plated so prettily in rose shapes! 

The presentation of the Marinated Spiced Beef represents "Shang Shang Qian" which means good fortune or a lucky charm. 

Be sure to order this if you want some extra luck or fortune in your sad, sad life. 

The Tai chi shrimp paste is served on a wooden plate in a Yin and Yang shape. 

Later, the waiter came in and rolled the paste into balls and put them into the boiling soup for us to enjoy later. Once its cooked, it has the yummy flavours of the soup infused into it. 

The Duck intestine is served in a beautiful ice ball with dry ice fog around it giving it a very majestic look and making it the center of attention. 

The Pork liver is thinly sliced and served hanging from a mini bamboo tower. 

Before dipping it into the soup, we were suggested to dip it into a bowl with a lemon and mint mixture to neutralise the flavour of the liver. The liver is also purposely thinly sliced so that it doesn’t have a powdery texture when eating. 

Mushroom fish ball, placed on top a rose petals.

Beef slices, the sweetness of it, is perfectly paired with the mala soup. 

There's also a wide array of condiments to choose from and a few free flow dishes. 

Their condiments are all placed in traditional Chinese bowls, another way of highlighting the Chinese culture.

One of their signature sauces is this one that was created by the founder of Shu Da Xia. 

Everything that we ate here was honestly and truly authentic. All the soup bases and cooking bases are flown in directly from China so, each spoonful of soup that you slurp is actually a spoonful of the actual tastes of China. 

But don’t worry la, their meat isn’t flown in from China. To maintain the freshness of their meat and to support local businesses, all their meat delivered daily to them straight from the local farms. 

Overall, eating here is honestly an experience that everyone must enjoy at least once in their lifetime.