A LONG queue of people waiting to be seated at the flagship outlet of Kuo Bee Pen Da Gourmet Cuisine on bustling Huashan Lu was discouraging.

The restaurant refused to accept our request for a reservation, saying they only held tables for parties of more than six people.

We had to move to its second outlet because we could not resist the aroma from the special curry hot pot.

I was surprised to find that our second choice was located where one of my favourite restaurants in town ?Tao Ban, an appealing Japanese restaurant with elaborately arranged dishes ?used to be.

It's very common in Shanghai that restaurants come and go. The fact eaterires have gone does not necessarily mean they have failed due to bad food ?or that the survivors necessarily have good ambience and food. Although the city is considered the most open to anything new or from other cultures, the truth is local diners actually stick to a few favourite restaurants. They may try something new, but only a few times.

Many good restaurants have had to close because of poor business, which is probably what happened to Tao Ban.

The moment I entered my old favourite restaurant was like the minute you see a sexy, pretty woman wearing messy pajamas with unkempt hair. The elegant decorations and design of Tao Ban were all torn down, instead, the inside was like any vulgar hot pot eatery.

Fortunately, the food did not disappoint us as much as the decorations. One big difference from other hot pot places was the base soup ?including curry or satay soup, Jinhua Ham Superior Soup and a very pungent red curry soup.

Diners can choose any or any two of them, so we ordered the intense curry soup and the light ham soup. There are already many things in the base soup, such as frozen tofu, cabbage, carrot, preserved eggs, celery and sweet corn.

Unlike other hot pot restaurants with tasty and tender mutton or beef, Kuo Bee Pen Da specializes in seafood and chicken, which are better for boiling in the fragrant, creamy soup.

The mixed balls plate, consisting of shrimp, squid, fish and pork, are spongy. Be careful because a tiny cube of crisp water chestnut, together with some hot juice, is wrapped in the core of each ball. Another good choice is the mixed dumpling plate and fish fillet.

Most pleasing of all were the special house drinks ?coconut milk, chrysanthemum tea with honey and my favourite, "red flower?tea (nobody in the restaurant could identify what kind of flower they used in it).

Kuo Bee Pen Da Gourmet Cuisine

567 Zhaojiabang Lu (by Xiaomuqiao Lu)

Tel: 5496-1431

301-1, Huashang Lu

Tel: 6249-8877

Average cost: 150 per person