What is Steam Hotpot in Hong Kong?

We talked about hotpot the other day. This time it is about steam hotpot which is a familiar but can be completely different dining experience than hotpot.

About the similarity, a group of diners sit together at a table with a pot in the middle and the food is freshly cooked in front of them. That looks like normal hotpot.

When steam hotpot first appeared a few years ago, the restaurant would put a whole stack of steamers in front of you. The food which requires shorter time to steam is put on top so people could eat them first, for example scallops on top and fish at the bottom. It was a hit because the steamers look big and were very instagrammable.

However it takes time to finish the meal, that means the food at the bottom would be steamed for an hour before eaten which would be overcooked. That is one of the main reasons those big steamers hotpot restaurants faded soon after it appeared. People then demanded a more deluxe steam hotpot culinary experience.

Therefore delicate steam hotpot is mostly done in this way: premium food ingredients (which is indeed a must, right?); each type of ingredients is steamed one by one, and usually by the servers and sometimes they would even have a timer to ensure food is not overcooked; there is rice on the bottom of the steamer so after all the tasty fresh ingredients are steamed, you would be able to enjoy a superb delicious congee at last, which is my favourite. I look forward to it so much every time I have steam hotpot!

However I think steam hotpot is less instagrammable than normal hotpot.

Which one do you like better? Hotpot or steam hotpot?