Spice World is a 1997 British musical comedy featuring one of the most famous pop groups of all time: the Spice Girls. This girl group straight outta the United Kingdom has been hailed as the spiritual successors to The Beatles and were responsible for hits like Wannabe, 2 Become 1 and…

Hold up, wait a minute.

Wrong Spice World, let me talk about the new hot pot restaurant in Chinatown for a bit before I wrap up my thoughts on Baby, Sporty, Scary, Posh and Ginger.

Located on Sussex Street on the peripherals of Chinatown is a hot pot establishment by the name of Spice World that boasts 500 franchises in the motherland but only just making its Australian debut. Featuring a menu longer than Tolkien’s published works, there’s a menu item to be boiled for everyone.

But this is drastically underselling it, Spice World isn’t a restaurant, it’s an experience.

Yes, that is a freaking robot zooming around the establishment offering Mentos; some nights you’ll see someone in a full-body Pikachu costume greeting kids and posing for photos; there are arcade games, crane machines and Barbie dolls wrapped in meat.

Wait what?! Ok, have to address that really quickly.

Yes, there is no structure or reason to this post but can you blame me?

This Barbie draped in meat and looking like Lady Gaga circa 2010 has been covered by a tonne of publications and now makes its iFat debut. There is a clothed Barbie doll underneath the slices of beautifully marbled wagyu beef that is dying to be dipped into some delicious broth.

Speaking of, hello broth!

Oh snap, Hello Kitty!

For those unfamiliar with hot pot, it is a very popular communal dinner option for Chinese folk that’s great for parties and large gatherings as you just need a portable cooktop/stove, water/stock/soup, some meat, sauce and vegetables if you care about your booty the next day.

Nowhere in the hot pot instruction manual does it say you need your soup base to be in the shape of Hello Kitty and yet here we are.

The soup base on the left gets its flavour from a wild mushroom mix and is one of the most popular mild soups. The one on the right is the ‘mild’ spicy option. Yes, it’s a hell of an oxymoron because the spice really builds up over time so be warned. Who would’ve thought that Hello Kitty had kick like that?

The beauty of hot pot is that you can do whatever the hell you want and Spice World gives you all the paints to play with on your canvas. You like beef? Order all of the beef. You want vegetarian hot pot? Cool, load up on greens. You want to mix a bunch of sauces together to create your own signature sauce? I’m lovin’ it.

It’s time to spice up your life by going to Spice World

Here’s the TL;DR for everyone who remembers when Ginger Spice leaving the Spice Girls was covered with the same diligence as a political scandal:

• My favourite Spice Girls in order? Baby, Posh, Scary, Ginger and Sporty.
• My favourite Spice Girls songs? 2 Become 1, Wannabe and Stop.
• My favourite Spices? Pepper, chili, garlic, cinnamon
• My favourite Cadbury Favourites? Caramello, Crunchie and plain Dairy Milk.
• I should stop, go visit Spice World and I hope you have the time of your life.

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Spice World, Chinatown

1/405 Sussex Street, Chinatown, Sydney, NSW

Opening Hours:

Open 7 Days

Lunch: 11:30am to 2:30pm
Dinner: 5:30pm to 10:00pm