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2015-04-28
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A while ago a friend of mine was in town and wanted to try hotpot. We went to a place that we thought had hotpot but it didn't, and we were consequently disappointed. So I'd been on the lookout for a good hotpot place since, and after reading supertaster mel's and silverthoughts' reviews, I chose this place when my friend came back to town.One correction: in one of the previous reviews, it says that English menus are available. Maybe that was true in the past, but when we went, we were informed
One correction: in one of the previous reviews, it says that English menus are available. Maybe that was true in the past, but when we went, we were informed that there was no English menu. However, they made sure to send over a server (manager?) who was a native English speaker to explain the menu to us, and everything went really smoothly.
There were four broth choices: three on the menu and one off-menu choice. We got two; pictured above is the Sichuan pot, that comes with a whole chicken, and some peppers and onions. The vegetables are really great tasting, as is the chicken. The chicken was seriously spicy (we got "big" spice) but by no means difficult to handle-- not one of the 8 people at the table thought it was too spicy. So I'd say it was a perfect level-- something everyone appreciates but which harms none.After you eat the chicken, they pour in broth. The broth is very good, but I have two minor gripes: it's far less spicy than the chicken that you first eat, and it's not very numbing. Still, the taste of the broth, chicken, and vegetables were great and everyone was a fan. I give it: Excellent, A-
The other hotpot we got was the off-menu Thai hotpot. It comes with most of the same veggies, and half instead of a whole chicken. I believe that the Thai chicken was slightly spicier than the Sichuan stuff. The broth for this one was also very good. A-
I always recommend mushrooms and lotus for hotpot. The lotus slices here were thicker than I'm used to, so they needed a bit longer in the broth, but still very good.
The brisket has to cook for a while (I forget, but they make sure to tell you how long it takes). In my opinion, it wasn't very good. It was kind of chewy and more effort than it's worth.
The pork collar, on the other hand, cooks quick and tastes great.Not pictured: we also had the lamb, which I will also recommend.
We had several kinds of dumplings-- shrimp, chive, and house special. The shrimp ones were good. The chive ones had crab meat in them? Something like that-- anyway, they were OK, but nothing all that great. The house special dumplings, which the server recommended, were not really to anyone's liking. They had scallops and some other fish products. Maybe just a little too fishy.Not pictured: cuttlefish balls-- pretty straightforward, but always great in my opinion.
Here's one last shot of the hotpot with broth and stuff in it.Hotpot is hard to review, because a lot of stuff is going to be about the same anwhere you go-- veggies, raw meat, various X-balls. Of course, some places have lots of high-end meat cuts, but that's not really my thing.
I think overall, everyone I came with thought the food here was great. I wasn't really impressed with any of the dumplings, and I would recommend against them and in favor of the simple raw things on the menu-- meat, fish, and veggies. The chicken is great and I do recommend the highest level of spice to anyone into spicy food.
That said, there are a couple of knocks against this place. First, the lack of an English menu. Second, and more importantly, the tables are rectangular and not round and only about 4-6 people can access one hotpot (depending on how much you're willing to reach over others. I think 6 people would be a good number, but we were 8 and things didn't go as well as they could have. Finally, if you're really after Sichuan hotpot, it's probably better to go to a place that does that specifically, for, as I said, I didn't find the broth spicy or numbing enough.
I'm giving this place somewhere between great and excellent: A-/B+
Other Info. :
Google Translate renders the name of this place "Spicy chicken pot Killer"
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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