Giving out this review was pretty confusing because I could've went with 5 stars or went with 1 star.
Hipot was not very busy on a Sunday and reservations were not necessary.
They have 2 menus - one is $26 and the other was $32? & an additional $2 for weekend. The $32 menu included the other soups for free whereas the $26 one only had "clear soup" as free soup.
The menu is pretty extensive and also includes hot pot rice. We did not get charged extra for the accompaniments for the sauces either.
I love love love love how you can adjust your own pot's temperature.
The food was delicious - the beef was amazing which is rare such as most beef in AYCE have been frozen and obviously tastes like the poor quality beef that it is.
There were no bugs in the veggies which was huge for me - I've had too many little bugs turn up in my food in hot pot places x_x
I can also see how people hated the service here as I was not a fan at first. But the service is quick, although quite absent-minded - I really think it depends on luck on who serves. The younger guys run around trying to refill, clear plates, and pick up new orders - they do tend to forget my order esp for noodles. No big - just ask them again.
PS. Do not order the hotpot rice - thumbs down.
Overall, I will come here again. Not many AYCE places can make me forget how cranky and irritated I get when I overeat. I ate so much here it felt like I grew a 6 month old baby when I walked out of the place.