Went for the first time on a Sunday night without a reservation. I only went with a friend so I thought nothing of it. We had to wait in line for 20 minutes to get a seat and the table was right outside the bathroom door! They charged extra for weekend and soup base.
I really dislike the fact that their restaurant tables are designed poorly. A table that could fit four could only seat 2 and they had large tables that could fit 8+ that were not able to be pulled apart for smaller groups of customers. There were a lot of people coming in as groups of 2-4 and they would have to wait because all their had were large tables. I also find that their 8+ tables really dysfunctional. Why would you make it a booth and you require the customers to grab their own plate of ingredients and drinks? The person(s) sitting further inside would inconvenience everyone around them if they needed to get something.
Most of the ingredients are at a self serve fridge located at the back corner of the restaurant along with drinks and some cooked foods. Beef and Lamb is to be given by the server upon request. (The first serving comes without saying) Most of the ingredients were good but I really disliked their pork balls. They were freezer burned and tasted awful after cooking it. The self serve fridge was also an inconvenience due to the fact that it was busy and everyone wanted to get ingredients at the same time. There was always a huge crowd and perhaps even lines of people trying to get stuff from the fridges. There was not enough space there to accommodate large crowds of people.
Service wasn't too bad, it was really busy so the servers were running around. Shirley was a great waitress there, very sincere and gave us quick service. She was probably the only one that I thought spoke fluent English.
I was really annoyed by their bathroom door (not just the fact that I had to sit outside of it) the door slams shut every single time someone goes in or out. They need to fix that door because it is atrocious. It's extremely loud and it has often startled me during my meal.
The noise level was ridiculous considering how many people were there at the time (and those standing at the front waiting for a seat) There were parties of 12 who were really loud.
Overall experience, I would not return unless it's a weekday and it is not as busy. Winter is the perfect hotpot season so I understand that their business is picking up in general. The food was really mediocre and almost everything was self serve. You even had to go to the cashier yourself to pay your bill. No thanks.