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| - What a surprising gem for Chinese hotpot around the Cleveland area! Kintaro offers authentic eats, with nice decor, good service, a quality environment, and a large space. My boyfriend and I have been here twice for dinner AYCE hotpot. The restaurant is a great go-to when you're hungry, craving Asian food, and not willing to bother with long wait times.
Firstly, the ingredients are fresh and the fishballs were surprisingly high quality. Wow that Fuchow Fish Ball (????; for those unfamiliar, it is a fish ball filled with pork). I have not had such fresh Fuchow fish balls before with such delicious flavor! The portions are also very generous. I've had their fatty beef, and while I personally prefer my beef to be thinner, it is good quality for AYCE.
I've gotten the chicken broth both times and it has been absolutely light, with just enough taste. As a nice plus, my chicken broth came with some Chinese herbs like goji berries (the orange-ish raisin-like fruit) and red dates (the sweet, wrinkled looking fruit) to add some additional flavor and nutrition. My boyfriend had the Sichuan Spicy soup base. This is not spice to mess around with. Sichuan spice emphasizes a numbing heat rather than the usual spicy heat others may be used to. Unless you are familiar with the spice, I would recommend trying something else, or mixing it with another base if possible. It is also a bit on the oily side, which may be upsetting to some stomachs.
The service is great, though admittedly hit or miss. Our first time, we had a younger waitress who did not walk us through how to order (we needed to ask), and she was not as attentive or helpful with our food. Our second visit was absolutely phenomenal, with Joanne as our waitress. She came over constantly asking us if we wanted to order more food, refilled our pots, and provided us with plates and switched them since my boyfriend had shellfish.
I was also super happy that there is a sauce station (YAY) with plenty of options where you can get eggs and other delicious condiments to accompany your hotpot.
Overall.. for its price, the environment, and the unique offering of such delicious hotpot, my boyfriend and I are very happy to have found a key restaurant to frequent and return to! The only "downside"? It's AYCE and they serve delicious ice cream at the end (ask for it, if they forgot to offer it to you), so I will need to watch my weight.
For newtimers:
- Write your orders down (you can write the number) on separate paper [not the menu]; you can indicate serving size next to each (for example, 1/2 serving, 2 servings)
- You can ask for individual hotpot bowls, or have hotpot in the center to share with the group (up to two types of broth) -- Remember, you will be sharing a broth with others, so if you don't like some flavors your friends have ordered (e.g., tong hao cai or lamb), it may be worthwhile (though maybe less fun) to stick to your own
- In my opinion, the service was fast enough where you could separate your order out (especially since they are raw ingredients); if you are not familiar with the serving size, and you tend to eat less, I recommend starting conservatively with 2 meat servings and 4 or so other additions. I've ordered 2 servings of beef and 6 additions .. and have been overly full each time; I may order half servings instead at my next visit so I can still have more options (we were a party of two- is less of an issue with more friends)
For people new to hotpot overall:
- Chinese hotpot is usually eaten during the cold seasons, and is a way for groups to gather and share food around a hot pot to keep warm
- Condiments: At home, I've had shacha sauce (soybean oil, garlic, dried shrimp, fish), which tastes like BBQ sauce, and some people will mix this with raw egg or peanut butter. The world is your oyster and there are plenty of condiments to choose from, so experiment! The dumpling sauce (vinegar and soy sauce) with sacha and green onion was delish
- Usually, people will put in vegetables (especially the ones requiring longer cooking times) first, and cook meat individually. Use the soup ladle with holes to hold your meat and watch it to prevent overcooking. Beef is easier and faster to cook (you can get away with some redness), but make sure you cook other meats like fish, chicken and pork well
- Hotpot is HOT- blow well or your tongue will get burned
- Remember hotpot etiquette if you're sharing: pull the food you put in out, and cook with your ladle (try not to use chopsticks with uncooked meat)
- At the start of hotpot, people usually dip their cooked meat in condiments; you can ask for an extra bowl (or take one from the sauce station) for a separate soup bowl. People usually have their soup (with or without noodles) at the end since the broth will have all the flavors from the meal at this time; it is also less salty since additional water was added
- For ingredients, I like: fatty beef, Fuchow fish ball, fish tofu, spinach, and udon noodles
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